News Release
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| | | | michelle_reynolds@xxxxxxx|
| December 21, 2007 | Michelle Reynolds |808-967-7396 x | v |
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| | Stephanie Hanna | | shanna@xxxxxxxx |
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| | |206-818-7411 | barbara_maxfield@xxxxxxx |
| | Barbara Maxfield | | |
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| | |808-792-9530 | |
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(Embedded image moved to file: pic14602.jpg)
USGS bio-tech Jimmy Breeden fits a radio transmitter to a
female Laysan Duck. Photo by USFWS
bio-technician Jonathan Shore.
Most Endangered Duck Finds Refuge on Midway Atoll
Population Increases from 42 to 200 in only Three years
The most highly endangered duck species, the Laysan teal, had a very
successful 2007 breeding season at a refuge that was once part of its
historic range, according to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and U.S. Fish
& Wildlife Service biologists. This year’s total tally of adult and
fledgling Laysan ducks, now residing on Midway Atoll National Wildlife
Refuge (NWR), rose during 2007 to approximately 200 ducks. This is only
the third year since these highly endangered birds, also known as Laysan
teal, were trapped in the wild and carefully transported by ship from
their only remaining population on Laysan Island to re-establish a
second population.
“These rare, wild ducks could not co-exist with rats, migrate, or
disperse away from Laysan Island, so a few birds were translocated by
ship to restore the species to a larger range,” USGS wildlife researcher
Michelle Reynolds, coordinator for the project, explained. “Now Laysan
ducks are found on three rat-free islands for the first time in hundreds
of years and are flying between islands at Midway Atoll.”
In 2004 and 2005, 42 wild, mostly juvenile, ducks made a 750-mile
Pacific voyage and were released at Midway Atoll NWR, managed by the
U.S.Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), as a conservation action to increase
the highly endangered duck’s geographic distribution and reduce its risk
of extinction. With the relocated population more than quadrupling in
the first three years, researchers are now optimistic that the project
will help to promote conservation of the species.
The endangered Laysan duck (Anas laysanesis) is considered the rarest
native waterfowl in the United States and occurs only within the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands’ Papahānaumokuākea Marine National
Monument established June 15, 2006. Laysan ducks were once widespread
across the Hawaiian Islands, but, by 1860, they ceased to exist anywhere
except Laysan Island. Laysan Island, also protected as part of the
Hawaiian Islands NWR, is a low lying island (40 feet above sea level)
and home to millions of seabirds. The remote island is a five-day boat
ride from Honolulu.
The re-establishment of a second or “experimental” population at Midway
Atoll NWR reduces the risk of extinction from a catastrophe striking
Laysan Island. The impact of a hurricane, tsunami, new diseases (such as
avian flu), or the accidental introductions of harmful invasive plants
and animal species could easily cause the extinction of Laysan duck as
small, genetically-isolated populations. Since disaster is unlikely to
strike the two populations located a significant distance apart, some
security is provided for the species. Discussions are underway about
the establishment of a third population relocated to another
predator-free island.
Survival and breeding of the ducks was closely tracked. Each “founder
bird” transported from Laysan carried a small transmitter so that it
could be located despite dense vegetation. The post translocation
monitoring revealed that the Laysan duck is capable of using novel
habitats and flight between the small islands that comprise Midway
Atoll. The endangered ducks on Midway Atoll used a wide variety of
vegetation types for nesting and foraging that are not available on
Laysan. “The outlook for the conservation of Laysan duck is more
optimistic, given their ability to nest and forage in unfamiliar and
non-native vegetation,” Reynolds continued.
“We have marked approximately 115 fledgling birds with unique leg bands
during August to December 2007,” reports USGS bio-technician Jimmy
Breeden. The banding effort this year may help the Refuge staff monitor
the population status next year.
“It will soon be possible for visitors to Midway Atoll to view Laysan
Teal in the wild,” said Barry Christenson, FWS Midway Atoll Refuge
Manager. A visitor services program will commence in at Midway Atoll
2008 (see www.fws.gov/midway/VSP /MidwayVSPindex.html). The best time
to view Laysan ducks is in fall and winter before they become secretive
during nesting and brood rearing activities.
The USGS serves the nation by providing reliable scientific information
to: describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and
property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and
mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life.
The U.S. FWS is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving,
protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats
for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages
the 97-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses
548 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other
special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries,
64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations.
The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered
Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally
significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as
wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with
their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance
program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise
taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife
agencies.
Background Information:
Translocation has emerged as a key conservation tool in the recovery of
endangered species on islands. It has been especially useful for
restoring species where they formerly occurred after introduced
predators have been removed or damaged habitats have been repaired.
The Laysan duck was listed as endangered in 1967 because of its small
population size (300~500 birds), small geographic range (approx. 4 sq.
km), and dependence upon a fragile ecosystem.
Laysan ducks are small with multicolored brown feathers, a white
eye-ring, a bluish green wing patch (or speculum) and orange legs and
feet. Most active at night, the birds are famous for their interesting
foraging behavior, a “fly chasing sprint” across the mudflat in Laysan
Island’s interior. The ducks are primarily insect feeders, but also
feed on seeds. The females hide their nests in dense vegetation and
care for ducklings that can walk the day of hatching.
The effort to establish a second population on Midway Atoll NWR has been
a collaborative effort led by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Pacific
Island Ecosystems Research Center and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. This collaborative effort is a model for application of
research for species recovery. The research should provide excellent
information for how to further increase the Laysan duck’s population and
distribution, and may serve as the model for translocations of other
species. The nonprofit groups National Fish and Wildlife Foundation,
Friends of Midway Atoll, and the U.K.’s Wildfowl and Wetland Trust and
numerous volunteers have provided project support to the agencies.
Until 1995, the Laysan Duck was believed to be endemic – that is, found
nowhere else – to its namesake atoll, Laysan Island, but in 1995 bones
found on many of the islands revealed that the small ducks probably
inhabited all of the island chain. The species’ disappearance from the
main Hawaiian Islands was most likely due to the introduction of rats.
Introduced mammalian predators (such as rats and mongooses) may be the
most important factor preventing successful reintroduction of the Laysan
duck to the main islands. The Hawaiian duck, koloa maoli (Anas
wyvilliana), is the only other endemic duck species still found in
Hawai‘i.
USGS provides science for a changing world. For more information, visit
www.usgs.gov.
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Map of study sites: Laysan Island Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife
Refuge and Midway Atoll, NWR.
The source population occurs on Laysan and the translocated population
on Midway Atoll NWR.
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