I have been interested and working with hihi since I was involved with establishing the Tiritiri Matangi island population through translocation in 1995. I am now employed as a Research Fellow at the Zoological Society of London and have been here since 2004. My research is multi-disciplinary and focusses on small population biology and management. I use decision science to assist in planning hihi management and drive our applied research with this species and have experience in molecular and behavioural ecology, wildlife health and nutrition and reintroduction biology.
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‘SPERM RACE’ HIGHLIGHTS PLIGHT OF NATIVE NEW ZEALAND BIRD Saving one of New Zealand’s vulnerable birds could come down to the speed of its sperm. Scientists working to save the hihi – or stitchbird -have devised a global competition for punters to guess which bird has the fastest little swimmers and raise money for hihi […]
Older and wiser? Age differences in foraging and learning by an endangered passerine Published in: Behavioural Processes Authors: Victoria R. Franks & Rose Thorogood Abstract: Birds use cues when foraging to help relocate food resources, but natural environments provide many potential cues and choosing which to use may depend on previous experience. Young animals […]
Listen here:Â BBC Radio 4 – Start the Week Amol Rajan discusses the uneasy interaction between the animal kingdom and humans. The anthropologist Alice Roberts looks back to the moment hunter-gatherers changed their relationship with other species and began to tame them, paving the way for our civilisation. Gaia Vince visits the Pacific Coast of Costa […]
Marsden Fund Success! What is the optimal level of complexity to consider when predicting population dynamics? The conventional wisdom is to keep models as simple as possible. However, the recent explosion of research on individual variation in animal personalities and life history traits is increasing our capacity to generate complex individual-based models of population dynamics. […]
 Listen here: BBC Radio 4 – Start the Week Amol Rajan discusses the uneasy interaction between the animal kingdom and humans. The anthropologist Alice Roberts looks back to the moment hunter-gatherers changed their relationship with other species and began to tame them, paving the way for our civilisation. Gaia Vince visits the Pacific Coast of Costa […]
Published in: Biological Conservation Authors: Doug Armstrong (1), Christie Le Coeur (2), Joanne M. Thorne (1), Julia Panfylova (1), Tim G. Lovegrove (3), Peter G.H. Frost (4) and John G. Ewen (5) (1) Wildlife Ecology Group, Massey University, PB 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand (2) Centre d’Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation, Sorbonne Universités, MNHN, CNRS, UPMC, Paris, France (3) Auckland […]
One of New Zealand’s rarest bush birds, the hihi or stitchbird, has returned to Taranaki after 130 years. Forty hihi were released into the bush at Rotokare Scenic Reserve near Eltham on Sunday, sanctuary manager Simon Collins said. The birds, 20 males and 20 females, were translocated from Tiritiri Matangi in the Hauraki Gulf. Full article […]
In the heart of New Zealand’s Waikato region, rising out of a sea of gently rolling pastoral farmland, is an imposing remnant of ancient forest that draws you in. Maungatautari Mountain. Recently, Leila Walker had the good fortune of exploring Maungatautari’s slopes intent on tracking down hihi. She shares her experience in this blog for the Journal of Animal […]
Published in: Ecohealth Authors: Antonia Eleanor Dalziel (1,2), Anthony W. Sainsbury (1), Kate McInnes (3), Richard Jakob-Hoff (4), and John G. Ewen (1) (1) Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London UK (2) Royal Veterinary College, London, UK (3) Department of Conservation, Conservation House – Whare Kaupapa Atawhai, Wellington, New Zealand (4) New Zealand Centre for Conservation Medicine, Auckland, New Zealand Abstract: Conservation translocations are increasingly used […]
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Please join us in a short history of hihi conservation and the central role that Tiritiri Matangi island has played in the return of hihi to parts of their former range. Our story focusses on these most colourful and charismatic of New Zealand’s endemic birds. We share their history, some of their extreme behaviours and […]
