ray pierce - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by ray pierce
Biological Conservation, 2005
The New Zealand fairy tern Sterna nereis davisae has only one small population of c.30 individual... more The New Zealand fairy tern Sterna nereis davisae has only one small population of c.30 individuals and its conservation is a priority. The population was declining prior to the mid 1980s. Management of the three remaining breeding sites was initiated during 1983/84 and intensified from 1991 onwards. We have collated historic data and reviewed the changes in the population since 1991. Our results illustrate that the number of chicks fledged increased since 1991. Fifty-five chicks fledged between 1991/92 and 2002/03. Demographic modelling based on productivity and age-specific survival estimates predicted that the population should increase at c.1.5% per annum. The predicted results from the demographic model contrasted against the observation of a stable resident population. This difference could have resulted from the movement of individuals out of our study area. Demographic modelling also indicated that the population may have continued to decline at a rate of c.1.4% per annum if management was not initiated. Extinction risk within 50 years has decreased from 0.52 to 0.39.
Background Dwarf inanga were once much more abundant than they now are. Although the historic obs... more Background Dwarf inanga were once much more abundant than they now are. Although the historic observations of abundance are descriptive, it is clear from these (Table 1) that schools of juvenile fish were once readily observable around lake margins.
In 2013 we undertook an ant survey of Kiritimati Island in the Line Islands in Kiribati ** Thank ... more In 2013 we undertook an ant survey of Kiritimati Island in the Line Islands in Kiribati ** Thank you to GBIF and the BID programme for their support in mobilizing this dataset ** Publication of this dataset was funded by the European Union
This grant also supported the work of Coordination Unit (CU) in two phases 1) Regional with a pos... more This grant also supported the work of Coordination Unit (CU) in two phases 1) Regional with a position and financial management based in Costa Rica focused mainly in building regional alliance, capacity building in managing protected areas and corridors and regional-international initiative participation. Then, 2) there was an amendment to support CU in Mexico and Guatemala (technically and financially) with the opportunity to build alliances at national and state levels to work directly and improve creation, management and connectivity of Protected Areas (Pas) and Corridors within the six KBAs defined as priority for Mexico and Guatemala. The amendment of this grant provided to CU specifically. the opportunity to deliver key and important indicators of the Logical Framework which CI M&CA committed and provided the opportunity to work in Mexico in KBAs 1, 3, 5 addressing connectivity, land conservation of federal and community level management, new protected areas, capacity built, a...
Banded Dotterels (Charadrius bicinctus bicinctus) exhibit a variety of seasonal movement patterns... more Banded Dotterels (Charadrius bicinctus bicinctus) exhibit a variety of seasonal movement patterns ranging from sedentary behaviour, through migration within New Zealand, to trans-Tasman migration. From 1985 to 1990 the Ornithological Society of New Zealand (OSNZ) studied the regional patterns of movement of Banded Dotterels which had been colour-banded on the breeding grounds. Sight-recoveries indicated that most birds in inland regions of the southern half of the South Island migrated to Australia, but coastal breeding birds in the South Island were mostly sedentary Inland birds north of Canterbury mostly moved within New Zealand, particularly to harbours in the North Island but with regionally specific patterns - Westland birds mainly to Farewell Spit, Marlborough birds to the northern North Island and Farewell Spit, southern North Island birds either locally or to the Auckland region, and most Hawkes Bay and Volcanic Plateau birds to Bay of Plenty and Auckland. Breeding habitat m...
Balanophora fungosa subsp. fungosa (Balanophoraceae) is an animal-pollinated flowering angiosperm... more Balanophora fungosa subsp. fungosa (Balanophoraceae) is an animal-pollinated flowering angiosperm found in Queensland rainforests. The ecology of this root parasite is poorly known and a preliminary study was undertaken at Speewah to identify vertebrates that feed at Balanophora flowers and may thus be pollinators. Seventy-two vertebrate feeding events were filmed with motion-detecting cameras on two flowering clumps of B. fungosa. The two most frequent visitors to flowers were Bush Rats and Musky Rat Kangaroos, but other mammals and birds (honeyeaters) were occasional visitors. Some individually recognisable Bush Rats and Musky Rat Kangaroos were repeat visitors to the same plants where they fed gently and mainly from the male flowers. Honeyeaters of four species take a higher risk than is normal for them in coming to ground-level to feed, suggesting that the nectar and/or pollen of B. fungosa is of high value to them. Most feeding took place at male flowers. This study identifies ...
Pacific Conservation Biology, 2020
Bats are essential to the functioning of many island ecosystems. A large proportion of Pacific Is... more Bats are essential to the functioning of many island ecosystems. A large proportion of Pacific Island Pteropus are endemics, limited in their distribution to single paleotropical islands or close island groups. This subset is also highly threatened by hunting and habitat disturbance. Further exacerbating these threats is a dearth of scientific knowledge that makes long-term management and conservation planning difficult. We aimed to gather data on seven bat species from Nendö, Reef Islands, Tinakula, and Vanikoro (Solomon Islands), and Vanua Lava and Mota (Vanuatu). Between 1990 and 2019 we surveyed bats using walked transects, mist nets and camp counts, and collected data on diets and roosting sites. Data collection targeted four limited range endemics (Nendö tube-nosed bat (Nyctimene sanctacrucis), Banks flying-fox (Pteropus fundatus), Temotu flying-fox (Pteropus nitendiensis) and Vanikoro flying-fox (Pteropus tuberculatus), and three more widespread species (Vanuatu flying-fox (P...
PLOS ONE, 2019
The data underlying the results presented in the study are publicly available from tib.islandcons... more The data underlying the results presented in the study are publicly available from tib.islandconservation.org. These include data on islands, threatened species and invasive species, and are searchable within a map and tabular format. Requests for information regarding data can be sent to science@islandconservation.org. As cited in our manuscript, these data have also been described in the recent publication Spatz et al. (2017), including tables of all islands and threatened species,
Pacific Conservation Biology, 2018
For conservation ecologists, the justification for restoration that involves the removal of invas... more For conservation ecologists, the justification for restoration that involves the removal of invasive species is often made on the perception of impacts on biodiversity. However, invasive species control decisions can also be driven by the perceived direct impacts on people. Our case study reports on the ecological and human perspectives that drove the decision to control yellow crazy ants in Atafu, Tokelau. We surveyed the effects of yellow crazy ants at varying abundance on attitudes of people, diversity of ant communities, and white tern nesting behaviour in Atafu. Direct effects of yellow crazy ants on people included complaints that they ‘ruined the garden’, ate the ‘food for pigs that is kept outside’, and residents in areas with high ant infestations ‘can’t sleep outside anymore’. Yellow crazy ant abundance was positively correlated with both negative impacts on common ant species and the concern people expressed over the effects of the ant on their lives, but was not associat...
Land, 2015
Initiatives to manage landscapes for both biodiversity protection and sustainable development com... more Initiatives to manage landscapes for both biodiversity protection and sustainable development commonly employ participatory methods to exploit the knowledge of citizens. We review five examples of citizen groups engaging with landscape scale conservation initiatives to contribute their knowledge, collect data for monitoring programs, study systems to detect patterns, and test hypotheses on aspects of landscape dynamics. Three are from landscape interventions that deliberately target biodiversity conservation and aim to have sustainable development as a collateral outcome. The other two are driven primarily by concerns for agricultural sustainability with biodiversity conservation as a collateral outcome. All five include programs in which, management agencies support data collection by citizen groups to monitor landscape changes. Situations where citizen groups self-organise to collect data and interpret data to aid in landscape scale decision making are
An avifauna survey was carried out in March-April 2003 of ten atolls in the Tuamotu and Austral A... more An avifauna survey was carried out in March-April 2003 of ten atolls in the Tuamotu and Austral Archipelagos, in French Polynesia. The primary objectives were to survey for populations of the endangered titi (Tuamotu sandpiper) and critically endangered tutururu (Polynesian ground-dove) that were formerly widespread in the Tuamotu Archipelago. Secondary objectives were to survey for other key avifauna species (e.g. atoll fruit dove, seabirds, and bristle-thighed curlew) and to determine the status of rats and other predators on the atolls. Key findings were the discovery of a “new” population of tutururu on Morane; discovery of “new” populations of titi on Reitoru and Tahanea and clarification of the status of the titi population on Morane; a population of atoll fruit doves on Tahanea; confirmation of the numbers (range 11-54 per atoll) of bristle-thighed curlews on most atolls; and the recording of significant seabird colonies on Morane, Reitoru, Tekokota, Tahanea, Fakarava, and Ma...
Advances in Marine Biology, 2014
The Republic of Kiribati&... more The Republic of Kiribati's Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA), located in the equatorial central Pacific, is the largest and deepest UNESCO World Heritage site on earth. Created in 2008, it was the first Marine Protected Area (MPA) of its kind (at the time of inception, the largest in the world) and includes eight low-lying islands, shallow coral reefs, submerged shallow and deep seamounts and extensive open-ocean and ocean floor habitat. Due to their isolation, the shallow reef habitats have been protected de facto from severe exploitation, though the surrounding waters have been continually fished for large pelagics and whales over many decades. PIPA was created under a partnership between the Government of Kiribati and the international non-governmental organizations-Conservation International and the New England Aquarium. PIPA has a unique conservation strategy as the first marine MPA to use a conservation contract mechanism with a corresponding Conservation Trust established to be both a sustainable financing mechanism and a check-and-balance to the oversight and maintenance of the MPA. As PIPA moves forward with its management objectives, it is well positioned to be a global model for large MPA design and implementation in similar contexts. The islands and shallow reefs have already shown benefits from protection, though the pending full closure of PIPA (and assessments thereof) will be critical for determining success of the MPA as a refuge for open-ocean pelagic and deep-sea marine life. As global ocean resources are continually being extracted to support a growing global population, PIPA's closure is both timely and of global significance.
DOC Research & Development Series is a published record of scientific research carried out, or ad... more DOC Research & Development Series is a published record of scientific research carried out, or advice given, by Department of Conservation staff or external contractors funded by DOC. It comprises reports and short communications that are peer-reviewed. Individual contributions to the series are first released on the departmental website in pdf form. Hardcopy is printed, bound, and distributed at regular intervals. Titles are also listed in our catalogue on the website, refer www.doc.govt.nz under Publications, then Science & technical.
Mammal Review, 2000
Zealand comprises 450 ha of forest, surrounded by grazed pastureland. The New Zealand Department ... more Zealand comprises 450 ha of forest, surrounded by grazed pastureland. The New Zealand Department of Conservation aims to control introduced mammalian pests at Trounson to such a level that would allow reintroduction of locally extinct fauna and allow recovery of those native species still present in the park. Prior to and throughout mammalian pest control operations at Trounson, the minimum home ranges of four Stoats, one male Ferret and 11 feral Cats were examined by radio-telemetry. The home ranges of all these carnivores were large relative to the areas where pest control was being undertaken at Trounson. The minimum average home range of three male Stoats was 108 ± 19 ha and the minimum home range of one female Stoat was 50 ha. The male Ferret had a minimum home range of 179 ha. The average minimum home range of male feral Cats was 305 ± 74 ha and the minimum home range of female Cats was 122 ± 35 ha. All these carnivores were often located in or near the forest-pasture edges, although the Stoats were also often located near streams or swampy areas of the park.
New Zealand Journal of …, 1999
Summary: A poison baiting operation at Trounson Kauri Park in Northland, New Zealand using first ... more Summary: A poison baiting operation at Trounson Kauri Park in Northland, New Zealand using first 1080 and then brodifacoum targeted possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) and rodents (Rattus rattus, Rattus norvegicus and Mus musculus). Predatory mammals were ...
EcoOceania Pty Ltd …, 2010
Biological Conservation, 2005
The New Zealand fairy tern Sterna nereis davisae has only one small population of c.30 individual... more The New Zealand fairy tern Sterna nereis davisae has only one small population of c.30 individuals and its conservation is a priority. The population was declining prior to the mid 1980s. Management of the three remaining breeding sites was initiated during 1983/84 and intensified from 1991 onwards. We have collated historic data and reviewed the changes in the population since 1991. Our results illustrate that the number of chicks fledged increased since 1991. Fifty-five chicks fledged between 1991/92 and 2002/03. Demographic modelling based on productivity and age-specific survival estimates predicted that the population should increase at c.1.5% per annum. The predicted results from the demographic model contrasted against the observation of a stable resident population. This difference could have resulted from the movement of individuals out of our study area. Demographic modelling also indicated that the population may have continued to decline at a rate of c.1.4% per annum if management was not initiated. Extinction risk within 50 years has decreased from 0.52 to 0.39.
Background Dwarf inanga were once much more abundant than they now are. Although the historic obs... more Background Dwarf inanga were once much more abundant than they now are. Although the historic observations of abundance are descriptive, it is clear from these (Table 1) that schools of juvenile fish were once readily observable around lake margins.
In 2013 we undertook an ant survey of Kiritimati Island in the Line Islands in Kiribati ** Thank ... more In 2013 we undertook an ant survey of Kiritimati Island in the Line Islands in Kiribati ** Thank you to GBIF and the BID programme for their support in mobilizing this dataset ** Publication of this dataset was funded by the European Union
This grant also supported the work of Coordination Unit (CU) in two phases 1) Regional with a pos... more This grant also supported the work of Coordination Unit (CU) in two phases 1) Regional with a position and financial management based in Costa Rica focused mainly in building regional alliance, capacity building in managing protected areas and corridors and regional-international initiative participation. Then, 2) there was an amendment to support CU in Mexico and Guatemala (technically and financially) with the opportunity to build alliances at national and state levels to work directly and improve creation, management and connectivity of Protected Areas (Pas) and Corridors within the six KBAs defined as priority for Mexico and Guatemala. The amendment of this grant provided to CU specifically. the opportunity to deliver key and important indicators of the Logical Framework which CI M&CA committed and provided the opportunity to work in Mexico in KBAs 1, 3, 5 addressing connectivity, land conservation of federal and community level management, new protected areas, capacity built, a...
Banded Dotterels (Charadrius bicinctus bicinctus) exhibit a variety of seasonal movement patterns... more Banded Dotterels (Charadrius bicinctus bicinctus) exhibit a variety of seasonal movement patterns ranging from sedentary behaviour, through migration within New Zealand, to trans-Tasman migration. From 1985 to 1990 the Ornithological Society of New Zealand (OSNZ) studied the regional patterns of movement of Banded Dotterels which had been colour-banded on the breeding grounds. Sight-recoveries indicated that most birds in inland regions of the southern half of the South Island migrated to Australia, but coastal breeding birds in the South Island were mostly sedentary Inland birds north of Canterbury mostly moved within New Zealand, particularly to harbours in the North Island but with regionally specific patterns - Westland birds mainly to Farewell Spit, Marlborough birds to the northern North Island and Farewell Spit, southern North Island birds either locally or to the Auckland region, and most Hawkes Bay and Volcanic Plateau birds to Bay of Plenty and Auckland. Breeding habitat m...
Balanophora fungosa subsp. fungosa (Balanophoraceae) is an animal-pollinated flowering angiosperm... more Balanophora fungosa subsp. fungosa (Balanophoraceae) is an animal-pollinated flowering angiosperm found in Queensland rainforests. The ecology of this root parasite is poorly known and a preliminary study was undertaken at Speewah to identify vertebrates that feed at Balanophora flowers and may thus be pollinators. Seventy-two vertebrate feeding events were filmed with motion-detecting cameras on two flowering clumps of B. fungosa. The two most frequent visitors to flowers were Bush Rats and Musky Rat Kangaroos, but other mammals and birds (honeyeaters) were occasional visitors. Some individually recognisable Bush Rats and Musky Rat Kangaroos were repeat visitors to the same plants where they fed gently and mainly from the male flowers. Honeyeaters of four species take a higher risk than is normal for them in coming to ground-level to feed, suggesting that the nectar and/or pollen of B. fungosa is of high value to them. Most feeding took place at male flowers. This study identifies ...
Pacific Conservation Biology, 2020
Bats are essential to the functioning of many island ecosystems. A large proportion of Pacific Is... more Bats are essential to the functioning of many island ecosystems. A large proportion of Pacific Island Pteropus are endemics, limited in their distribution to single paleotropical islands or close island groups. This subset is also highly threatened by hunting and habitat disturbance. Further exacerbating these threats is a dearth of scientific knowledge that makes long-term management and conservation planning difficult. We aimed to gather data on seven bat species from Nendö, Reef Islands, Tinakula, and Vanikoro (Solomon Islands), and Vanua Lava and Mota (Vanuatu). Between 1990 and 2019 we surveyed bats using walked transects, mist nets and camp counts, and collected data on diets and roosting sites. Data collection targeted four limited range endemics (Nendö tube-nosed bat (Nyctimene sanctacrucis), Banks flying-fox (Pteropus fundatus), Temotu flying-fox (Pteropus nitendiensis) and Vanikoro flying-fox (Pteropus tuberculatus), and three more widespread species (Vanuatu flying-fox (P...
PLOS ONE, 2019
The data underlying the results presented in the study are publicly available from tib.islandcons... more The data underlying the results presented in the study are publicly available from tib.islandconservation.org. These include data on islands, threatened species and invasive species, and are searchable within a map and tabular format. Requests for information regarding data can be sent to science@islandconservation.org. As cited in our manuscript, these data have also been described in the recent publication Spatz et al. (2017), including tables of all islands and threatened species,
Pacific Conservation Biology, 2018
For conservation ecologists, the justification for restoration that involves the removal of invas... more For conservation ecologists, the justification for restoration that involves the removal of invasive species is often made on the perception of impacts on biodiversity. However, invasive species control decisions can also be driven by the perceived direct impacts on people. Our case study reports on the ecological and human perspectives that drove the decision to control yellow crazy ants in Atafu, Tokelau. We surveyed the effects of yellow crazy ants at varying abundance on attitudes of people, diversity of ant communities, and white tern nesting behaviour in Atafu. Direct effects of yellow crazy ants on people included complaints that they ‘ruined the garden’, ate the ‘food for pigs that is kept outside’, and residents in areas with high ant infestations ‘can’t sleep outside anymore’. Yellow crazy ant abundance was positively correlated with both negative impacts on common ant species and the concern people expressed over the effects of the ant on their lives, but was not associat...
Land, 2015
Initiatives to manage landscapes for both biodiversity protection and sustainable development com... more Initiatives to manage landscapes for both biodiversity protection and sustainable development commonly employ participatory methods to exploit the knowledge of citizens. We review five examples of citizen groups engaging with landscape scale conservation initiatives to contribute their knowledge, collect data for monitoring programs, study systems to detect patterns, and test hypotheses on aspects of landscape dynamics. Three are from landscape interventions that deliberately target biodiversity conservation and aim to have sustainable development as a collateral outcome. The other two are driven primarily by concerns for agricultural sustainability with biodiversity conservation as a collateral outcome. All five include programs in which, management agencies support data collection by citizen groups to monitor landscape changes. Situations where citizen groups self-organise to collect data and interpret data to aid in landscape scale decision making are
An avifauna survey was carried out in March-April 2003 of ten atolls in the Tuamotu and Austral A... more An avifauna survey was carried out in March-April 2003 of ten atolls in the Tuamotu and Austral Archipelagos, in French Polynesia. The primary objectives were to survey for populations of the endangered titi (Tuamotu sandpiper) and critically endangered tutururu (Polynesian ground-dove) that were formerly widespread in the Tuamotu Archipelago. Secondary objectives were to survey for other key avifauna species (e.g. atoll fruit dove, seabirds, and bristle-thighed curlew) and to determine the status of rats and other predators on the atolls. Key findings were the discovery of a “new” population of tutururu on Morane; discovery of “new” populations of titi on Reitoru and Tahanea and clarification of the status of the titi population on Morane; a population of atoll fruit doves on Tahanea; confirmation of the numbers (range 11-54 per atoll) of bristle-thighed curlews on most atolls; and the recording of significant seabird colonies on Morane, Reitoru, Tekokota, Tahanea, Fakarava, and Ma...
Advances in Marine Biology, 2014
The Republic of Kiribati&... more The Republic of Kiribati's Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA), located in the equatorial central Pacific, is the largest and deepest UNESCO World Heritage site on earth. Created in 2008, it was the first Marine Protected Area (MPA) of its kind (at the time of inception, the largest in the world) and includes eight low-lying islands, shallow coral reefs, submerged shallow and deep seamounts and extensive open-ocean and ocean floor habitat. Due to their isolation, the shallow reef habitats have been protected de facto from severe exploitation, though the surrounding waters have been continually fished for large pelagics and whales over many decades. PIPA was created under a partnership between the Government of Kiribati and the international non-governmental organizations-Conservation International and the New England Aquarium. PIPA has a unique conservation strategy as the first marine MPA to use a conservation contract mechanism with a corresponding Conservation Trust established to be both a sustainable financing mechanism and a check-and-balance to the oversight and maintenance of the MPA. As PIPA moves forward with its management objectives, it is well positioned to be a global model for large MPA design and implementation in similar contexts. The islands and shallow reefs have already shown benefits from protection, though the pending full closure of PIPA (and assessments thereof) will be critical for determining success of the MPA as a refuge for open-ocean pelagic and deep-sea marine life. As global ocean resources are continually being extracted to support a growing global population, PIPA's closure is both timely and of global significance.
DOC Research & Development Series is a published record of scientific research carried out, or ad... more DOC Research & Development Series is a published record of scientific research carried out, or advice given, by Department of Conservation staff or external contractors funded by DOC. It comprises reports and short communications that are peer-reviewed. Individual contributions to the series are first released on the departmental website in pdf form. Hardcopy is printed, bound, and distributed at regular intervals. Titles are also listed in our catalogue on the website, refer www.doc.govt.nz under Publications, then Science & technical.
Mammal Review, 2000
Zealand comprises 450 ha of forest, surrounded by grazed pastureland. The New Zealand Department ... more Zealand comprises 450 ha of forest, surrounded by grazed pastureland. The New Zealand Department of Conservation aims to control introduced mammalian pests at Trounson to such a level that would allow reintroduction of locally extinct fauna and allow recovery of those native species still present in the park. Prior to and throughout mammalian pest control operations at Trounson, the minimum home ranges of four Stoats, one male Ferret and 11 feral Cats were examined by radio-telemetry. The home ranges of all these carnivores were large relative to the areas where pest control was being undertaken at Trounson. The minimum average home range of three male Stoats was 108 ± 19 ha and the minimum home range of one female Stoat was 50 ha. The male Ferret had a minimum home range of 179 ha. The average minimum home range of male feral Cats was 305 ± 74 ha and the minimum home range of female Cats was 122 ± 35 ha. All these carnivores were often located in or near the forest-pasture edges, although the Stoats were also often located near streams or swampy areas of the park.
New Zealand Journal of …, 1999
Summary: A poison baiting operation at Trounson Kauri Park in Northland, New Zealand using first ... more Summary: A poison baiting operation at Trounson Kauri Park in Northland, New Zealand using first 1080 and then brodifacoum targeted possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) and rodents (Rattus rattus, Rattus norvegicus and Mus musculus). Predatory mammals were ...
EcoOceania Pty Ltd …, 2010