Tongan megapode
| Tongan megapode | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Megapodiidae |
| Genus: | Megapodius |
| Species: | M. pritchardii
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| Binomial name | |
| Megapodius pritchardii Gray, GR,1864
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| Synonyms | |
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TheTongan megapode(Megapodius pritchardii) is a species ofbirdin the megapode family,Megapodiidae,currentlyendemictoTonga.The species is also known as thePolynesian megapode,and as theNiuafo'ou megapodeafter the island ofNiuafo'outo which it was restricted for many years. The specificepithethonours British consulWilliam Thomas Pritchard.
Distribution and habitat
[edit]The Tongan megapode is the only remaining species of megapode in Tonga out of the four or five species that were present on the islands in prehuman times (as shown through thefossilrecord), and indeed the only species of megapode that survives inPolynesia.[2]Similar extinctions occurred inFijiandNew Caledonia,which apparently had three species in prehistory. The species itself once had a more widespread distribution, occurring across most of Tonga,SamoaandNiue.[3]The cause of all these extinctions and declines was the arrival of humans on the islands, and the associated predation on adults and particularly eggs, as well as predation byintroduced species.
On Niuafo'ou the small human population and remoteness of its habitat probably saved the species. The onlymegapodeto survive human arrival in Western Polynesia, "the megapode nesting grounds were carefully controlled by the ruling chief, thus assuring the continued survival of this population."[4]
Its naturalhabitatis tropical moist lowlandforests.OnNiuafo'ouit is most common on the central caldera. The Tongan megapode, like all megapodes, does notincubateits eggs by sitting on them; instead the species buries them in warm volcanic sands and soil and allows them to develop. On islands in former parts of its range without volcanoes it presumably created mounds of rotting vegetation and laid the eggs there.[2]The young birds are capable of flying immediately after hatching.[5]
Status and conservation
[edit]
The Tongan megapode is principally threatened by the same factors that caused its decline in the rest of Polynesia. Its eggs are still harvested by local people in spite of theoretical government protection, and some hunting still occurs. The species is apparently afforded some protection by the difficulty in reaching its habitat.[5]Because of the vulnerability of the single population an attempt was made totranslocateeggs of this species to new islands,LateandFonualei.The translocation was successful on Fonualei and an estimated 350–500 birds now breed there, but surveys of Late subsequently found that the translocation there had failed.[6]
References
[edit]- ^BirdLife International (2019)."Megapodius pritchardii".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2019:e.T22678625A156113936.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22678625A156113936.en.Retrieved11 November2021.
- ^abSteadman D, (2006).Extinction and Biogeography in Tropical Pacific Birds,University of Chicago Press.ISBN978-0-226-77142-7pp. 291–292
- ^Steadman, David W.; Worthy, Trevor H.;Anderson, Atholl& Walter, Richard (2000)."New species and records of birds from prehistoric sites on Niue, southwest Pacific".Wilson Bulletin.112(2): 165–186.doi:10.1676/0043-5643(2000)112[0165:NSAROB]2.0.CO;2.S2CID86588636.
- ^Kirch, Patrick Vinton; Roger C. Green (2001).Hawaiki, Ancestral Polynesia.Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press. pp.117.ISBN0-521-78879-X.
- ^abWeir, D (1973)."Status and habits ofMegapodius pritchardii".Wilson Bulletin.85(1): 79–82.JSTOR4160299.
- ^Birdlife International (2004) "Megapode survey too late"Downloaded 29 July 2008