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Volume 53, No. 1

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A petrel breeding diversity hotspot: Raivavae Island (Austral Islands, French Polynesia), with a need for conservation action.


Authors

VINCENT BRETAGNOLLE1, YVES DAVID2, THOMAS GHESTEMME3, JEAN-FRANÇOIS BUTAUD4, TEHANI WITHERS3, HADORAM SHIRIHAI5, & JEAN-CLAUDE THIBAULT6

1 Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CEBC-CNRS), Unité mixte de recherche 7372, CNRS & La Rochelle Université, F-79360, Beauvoir sur Niort, France (vincent.bretagnolle@cebc.cnrs.fr)
2 6, La grande demi-ville, F-56690, Landévant, France
3 Société d'Ornithologie de Polynésie Manu, Boîte postale 7023 - 98719, Taravao, Tahiti, Polynésie Française
4 Consultant in Forestry and Polynesian Botany, Boîte postale 52832 - 98716, Pirae, Tahiti, Polynésie Française
5 Travessa do Morgado, Almodôvar, 7700-089, Portugal
6 Casa verde, F-20253, Patrimonio, Corse, France

Citation

Bretagnolle, V., David, Y., Ghestemme, T., Butaud, J.-F., Withers, T., Shirihai, H., & Thibault, J.-C. 2025. A petrel breeding diversity hotspot: Raivavae Island (Austral Islands, French Polynesia), with a need for conservation action. . Marine Ornithology 53: 163 - 171
http://doi.org/10.5038/2074-1235.53.1.1630

Received 27 February 2024, accepted 07 January 2025

Date Published: 2025/04/15
Date Online: 2025/04/02
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Key words: invasive predators, distribution, Pacific, Polynesia, population size, Pterodroma

Abstract

Raivavae is a small island in the Austral Islands of French Polynesia that is surrounded by a lagoon with 28 islets. Its marine avifauna is one of the least known and least studied in French Polynesia. Overall, seabird surveys in the various Austral Islands have been extremely sparse. This study addresses this need, using both historical and recent findings. The results show high species richness, with 10 breeding procellarid species, though none are numerous. We also update the knowledge on breeding petrels from other Austral Islands (except Rapa) and discuss the consequences of these findings in terms of their conservation on an island with cats Felis sp. and rats Rattus sp.

References


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Search by author or title:

Browse previous volumes:

Volumes > 38 (2010-->)

Volumes 28-37 (2000-09)

Volumes 18-27 (1990-99)

Volumes 5-17 (1978-89) a.k.a 'Cormorant'