Study Of Ecology Of Antipodes Island

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31835, 13 November 1968, Page 18

Study Of Ecology Of Antipodes Island

Rare birds may be trapped and brought back to New Zealand when the first major scientific investigation of Antipodes Island is made early next year.

Biologically, the island is the least known of the New Zealand sub-Antarctic islands. The investigation will be undertaken bv an expedition from the University of Canterbury It will study plant and animal communities of the island, and their relationships to those of other similar islands and land masses.

The expedition will travel south in the H.M.N.Z.S. Endeavour, and will land by whaleboat. The Endeavour will leave Lyttelton on January 3 and members will return on March 8. The leader of the expedition will be Mr J. Warham, of the university’s zoology department. Other members include the department’s head, Professor G. A. Knox, Dr E. Godley, of the Botany Division, D.5.1.R., Dr G. Kuschel, of the Entomology Division, Mr R. W. Taylor, of the Animal Ecology Division, and a representative of the Wildlife Branch of the External Affairs Department. Expedition members, most of whom have had experience in the sub-Antarctic, will have few comforts, at least initially. No sleeping accommodation is available in the Endeavour and on the island, members will sleep in two tents with wooden floors lent by the Army.

An existing castaway hut will be repaired and will serve as a store, and a sectional hut will be used as a laboratory. The expedition will take radio equipment for communication and walkie-talkie equipment has been lent. A portable petrol-driven charging plant will be taken to the island.

A landing on Antipodes Island will depend greatly on the weather. The Navy will provide a beach party to help with unloading and will also provide life-jackets. Permission to work on the island has been given by the Lands Department subject to regulations aimed at preventing the importation of alien plant life, and guarding against fire.

Members of the party going ashore must clean out their packs and pockets of seeds, and damage to the environment must be kept to a minimum.

The scientific investigations will cover all plants and animals, and their relationship to other sub-Antarctic islands. A bird census will include the banding of northern giant petrel chicks and a sample of the breeding and fledgling wandering albatross. Specimens of parakeets and Antipodes Island snipe may be trapped and returned to New Zealand to establish a breeding stock for the Mount Bruce sanctuary of the wildlife branch.

A census of the fur seal and elephant seal population is planned, as is an investigation into the house mouse population.

The R.N.Z.A.F. has provided a set of photographs showing aspects of the coastline, but because of mist, details for map-making have never been visible, and details of the island’s topography are vague.

Some mapping may be needed by the expedition, and equipment for this will be lent by the university’s civil engineering department. It is also hoped to keep meteorological records.