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The Vini lorikeets of the South Pacific islands are representative of a large suite of birds that have undergone significant population declines and extinctions since the arrival of humans to the region.Of the five Vini species, four are considered vulnerable or endangered with extinction, while two species have become extinct since human occupation of the region began.The threats the lorikeets face are familiar: loss and degradation of habitat, hunting for food, feathers and the pet trade, and the introduction of alien species.Amongst these, it is arguably the introduction of black rats that has had the most significant impact on lorikeet populations.Two species of conservation concern in French Polynesia include the Blue lorikeet Vini peruviana and the Ultramarine lorikeet Vini ultramarina.Both species have undergone significant declines in abundance and range in the recent past following the spread of introduced species across islands within the region.
Conservation efforts for the Ultramarine lorikeet initiated by Société d'Ornithologie de Polynésie – SOP (Ornithological Society of Polynesia) in 2002 were concentrated on the islands of Ua Huka, Fatu Iva ands Ua Pou in the Marquesas Islands.In the later part of 2005 this project will revisit these islands to assess the progress of these efforts and to monitor lorikeet populations.It will be led by Mark Ziembicki in collaboration with SOP. Surveys for the Blue lorikeet will focus on unsurveyed islands and islands for which information is out-dated or poor in the Tuamotu and Society archipelagos.Additionally, rats will be surveyed on all islands where the status of their populations is unknown or on islands otherwise thought to be un-infested.Basic information regarding the lorikeets’ biology, particularly with regard to nesting and feeding preferences, will be collected during the course of the study. Furthermore, the feasibility of future conservation projects on islands within the region, based on logistics, local islander interest and island suitability, will be assessed.
The project will report on key findings, including assessment of the status of lorikeet populations and rat distributions on islands surveyed, progress of conservation efforts initiated in the past and recommendations for future requirements and courses of action.The project will also contribute to our knowledge of other threatened species in the region.By collating basic information regarding the status and conservation requirements of the focal species and by assessing the feasibility of further conservation options this work will essentially act as a foundation for future projects and contribute to an overall conservation strategy for the genus.Future conservation efforts may include translocation programs, introduction of more comprehensive measures for minimising the establishment of rats on un-infested islands, larger scale rat control programs and more extensive use of artificial rat proof nest boxes on islands already infested with rats, and possible eradication of rats from some islands altogether.By acting as focal, flagship species the Vini lorikeets of French Polynesia will contribute to the conservation of birds and biodiversity in the region as a whole.
The LPF is providing funds to this project from 2005.
Financial support: €6,416