高蹺(Himantopus himantopus)度冬族群在八掌溪嘉義市段與台灣沿海各主要棲地數??
台灣地區高蹺?(Himantopus himantopus)的度冬族群出現月份是九月中旬至隔年四月,棲息地主要是在台灣西部沿海之鹽田、魚塭、沙質河口及少數內陸河川,而 1994年成立的台南四草野生動物保護區更是其在台灣的主要繁殖區。 本研究主要從2001年3月~2003年10月進行八掌溪嘉義市段高蹺?族群數量的調查,在 2001.12 月計數到最高數量約 1200 隻,2002.10 月有 1540 隻,連續兩個年度都是全國最高數量,分析環境因子及食物來源皆優於其他各沿海棲地。 在 2003 年 5 月至 9 月調查嘉義沿海高蹺?繁殖配對情形,在 5 月 24 日發現鰲鼓溼地巢數 25 個、幼鳥 14 隻,布袋七區鹽田巢數 9 個,顯示除了台南四草繁殖區外還有其他的繁殖地。 The winter residents of Black- winged Stilts in Taiwan appear in mid-September to next April. Their main habitats are the salt pans, water ponds, sandy river mouths and few inland rivers in western Taiwan. Furthermore, the “Taina Szu-Tao (四草) Wildlife Sanctuary” established in 1994 is their major breeding area. This research is the investigation of the amount of Black- winged Stilt in Pajhang River(八掌溪), Chia-yi city(嘉義市) in 2001, Mar.~ 2003, Oct. The highest amount in 2001, Dec. is about 1200 and in 2002,Oct. is 1540. The amounts of these continuous two years are the highest in Taiwan. To analyze the reasons, the environment and food sources are better than other coastal habitats. In 2003, from May to September, the investigation of mating situation of Black-winged Stilt in Chia-yi coastal areas, twenty five nests and fourteen young birds in Ao-Ku(鰲鼓) wetland; nine nests in Pu-dai (布袋) seven salt pans are found on May 24th. It shows that there are other breeding areas except the breeding areas in Tainan Szu-Tao.
Gannet Investigation: Survivng an Unnatural Disaster
For a unique marine bird, so magnificent and accessible to the public, the Australasian Gannet (Morus serrator) colony found at Cape Kidnappers, 紐西蘭, significantly lacks research. Knowledge of gannet behaviour and how humans could best sustain a relationship with them remains unstudied. M. serrator are colonial monogamous breeders and produce a single chick each breeding season (Ismar, S.M.H. 2013). With the same mate over breeding seasons, pairs work cooperatively sharing the energy input into a single chick. Such parental care leads to highly territorial behaviour (McMeekan, C. P. & Wodzicki, K. A. 1946). This suggests more dominant gannets would claim larger territories to have a greater distance between nests of other birds, to increase the survival of their offspring. With a land-based colony this means the gannets are at risk from land and airborne predators, suggesting more dominant birds will claim territories in the central area as it offers greater safety from predator pressures (Minias, P. 2014). It was hypothesised that birds in the centre will have a greater distance between their nests and have a smaller height compared to those around the periphery of the Plateau Colony. The distances between nests and the heights of nests were recorded in the centre and around the periphery of the colony to determine if there was a correlation between the variables. It was found that centre nests had a greater distance between them and were of a smaller nest height when compared to those around the periphery. Anthropogenic influences from tourism and conservation has the potential to change the evolutionary trajectory of managed populations. This colony is protected by predator control programs. Altering this significant selection pressure has the potential to change the nesting behaviour of this species. Monitoring annual nesting distribution patterns and colony numbers over time, may enable informed development of more sustainable ecotourism and protection of the colony. This investigation provides baseline data to support further research on this colony.