By-catch mortality in the commercial gillnet fisheries is thought have driven significant declines over the past two decades, both on predator-free islands, such as Whenua Hou, and along the mainland coast; . Modelling has found a likely correlation between changing sea surface temperature and penguin vital rates, whereby productivity and survival are projected to decline under predicted climate change (Mattern et al. 2017). This has been seen in the Boulder Beach colony, where changes in SST have been found to account for 33% of the population fluctuations (Mattern et al. 2017). Human disturbance, particularly from unregulated tourists at breeding areas, negatively affects energy budgets, fledgling weight and probability of survival (McClung et al. 2004; Ellenberg et al. 2007, 2009, 2013), with human to penguin distance being a predictor of the likelihood of defensive behaviour;
The current minimum approach guideline for all wildlife there is a distance of 5 m, yet the appropriateness of this has never been scientifically validated.
On Enderby Island, tourists approached to a median minimum distance of 27 m, where the probability of disturbance is 0.65, and 39% of tourists approached to a minimum distance of < 21 m, where the probability of disturbance is > 0.87
Enderby Island, Auckland Island archipelago (50°29′45′′S 166°17′44′′E)
We collected all behavioural data at Penguin Alley, a section of Sandy Bay, Enderby Island, that is frequently used by penguins transiting to and from their nests and tourists arriving/departing and setting off/returning from walks on the island;
National external (individual, groups. e.g., hunters, anglers, photographers, tourists)
International external (individual, groups. e.g., hunters, anglers, photographers, tourists)
If more than one box ticked, please provide more details
tourists are the primary users
Is the use part of a strategy to generate conservation incentives, to finance conservation, or to improve tolerance/stewardship?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting the conservation status of the species? HIDE
Yes – use is negatively affecting the status (e.g., population is declining; extraction effort is increasing)
Is there evidence that the use is affecting natural selection?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting poaching of illegal wildlife trade?
Unknown/not reported
Is there any evidence that this use of the species is having a knock-on effect on the status of non-target species
Unknown/not recorded
Unknown/not recorded
Details of assessment carried out
As tourist visitation is infrequent and at low levels on Enderby Island, these penguins may not have had the opportunity to become habituated to humans. However, the lack of habituation by Yellow-eyed Penguins on mainland New Zealand (where the level of tourism is much higher and continuous year-round) indicates that habituation to tourism may not be possible.
Has a valuation of financial flows from this use at the site/national/international level been recorded
French, R. , Muller, C. G., Chilvers, B. L., & Battley, P. (2019). Behavioural consequences of human disturbance on subantarctic Yellow-eyed Penguins Megadyptes antipodes. Bird Conservation International, 29(2), 277–290. Cambridge University Press.
Human presence caused a significant drop in the probability of a successful transit to or from their nest, and significantly increased the time penguins spent alert and decreased the time spent preening. Modelling showed the distance from a human to a penguin is a significant predictor of the likelihood of a bird displaying disturbance behaviour, with the current minimum approach guideline of 5 m not sufficient for preventing disturbance. Unregulated tourism has been shown to decrease juvenile survival in their first year as a result of lower fledging weights, affecting population recruitment (McClung et al. 2004).
Threats/pressures impacting the species at the scale of this record