Over the last few decades, understanding the ecology of cities has become important as human populations become increasingly urbanised and urban centres expand into the habitats of wildlife. Wildlife and green spaces play an important role in the lives of urban residents, and cities, and their residents, might play a greater role in the conservation of wildlife. Birds like kererü are important in New Zealand’s forest ecosystems, but how are they also using urban landscapes and what resources and features of those environments are important to their survival and reproduction in the city? And how important is the interaction between people and birds in cities to the quality of our lives and their survival in our midst?
At Victoria University of Wellington we are conducting work with kererü, the diversity of other bird species that share Wellington City, and its residents to answer these questions. Three post-graduate students; Monica Awasthy, John Parker and Jennifer Vinton have been tracking kererü, measuring the diversity and abundance of birds, and surveying residents throughout Wellington City.
Monica, with the help of a team of volunteers, has installed tail-mounted tranmitters on wild and rehabilitated kererü and monitored their nests. The kererü's foods are being tracked through the year by monitoring leaf, flowering and fruiting patterns of their favourite trees. By combining patterns in food availability with kererü movements we hope to understand how Wellignton City provides for kererü needs. You can contribute to our understnading of kererü movements throughout New Zealand and how they use people's gardens by registering your garden and reporting when you see kererü on this web-site.
Jennifer and John have recently completed their surveys of bird diversity and abundance, and how local residents interact and value birds in their backyards. Early analyses are revealing interesting patterns in how birds use Wellington City and the degree to which local residents are aware of, and contribute to, those patterns. A bird's ecology in its native environment influences its habitat preferences in the highly modified urban landscape. People's level of awareness of birds is affected by patterns of bird diversity, and local awareness can also influence how people interact with birds (e.g., feeding, bird-friendly landscaping, etc). We will regularly update this space with more news on the research as it progresses.
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