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Motuora Island
Motuora is an island nature reserve in the western Hauraki Gulf, on the north-eastern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It lies some south-west of Kawau Island, east of Mahurangi Heads and north of the city of Auckland. History Although Motuora now has no permanent residents, it has a history of human occupation and was used for farming during much of the 20th century, when the native coastal forest was cleared apart from remnant patches along the cliffs. The island was bought by the government in 1965 as a recreation reserve. In 1990 a program of ecological restoration began, largely carried out by volunteers, with the Motuora Restoration Society (MRS) established in 1995. The MRS now manages the island jointly with the Department of Conservation (DOC). Environment Extensive planting of native vegetation has taken place on the island in order to restore the original forest cover. Exotic mammals never became established there. Native animals that have been introduced (or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Māori Language
Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and Tahitian, it gained recognition as one of New Zealand's official languages in 1987. The number of speakers of the language has declined sharply since 1945, but a Māori-language revitalisation effort has slowed the decline. The 2018 New Zealand census reported that about 186,000 people, or 4.0% of the New Zealand population, could hold a conversation in Māori about everyday things. , 55% of Māori adults reported some knowledge of the language; of these, 64% use Māori at home and around 50,000 people can speak the language "very well" or "well". The Māori language did not have an indigenous writing system. Missionaries arriving from about 1814, such as Thomas Kendall, learned to speak Māori, and introduced the Latin alphabet. In 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Gecko
''Dactylocnemis pacificus'', the Pacific gecko or Pacific sticky-toed gecko, is a species in the family Gekkonidae, endemic to the North Island and offshore islands of New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count .... ''D. pacificus'' is the only described species in the genus ''Dactylocnemis'', but five offshore island forms may represent new species. References External links Pacific gecko at New Zealand Herpetological Society ''Dactylocnemis pacificus'' (Gray, 1842)at the Reptile Database photos at Ryan Photographic Diplodactylidae Endemic fauna of New Zealand Reptiles of New Zealand Taxa named by Franz Steindachner Monotypic lizard genera Endemic reptiles of New Zealand {{Diplodactylidae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seabird Colonies
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations. The first seabirds evolved in the Cretaceous period, and modern seabird families emerged in the Paleogene. In general, seabirds live longer, breed later and have fewer young than other birds do, but they invest a great deal of time in their young. Most species nest in colonies, which can vary in size from a few dozen birds to millions. Many species are famous for undertaking long annual migrations, crossing the equator or circumnavigating the Earth in some cases. They feed both at the ocean's surface and below it, and even feed on each other. Seabirds can be highly pelagic, coastal, or in some cases spend a part of the year away from the sea entirely. Seabirds and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Island Restoration
The ecological restoration of islands, or island restoration, is the application of the principles of ecological restoration to islands and island groups. Islands, due to their isolation, are home to many of the world's endemic species, as well as important breeding grounds for seabirds and some marine mammals. Their ecosystems are also very vulnerable to human disturbance and particularly to introduced species, due to their small size. Island groups such as New Zealand and Hawaii have undergone substantial extinctions and losses of habitat. Since the 1950s several organisations and government agencies around the world have worked to restore islands to their original states; New Zealand has used them to hold natural populations of species that would otherwise be unable to survive in the wild. The principal components of island restoration are the removal of introduced species and the reintroduction of native species. Islands, endemism and extinction Isolated islands have been know ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islands Of The Hauraki Gulf
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerry, skerries, cays or keys. An river island, island in a river or a lake island may be called an ait, eyot or ait, and a small island off the coast may be called a holm (island), holm. Sedimentary islands in the Ganges delta are called List of islands of Bangladesh, chars. A grouping of geographically or geologically related islands, such as the Philippines, is referred to as an archipelago. There are two main types of islands in the sea: continental and oceanic. There are also artificial islands, which are man-made. Etymology The word ''island'' derives from Middle English ''iland'', from Old English ''igland'' (from ''ig'' or ''ieg'', similarly meaning 'island' when used independently, and -land carrying its contemporary meaning; cf. Dutch language, Dutch ''eiland'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Island Brown Kiwi
The North Island brown kiwi (''Apteryx mantelli''; ''Apteryx australis'' or ''Apteryx bulleri'' as before 2000, still used in some sources) is a species of kiwi that is widespread in the northern two-thirds of the North Island of New Zealand and, with about 35,000 remaining,BirdLife International (2008) it is the most common kiwi. It holds the world record for laying the largest eggs relative to its body size. Genetics The genome of ''Apteryx mantelli'' was sequenced in 2015. Taxonomy Until 2000, the brown kiwi (then ''Apteryx australis'') was thought to include the rowi and the tokoeka, in addition to the North Island brown kiwi. However using genetic codes from each of the above it was determined that the tokoeka was a separate species, it took the ''Apteryx australis'' name, leaving the brown kiwi with its current ''Apteryx mantelli'' name. Soon after, in 1998, more genetic tests were done with the rowi and it was determined that it (the rowi) was a separate species (''Apte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great-winged Petrel
The great-winged petrel (''Pterodroma macroptera'') is a petrel. Taxonomy This species was formerly treated as containing two subspecies - ''P. m. macroptera'' and ''P. m. gouldi'', the latter of which is endemic to New Zealand. As of 2014, the latter is recognized as a species in its own right, the grey-faced petrel (''Pterodroma gouldi''). In 2016 further research was published supporting the full species status of the grey-faced petrel. Description This is a large seabird, with a body length of 42–45 cm. The bird is completely dark brown except for a variable patch of white near the base of the bill, which is black. It is separated from sooty shearwater and short-tailed shearwater by the all-dark underwing, the thick, stubby bill, and different jizz. The similar flesh-footed shearwater has a light, pinkish bill. Petrels in the genus ''Procellaria'' are larger and have a less bounding flight. Distribution The great-winged petrel breeds in the Southern Hemisphere b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pycroft's Petrel
Pycroft's petrel (''Pterodroma pycrofti'') is a species of seabird in the petrel and shearwater family Procellariidae. Origin The Pycroft's petrel is a species of gadfly petrel (genus '' Pterodroma''), and is thought to be closely related to the Stejneger's petrel. The species was named after Arthur Pycroft, a naturalist from New Zealand who made the first scientific discovery of the species. The species was described by the New Zealand scientist Robert Falla. Appearance The Pycroft's petrel is small, measuring in length and weighing between . The plumage of the Pycroft petrel is grey and white; the upperparts are grey (with a darker M pattern on the back) and the underparts and forehead are white. It has a faint grey band across the breast and a dark grey patch around the eye. Habitat The breeding habitat of the Pycroft's petrel is temperate forests with soft soils on offshore islands. Reproduction The species only breeds in New Zealand, nesting on 11 islands off the North ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Diving Petrel
The common diving petrel (''Pelecanoides urinatrix''), also known as the smaller diving petrel or simply the diving petrel, is a diving petrel, one of four very similar auk-like small petrels of the southern oceans. It is native to South Atlantic islands and islands of the subantarctic southern Indian Ocean, islands and islets off New Zealand and south-eastern Australian islands. Taxonomy The common diving petrel was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin. He placed it with the other petrels in the genus ''Procellaria'' and coined the binomial name ''Procellaria uriatrix''. Gmelin based his description on the "diving petrel" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in the second volume of his ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. Latham reported that they were found in great numbers in Queen Charlotte Sound at the northern end of South Island, New Zealand. The common diving petrel is now one of four petrels p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australasian Gannet
The Australasian gannet (''Morus serrator''), also known as the Australian gannet or tākapu, is a large seabird of the booby and gannet family, Sulidae. Adults are mostly white, with black flight feathers at the wingtips and lining the trailing edge of the wing. The central tail feathers are also black. The head is tinged buff-yellow, with a pale blue-grey bill edged in black, and blue-rimmed eyes. Young birds have mottled plumage in their first year, dark above and light below. The head is an intermediate mottled grey, with a dark bill. The birds gradually acquire more white in subsequent seasons until they reach maturity after five years. The species range over water above the continental shelf along the southern and eastern Australian coastline, from Steep Point in Western Australia to Rockhampton, Queensland, as well as the North and South Islands of New Zealand, Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands. Nesting takes place in colonies along the coastlines of New Zealand, Victoria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bird Colony
A bird colony is a large congregation of individuals of one or more species of bird that nest or roost in proximity at a particular location. Many kinds of birds are known to congregate in groups of varying size; a congregation of nesting birds is called a breeding colony. Colonial nesting birds include seabirds such as auks and albatrosses; wetland species such as herons; and a few passerines such as weaverbirds, certain blackbirds, and some swallows. A group of birds congregating for rest is called a communal roost. Evidence of colonial nesting has been found in non- neornithine birds ( Enantiornithes), in sediments from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Romania. Variations on colonial nesting in birds Approximately 13% of all bird species nest colonially. Nesting colonies are very common among seabirds on cliffs and islands. Nearly 95% of seabirds are colonial, leading to the usage, seabird colony, sometimes called a rookery. Many species of terns nest in colonie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duvaucel's Gecko
Duvaucel's gecko (''Hoplodactylus duvaucelii'') is a species of lizard in the family Diplodactylidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand. Geographic range ''H. duvaucelii'' is found on predator-free offshore islands of New Zealand, including Great Barrier Island and a number of Cook Strait islands. In March 2010 a Duvaucel's gecko was caught in a trap at the nature reserve Maungatautari, indicating that it is likely not extinct from mainland New Zealand. Genetic analysis confirmed that this gecko specimen represents a relic mainland population. Description ''H. duvaucelii'' may attain a total length (including tail) of up to , with a snout-to-vent length (SVL) up to , weighing up to 120 grams (4.2 ounces), making it the largest living gecko in New Zealand. The oldest known wild Duvaucel's gecko was aged at least 36 years. Duvaucel's gecko is a heavy-bodied lizard with a relatively large head, and long toes with expanded pads. Its colouration is mainly grey, often with a fai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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