262 



G. R. WILLIAMS 



Fig. 1. New Zealand and its main offshore and out- 

 lying islands (from Atkinson and Bell 1973). 



the various mammalian browsers and grazers, 

 the most inimical agents have been black rats 

 (Rattus rattus), Norway rats (R. norvegicus), 

 feral cats, and feral pigs. One would expect 

 the inhospitality or inaccessibility of an island 

 to be a marine species' best protection, and so 

 it has generally proved the greatest losses 

 have occurred on the two major mainland is- 

 lands (North Island and South Island). 

 Bourne (1967) suggested that Polynesians in 

 pre-European times may have caused the ex- 

 tinction of numerous petrels in the Chatham 

 Islands. There are still a few islands on which 

 no exotic mammals occur, but modern trans- 

 port, allied with human curiosity and 

 cupidity, are stripping all but the most wild 

 and remote of these of the protection against 

 invasion they have had so far. Cruises by 

 nature-hungry but sometimes environ- 

 mentally illiterate tourists are beginning to be 

 a local problem. 



The matter of conservation of marine 

 species in New Zealand has stemmed mainly 



from the recognition of the value of certain is- 

 lands as refuges for whole ecosystems, as con- 

 venient areas for study, and as arks for the 

 rescue of the threatened species that can be 

 successfully established on them an often 

 highly hazardous and uncomfortable pro- 

 cedure for men as well as birds. 



Conservation Measures 



By statute, all feral species of birds in New 

 Zealand are automatically protected unless 

 specifically legislated for otherwise. (About 

 50 of our grand total of 285 species have been 

 so legislated for.) One fortunate consequence 

 of this provision is that all new arrivals va- 

 grants or new discoveries are also fully pro- 

 tected. The legislation also states that it is 

 illegal to have in one's possession the nests, 

 eggs, feathers, skins, or bones of any fully 

 protected species unless one has been issued a 

 permit for this purpose. This restriction may 

 apply to institutions as well as to persons. 



After this good start and the setting aside 

 of conservation reserves of various kinds, ac- 

 tive conservation measures depend on making 

 careful and comprehensive surveys of the 

 species and its ecosystem often none too 

 easy a task in the New Zealand region because 

 of the rough seas, the relative inaccessibility 

 of many of the important islands and their 

 ruggedness, and the near-impenetrability of 

 some of the vegetation types they support. 

 Having decided that positive action is neces- 

 sary, the next step is to use all available 

 media to inform the public (local as well as na- 

 tional, if the island is inhabited) of the situa- 

 tion and the proposals for remedying it. As in 

 most other countries, uninformed emotional- 

 ism is one of the most pervasive and serious 

 obstacles to effective conservation because of 

 the political pressure it can generate. 



Apart from formal ecological studies, the 

 New Zealand Wildlife Service uses three main 

 methods to support threatened species (other 

 than the attempts we are making to breed cer- 

 tain freshwater and terrestrial species in 

 captivity): 



The translocation and founding of new 

 colonies in promising or unmodified habitat. 

 Such habitats are not common in New Zea- 

 land because of the ubiquity of the introduced 



