Restoring Resilience - Bream Head a Magnet for Seabirds?

This event is part of Conservation Week 2019 - www.conservationweek.org.nz

The wider Hauraki Gulf region hosts a rich diversity of seabird life and has been recognised as an international ‘Important Bird and Biodiversity Area’ for the diversity and endemism of its resident seabird fauna. Most, especially the burrowing seabirds, are largely limited to breeding on offshore islands. In ecology, resilience is the capacity of an ecosystem to respond to a disturbance by resisting damage and recovering quickly.

Islands, where seabirds dominate their ecology, can best be regarded as ‘seabird islands’. Seabirds play a major role in shaping the ecology of terrestrial communities by acting as links between the land and sea; importing sources of marine derived nutrients into terrestrial communities and strengthening the ecosystems, their resilience.

Communities working on pest control and eradication projects in coastal areas can reap the benefits of more intact ecosystems where native species can flourish and by welcoming seabirds back to areas where they historically have bred. Given Bream Head’s proximity to several very significant nature reserve islands, all predator-free and brimming with seabird life, it has huge potential as a magnet for seabird species.

Chris Gaskin (Project Coordinator, Northern NZ Seabird Trust)

Also, ‘Little penguins in Bream Bay’ – Kerry Lukies (Seabirds Restoration Community Coordinator, Northern NZ Seabird Trust).