Title
Post-moult dispersal of Australasian shoveler (Anas rhynchotis) within New Zealand
Author(s)
Caithness T.A., Cheyne J.W., Neilson J.M., Rook H., Sutton R.R., Williams M.
Published
2002
Publisher
Notornis
Abstract
Dispersal of adult Australasian shovelers Anas rhynchotis in New Zealand after being banded during their annual moult was determined from the locations at which they were shot by hunters. Birds banded at 2 southern South Island and 2 North Island sites between 1972 and 1986 dispersed the length and breadth of New Zealand. Some shoveler were recovered within 90 days of banding at opposite ends of the country from their banding sites. There was no obvious pattern to the recoveries. Birds were recovered from most of New Zealand's large lowland and coastal wetlands except from West Coast, South Island. Modal recovery distances for shoveler banded at Lake Whangape, northern North Island, and recovered in their year of banding or in later years were 201-400 km. For shoveler banded in southern South Island, modal recovery distances were 0-100 km in the year-of-banding and 101-200 km in later years. Birds banded while moulting or breeding at or near the southern-most banding site were later recaptured moulting at the northern-most. Shoveler disperse more widely than other New Zealand waterfowl species and can be viewed as comprising a single national population.
Keywords
dispersal; mark-recapture method; movement; ringing; waterfowl; New Zealand; Anas rhynchotis; Anatidae; Aves
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PUB12546