Behaviour during handling predicts male natal dispersal distances in an establishing reintroduced hihi (Notiomystis cincta) population

Abstract

Natal dispersal is a complex behaviour influenced by multiple factors that are often sex-specific and density-dependent. Reintroduced populations are typically low in density in the initial years of establishment; hence, understanding natal dispersal patterns in this context is a critical component of reintroduction biology. Natal dispersal is a key behaviour that influences both the probability of recruitment, and simultaneously dictates the spatial configuration of the reintroduced population as it establishes. Here, we examine natal dispersal in a reintroduced population of an endangered New Zealand forest passerine, the hihi, Notiomystis cincta, in the first 3 years after reintroduction to a large, mature forest reserve. We examined (1) differences between the sexes, and (2) the relationship between temperament and natal dispersal distances (NDD) in locally bred hihi over this time period. We found NDD varied widely in both sexes, with mean NDD significantly higher in males than females. There was a sex-specific effect of temperament, with males that distress-called during handling dispersing further than those that did not. Our results show that while clusters of individuals have established across the reserve due to conspecific attraction, there is movement between these clusters, primarily a consequence of dispersal of males of a distinct temperament. Continuing to monitor natal dispersal patterns as populations establish will provide further insights into the role of dispersal in shaping establishment patterns in reintroduced populations.

Urban Great Tits (Parus major) Show Higher Distress Calling and Pecking Rates than Rural Birds across Europe

“…In the Japanese quail Coturnix japonica, distress calling was positively related to the excretion of corticosterone metabolites, implying that high levels of distress calling are related to proactivity (Niall Daisley et al, 2005). Distress calling has therefore been used as a proxy of proactivity in several studies (Andersen, 2012;Pascual and Senar, 2014;Thorsteinsen, 2015;Richardson et al, 2016). Aggression has also been regarded as a typical response of proactive copers to stressful situations (Koolhaas et al, 1999;Carere et al, 2010), and pecking rate during handling is classically used to compare level of proactivity among individuals (Brommer and Kluen, 2012;van den Brink et al, 2012a,b;Class et al, 2014;Kluen et al, 2014;Dubuc-Messier et al, 2017).…”

Long‐term reevaluation of spatially explicit models as a means for adaptive wildlife management

“…This new information will undoubtedly affect management decision regarding the Persian fallow deer and its reintroduction in northern Israel adapting management procedures that give preference to reducing the impact of wolves on the deer, but using protocols that do not require wolf culling, such as new locations for deer releases outside of the wolves current range, pre‐release anti‐predator training (Bell ), and assessment and selection of specific deer personality types that are less susceptible to predation (Richardson et al. ).…”

A novel method for using ecoacoustics to monitor post‐translocation behaviour in an endangered passerine

“…Hihi went extinct on mainland New Zealand in the 1880s and survived solely on Te Hauturu‐o‐Toi/Little Barrier Island, due to the predator‐free environment. Successful reintroduction programmes established populations on two further islands—Tiritiri Matangi and Kapiti—and three predator‐free mainland reserves: Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, Maungatautari Ecological Island (MEI), and Bushy Park (Richardson et al., ). The inability of hihi to disperse over long distances and high dependence on heavily managed predator‐free environments mean that further increases in hihi population require further translocations, so that post‐translocation monitoring and understanding behaviour after release is of particular importance in this species.…”

“…Hihi have several traits that make them an ideal candidate species for this study. Hihi breed annually between September and March, and the majority breed in their first year (Richardson et al., ). Previous monitoring following hihi released with radiotransmitter tags at MEI found hihi disperse quickly after release, prior to eventual breeding site selection, primarily guided by the movements of female hihi in the first weeks post‐release (Richardson, ).…”