| aspergillosis and other causes of mortality in the stitchbird in new zealand. | necropsy findings from natural deaths in free living and captive stitchbirds (notiomystis cincta) were examined over a 3 yr period (november 1991-94) to establish whether disease was an important factor in translocation failures and captive breeding programs undertaken by the new zealand department of conservation. fresh and fixed material from seven free-living birds and 11 captive birds were examined and were compared with those of a retrospective study of archival material from captive and wi ... | 1999 | 10479082 |
| aspergillosis in hihi (notiomystis cincta) on mokoia island. | an intensive 2-year field study of 65 hihi (or stitchbirds) on mokoia island provided an opportunity to investigate the causes of mortality of this endangered species in a free-living environment. | 1999 | 16032079 |
| influences of carotenoid supplementation on the integrated antioxidant system of a free living endangered passerine, the hihi (notiomystis cincta). | the integrated antioxidant system is recognised as an essential component of an organisms self maintenance. our knowledge of this system, however, is largely restricted to species of economic importance. the health and productivity benefits these dietary based compounds provide make them increasingly relevant for study in wildlife ecology. the aim of this research was to identify numerous components of this integrated system in a free living and endangered passerine bird, the hihi. in addition e ... | 2006 | 16406271 |
| pruritic facial dermatitis in a population of free-living stitchbirds. | from september 2001 to february 2005, observations of an island population of the new zealand stitchbird (notiomystis cincta) revealed a progressive feather-losing dermatitis, which developed during the breeding season around the birds' eyes, base of the bill, and ventral neck. the lesions were significantly more likely to develop in males (96%) than females (51%), with males exhibiting a more severe form of the condition at the end of the breeding season. histology from a dead bird revealed the ... | 2007 | 17495311 |
| maternally invested carotenoids compensate costly ectoparasitism in the hihi. | dietary ingested carotenoid biomolecules have been linked to both improved health and immunity in nestling birds. here, we test whether maternally invested egg carotenoids can offset the cost of parasitism in developing nestling hihi (notiomystis cincta) from the bloodsucking mite (ornithonyssus bursa). our results reveal clear negative effects of parasitism on nestlings, and that maternally derived carotenoids compensate this cost, resulting in growth parameters and ultimate mass achieved being ... | 2009 | 19620733 |
| candida albicans infection in free-living populations of hihi (stitchbird; notiomystis cincta). | to describe the occurrence of candidiasis in hihi (stitch-bird; notiomystis cincta) nestlings, and investigate the carriage and impact of candida albicans infection in a free-living population of hihi. | 2010 | 21151216 |
| aspergillus fumigatus densities in relation to forest succession and edge effects: implications for wildlife health in modified environments. | the hihi (or stitchbird, notiomystis cincta) is a new zealand endemic nectivorous forest bird now restricted to one pristine island. relocation to establish viable hihi populations on other islands has been the main conservation action since the early 1980s. to date, hihi reintroductions to young growth islands have had poor success despite the absence of mammalian predators. it was thought that past failures were due to food limitation, but research suggests that food limitation alone cannot ac ... | 2011 | 22076057 |
| patterns of mortality for each life-history stage in a population of the endangered new zealand stitchbird. | 1. using data from 396 breeding attempts over an 8-year period, we investigated age- and stage-specific survival rates and their modifying factors in a closed island population of the new zealand stitchbird (or hihi, notiomystis cincta du bus). 2. survival probability generally increased over time; however, at each life-history transition, survival in the new stage started lower than at the end of the previous stage, creating a 'saw-tooth' function of age-related survival. 3. the probability of ... | 2009 | 19302320 |
| age-specific variation in reproduction is largely explained by the timing of territory establishment in the new zealand stitchbird notiomystis cincta. | 1. using data from 327 nests over a consecutive 8-year period we examined age-specific variation in reproduction in a population of stitchbirds (or hihi) notiomystis cincta and related how differences in reproductive performance were linked to the timing of territory establishment and breeding. 2. across the population all reproductive parameters showed a quadratic relationship with an increase mainly between the first and second breeding season and a decline after the fourth year. a longitudina ... | 2007 | 17439463 |
| wildlife diseases in new zealand: recent findings and future challenges. | our knowledge of diseases in new zealand wildlife has expanded rapidly in the last two decades. much of this is due to a greater awareness of disease as a cause of mortality in some of our highly threatened species or as a limiting factor to the successful captive rearing of intensely managed species such as hihi (notiomystis cincta), kiwi (apteryx spp.) and kakapo (strigops habroptilus). an important factor contributing to the increase of our knowledge has been the development of new diagnostic ... | 2019 | 30198397 |
| systematic affinities of two enigmatic new zealand passerines of high conservation priority, the hihi or stitchbird notiomystis cincta and the kokako callaeas cinerea. | | 2006 | 16527495 |
| male provisioning is negatively correlated with attempted extrapair copulation frequency in the stitchbird (or hihi). | in species with biparental care of offspring and high levels of extrapair parentage, paired males may suffer reduced fitness by investing in offspring that are not their own. in such instances, males are predicted to evolve some form of discrimination between kin and nonkin and vary investment accordingly. one simple form of discrimination is to follow behavioural cues to paternity. we investigated paternal contribution to chick rearing in a socially monogamous population of stitchbirds, notiomy ... | 2000 | 11032645 |
| characterization of microsatellite loci in the hihi notiomystis cincta (notiomystidae, aves). | we have characterized 20 polymorphic microsatellite loci in the hihi notiomystis cincta. loci were identified by testing loci originally isolated in other avian species and by isolating new microsatellites from a hihi genomic library. these loci were characterized in unrelated hihi from a single population on tiritiri matangi island (n = 98). each locus displayed between two and 10 alleles, and observed heterozygosities ranged between 0.29 and 0.91. nineteen of the 20 polymorphic loci could be a ... | 2009 | 21564894 |
| sensitive males: inbreeding depression in an endangered bird. | attempts to conserve threatened species by establishing new populations via reintroduction are controversial. theory predicts that genetic bottlenecks result in increased mating between relatives and inbreeding depression. however, few studies of wild sourced reintroductions have carefully examined these genetic consequences. our study assesses inbreeding and inbreeding depression in a free-living reintroduced population of an endangered new zealand bird, the hihi (notiomystis cincta). using mol ... | 2010 | 20591862 |
| high genetic diversity in the remnant island population of hihi and the genetic consequences of re-introduction. | the maintenance of genetic diversity is thought to be fundamental for the conservation of threatened species. it is therefore important to understand how genetic diversity is affected by the re-introduction of threatened species. we use establishment history and genetic data from the remnant and re-introduced populations of a new zealand endemic bird, the hihi notiomystis cincta, to understand genetic diversity loss and quantify the genetic effects of re-introduction. our data do not support any ... | 2011 | 21073589 |
| demographic consequences of adult sex ratio in a reintroduced hihi population. | 1. male-biased adult sex ratios are frequently observed in free-ranging populations and are known to cause changes in mating behaviours including increased male harassment of females, which can cause injury to females and/or alter female behaviour during breeding. 2. although we can explain why such behaviours may evolve and have studied their impacts on individuals when it does, we know very little about the demographic consequences of harassment caused by changes in adult sex ratio. 3. using a ... | 2011 | 21083871 |
| sense and sensitivity: responsiveness to offspring signals varies with the parents' potential to breed again. | how sensitive should parents be to the demands of their young? offspring are under selection to seek more investment than is optimal for parents to supply, which makes parents vulnerable to losing future fitness by responding to manipulative displays. yet, parents cannot afford to ignore begging and risk allocating resources inefficiently. here, we show that parents may solve this problem by adjusting their sensitivity to begging behaviour in relation to their own likelihood of breeding again, a ... | 2011 | 21270035 |
| coccidiosis in hihi/stitchbirds (notiomystis cincta) due to coccidia of the eimeriidae. | to describe the pathology of coccidiosis in hihi and to provide preliminary data on the taxonomy of the coccidia involved using molecular methods. | 2013 | 22992170 |
| coccidia species in endemic and native new zealand passerines. | new zealand native passerines are hosts to a large variety of gastrointestinal parasites, including coccidia. coccidian parasites are generally host-specific, obligate intracellular protozoan parasites. in passerine birds, members of the genus isospora are most common. under natural conditions, these parasites seldom pose a threat, but stressors such as quarantine for translocation, overcrowding, or habitat changes may cause an infection outbreak that can severely affect wild populations. althou ... | 2013 | 23468142 |
| sexually selected dichromatism in the hihi notiomystis cincta: multiple colours for multiple receivers. | why do some bird species show dramatic sexual dichromatism in their plumage? sexual selection is the most common answer to this question. however, other competing explanations mean it is unwise to assume that all sexual dichromatism has evolved by this mechanism. even if sexual selection is involved, further work is necessary to determine whether dichromatism results from competition amongst rival males, or by female choice for attractive traits, or both. here, we test whether sexually dichromat ... | 2014 | 24836349 |
| foraging for carotenoids: do colorful male hihi target carotenoid-rich foods in the wild? | dietary access to carotenoids is expected to determine the strength of carotenoid-based signal expression and potentially to maintain signal honesty. species that display carotenoid-based yellow, orange, or red plumage are therefore expected to forage selectively for carotenoid-rich foods when they are depositing these pigments during molt, but whether they actually do so is unknown. we set out to address this in the hihi (notiomystis cincta), a new zealand passerine where males, but not females ... | 2014 | 25214753 |
| improving supplementary feeding in species conservation. | supplementary feeding is often a knee-jerk reaction to population declines, and its application is not critically evaluated, leading to polarized views among managers on its usefulness. here, we advocate a more strategic approach to supplementary feeding so that the choice to use it is clearly justified over, or in combination with, other management actions and the predicted consequences are then critically assessed following implementation. we propose combining methods from a set of specialist ... | 2015 | 25354808 |
| investigation of mortalities associated with salmonella spp. infection in wildlife on tiritiri matangi island in the hauraki gulf of new zealand. | salmonellosis was suspected as the cause of death in eight wild animals on tiritiri matangi island, in the hauraki gulf of new zealand, between november and september 2011, including three hihi (notiomystis cincta), a tuatara (sphenodon punctatus), a masked lapwing (vanellus miles novaehollandiae), and a saddleback (philesturnus carunculatus). an outbreak investigation to identify the source and distribution of infection was undertaken over the summer of 2011-2012. | 2015 | 25482376 |
| integration over song classification replicates: song variant analysis in the hihi. | human expert analyses are commonly used in bioacoustic studies and can potentially limit the reproducibility of these results. in this paper, a machine learning method is presented to statistically classify avian vocalizations. automated approaches were applied to isolate bird songs from long field recordings, assess song similarities, and classify songs into distinct variants. because no positive controls were available to assess the true classification of variants, multiple replicates of autom ... | 2015 | 25994687 |
| determinants of male floating behaviour and floater reproduction in a threatened population of the hihi (notiomystis cincta). | floating males are usually thought of as nonbreeders. however, some floating individuals are able to reproduce through extra-pair copulations. floater reproductive success can impact breeders' sex ratio, reproductive variance, multiple paternity and inbreeding, particularly in small populations. changes in reproductive variance alter the rate of genetic drift and loss of genetic diversity. therefore, genetic management of threatened species requires an understanding of floater reproduction and d ... | 2015 | 26366197 |
| a comparison of disease risk analysis tools for conservation translocations. | conservation translocations are increasingly used to manage threatened species and restore ecosystems. translocations increase the risk of disease outbreaks in the translocated and recipient populations. qualitative disease risk analyses have been used as a means of assessing the magnitude of any effect of disease and the probability of the disease occurring associated with a translocation. currently multiple alternative qualitative disease risk analysis packages are available to practitioners. ... | 2017 | 27638471 |
| facial bristle feather histology and morphology in new zealand birds: implications for function. | knowledge of structure in biology may help inform hypotheses about function. little is known about the histological structure or the function of avian facial bristle feathers. here we provide information on morphology and histology, with inferences for function, of bristles in five predominantly insectivorous birds from new zealand. we chose species with differing ecologies, including: brown kiwi (apteryx mantelli), morepork (ninox novaezealandae), hihi (notiomystis cincta), new zealand robin (p ... | 2011 | 21069752 |
| three new species of myrsidea (phthiraptera: menoponidae) from new zealand passerines (aves: passeriformes). | myrsidea ivanliteraki new species, m. novaeseelandiae new species, and m. hihi new species are described and illustrated from new zealand birds, with gymnorhina tibicen, anthornis melanura and notiomystis cincta as type hosts respectively. also, myrsidea vincula is redescribed and illustrated from one sample ex strepera fuliginosa from australia. keys for the identification of females and males of the five species of myrsidea recorded from new zealand are also given. | 2016 | 27395595 |
| floater males gain reproductive success through extrapair fertilizations in the stitchbird. | we used minisatellite dna profiling to assign parentage to stitchbird, notiomystis cincta, chicks from a breeding population on tiritiri matangi island off the coast of the north island of new zealand. the small population size allowed samples to be collected from all potential parents and nearly (33/34 nestlings) complete assignment of paternity. analysis revealed that 35% of nestlings (12/34) were the result of extrapair copulation and that extrapair young were present in 80% of nests (8/10). ... | 1999 | 10458883 |
| avian malaria in new zealand. | avian malaria parasites of the genus plasmodium have the ability to cause morbidity and mortality in naïve hosts, and their impact on the native biodiversity is potentially serious. over the last decade, avian malaria has aroused increasing interest as an emerging disease in new zealand with some endemic avian species, such as the endangered mohua (mohua ochrocephala), thought to be particularly susceptible. to date, avian malaria parasites have been found in 35 different bird species in new zea ... | 2014 | 24313228 |
| sub-lingual oral fistulas in free-living stitchbirds (notiomystis cincta). | sub-lingual oral fistulas are a consistently observed lesion affecting the new zealand stitchbird (hihi: notiomystis cincta). this lesion, which has not been reported in other species, is usually only recognized when the tongue protrudes below the bird's mandible from a hole in the oral-cavity floor. in this study, we surveyed the prevalence of oral fistulas in a free-living population of stitchbirds on tiritiri matangi island in 2002, 2003 and 2005. between surveys, individuals with a fistula w ... | 2007 | 17479369 |
| condition dependence of nestling mouth colour and the effect of supplementing carotenoids on parental behaviour in the hihi (notiomystis cincta). | carotenoids are integument pigments that often reflect foraging efficiency, disease resistance and body condition. in contrast to the widespread attention this relationship has received in adult birds, the condition dependence of nestling colouration remains an understudied component of animal communication. here we assess the condition dependence of carotenoid pigmentation in nestling hihi (notiomystis cincta, an endangered new zealand bird) and examine the influence of carotenoid supplementati ... | 2008 | 18546021 |
| little adaptive potential in a threatened passerine bird. | threatened species face numerous threats, including future challenges triggered by global change. a possible way to cope with these challenges is through adaptive evolution, which requires adaptive potential. adaptive potential is defined as the genetic variance needed to respond to selection and can be assessed either on adaptive traits or fitness [1]. however, a lack of high-quality data has made it difficult to rigorously test adaptive potential in threatened species, leading to controversy o ... | 2019 | 30799244 |
| older and wiser? age differences in foraging and learning by an endangered passerine. | birds use cues when foraging to help relocate food resources, but natural environments provide many potential cues and choosing which to use may depend on previous experience. young animals have less experience of their environment compared to adults, so may be slower to learn cues or may need to sample the environment more. whether age influences cue use and learning has, however, received little experimental testing in wild animals. here we investigate effects of age in a wild population of hi ... | 2018 | 29273549 |
| polygenic basis for adaptive morphological variation in a threatened aotearoa | new zealand bird, the hihi (notiomystis cincta). | to predict if a threatened species can adapt to changing selective pressures, it is crucial to understand the genetic basis of adaptive traits, especially in species historically affected by severe bottlenecks. we estimated the heritability of three hihi (notiomystis cincta) morphological traits known to be under selection (nestling tarsus length, body mass and head-bill length) using 523 individuals and 39 699 single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) from a 50 k affymetrix snp chip. we then exami ... | 2020 | 32842928 |
| links between personality, early natal nutrition and survival of a threatened bird. | there is growing recognition that variation in animal personality traits can influence survival and reproduction rates, and consequently may be important for wildlife population dynamics. despite this, the integration of personality research into conservation has remained uncommon. alongside the establishment of personality as an important source of individual variation has come an increasing interest in factors affecting the development of personality. recent work indicates the early environmen ... | 2019 | 31352895 |
| considering extinction of dependent species during translocation, ex situ conservation, and assisted migration of threatened hosts. | translocation, introduction, reintroduction, and assisted migrations are species conservation strategies that are attracting increasing attention, especially in the face of climate change. however, preventing the extinction of the suite of dependent species whose host species are threatened is seldom considered, and the effects on dependent species of moving threatened hosts are unclear. there is no published guidance on how to decide whether to move species, given this uncertainty. we examined ... | 2012 | 22443127 |
| can threatened species adapt in a restored habitat? no expected evolutionary response in lay date for the new zealand hihi. | many bird species have been observed shifting their laying date to earlier in the year in response to climate change. however, the vast majority of these studies were performed on non-threatened species, less impacted by reduced genetic diversity (which is expected to limit evolutionary response) as a consequence of genetic bottlenecks, drift and population isolation. here, we study the relationship between lay date and fitness, as well as its genetic basis, to understand the evolutionary constr ... | 2019 | 30828369 |
| traumatic ventriculitis following consumption of introduced insect prey (hymenoptera) in nestling hihi (notiomystis cincta). | nestling mortality in the endangered and endemic hihi, also called stitchbird (notiomystis cincta), was studied over the 2008-09 breeding season at zealandia-karori sanctuary, wellington, new zealand. histopathology showed traumatic ventriculitis in seven of 25 (28%) dead nestlings. single or multiple granulomas centered on chitinous insect remnants were found lodged within the gizzard mucosa, muscle layers, and ventricular or intestinal serosa. the insect remnants were confirmed as bee or wasp ... | 2013 | 23307374 |