Macauley Island
Encyclopedia
Macauley Island is a volcanic
island in New Zealand
's Kermadec Islands
, approximately halfway between New Zealand's North Island and Tonga
in the southwest Pacific Ocean
.
Macauley Island is 3.06 km² (1.181 sq mi) in area, including neighbouring Haszard Island, which is 220 m (722 ft) to the east and about 5 ha (12.4 acre) in area. Macauley's highest point is 238 m (781 ft) Mount Haszard, and it forms part of the rim of a caldera
centred 8 km (5 mi) to the north-west, atop a large submarine volcano
. The volcano's last eruption was in 4360 BC ± 200 years.
and White-necked Petrel
s. Other seabirds recorded as breeding there include Grey Noddies
, Sooty Tern
s, Masked Boobies
, Red-tailed Tropicbird
s, Wedge-tailed Shearwater
s, Kermadec Little Shearwaters
, Kermadec Petrel
s and Kermadec Storm-petrels
. The island also holds a population of the Kermadec Red-crowned Parakeet
. Former populations of goat
s and Kiore have been eradicated.
in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In order to protect the islands's wildlife, Macauley is managed as a nature reserve by the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC). In 2006 DOC used aerial drops of poison bait in order to remove introduced
rat
s.
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
island in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's Kermadec Islands
Kermadec Islands
The Kermadec Islands are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga...
, approximately halfway between New Zealand's North Island and Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
in the southwest Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
Macauley Island is 3.06 km² (1.181 sq mi) in area, including neighbouring Haszard Island, which is 220 m (722 ft) to the east and about 5 ha (12.4 acre) in area. Macauley's highest point is 238 m (781 ft) Mount Haszard, and it forms part of the rim of a caldera
Caldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
centred 8 km (5 mi) to the north-west, atop a large submarine volcano
Submarine volcano
Submarine volcanoes are underwater fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma can erupt. They are estimated to account for 75% of annual magma output. The vast majority are located near areas of tectonic plate movement, known as ocean ridges...
. The volcano's last eruption was in 4360 BC ± 200 years.
Flora and fauna
The island is a breeding site for large numbers of Black-wingedBlack-winged Petrel
The Black-winged Petrel is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family.It is found in Australia, French Polynesia, Japan, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, and the United States.-References:...
and White-necked Petrel
White-necked Petrel
The White-necked Petrel , also known as the White-naped Petrel, is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family. During non-breeding season it occurs throughout a large part of the Pacific, but it is only known to breed on Macauley Island in New Zealand's Kermadec Islands and the Australian...
s. Other seabirds recorded as breeding there include Grey Noddies
Grey Noddy
The Grey Noddy or Grey Ternlet is a seabird belonging to the tern family Sternidae. It was once regarded as a pale morph of the Blue Noddy but is now often considered to be a separate species....
, Sooty Tern
Sooty Tern
The Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Colloquially, it is known as the Wideawake Tern or just wideawake...
s, Masked Boobies
Masked Booby
The Masked Booby, Sula dactylatra, is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. This species breeds on islands in tropical oceans, except in the eastern Atlantic; in the eastern Pacific it is replaced by the Nazca Booby, Sula granti, which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of Masked Booby...
, Red-tailed Tropicbird
Red-tailed Tropicbird
The Red-tailed Tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, is a seabird that nests across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the rarest of the tropicbirds, yet is still a widespread bird that is not considered threatened. It nests in colonies on oceanic islands....
s, Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
The Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus pacificus is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a Muttonbird, like the Sooty Shearwater of New Zealand and the Short-tailed Shearwater of Australia...
s, Kermadec Little Shearwaters
Little Shearwater
The Little Shearwater is a small shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae.mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data indicates that the former North Atlantic Little Shearwater group is closer to Audubon's Shearwater , and myrtae being closer to the Newell's and possibly Townsend's Shearwater...
, Kermadec Petrel
Kermadec Petrel
The Kermadec Petrel is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae family.-Distribution:It is found in Australia, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Micronesia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Pitcairn, and the United States....
s and Kermadec Storm-petrels
White-faced Storm-petrel
The White-faced Storm Petrel , also known as White-faced Petrel is a small seabird of the storm-petrel family. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Pelagodroma....
. The island also holds a population of the Kermadec Red-crowned Parakeet
Kermadec Red-crowned Parakeet
The Kermadec Red-crowned Parakeet , also known as the Kermadec Red-fronted Parakeet or Kermadec Parakeet, is a parrot endemic to New Zealand's Kermadec Islands in the south-west Pacific Ocean. It is a subspecies of the Red-fronted Parakeet, and sometimes considered a full species...
. Former populations of goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s and Kiore have been eradicated.
Conservation
The original forest cover of the island had been burnt off and goats were introduced as food for shipwreck survivors. The goats were eradicated by the New Zealand Wildlife ServiceNew Zealand Wildlife Service
The New Zealand Wildlife Service is a defunct government department that was replaced by the Department of Conservation in 1987.-External links:* - New Zealand Wildlife Service collection...
in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In order to protect the islands's wildlife, Macauley is managed as a nature reserve by the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC). In 2006 DOC used aerial drops of poison bait in order to remove introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s.
See also
- Island restorationIsland restorationThe ecological restoration of islands, or island restoration, is the application of the principles of ecological restoration to islands and island groups. Islands, due to their isolation, are home to many of the world's endemic species, as well as important breeding grounds for seabirds and some...
- List of islands of New Zealand
- List of volcanoes in New Zealand
- New Zealand outlying islandsNew Zealand Outlying IslandsThe New Zealand outlying islands comprise nine island groups, located in the subtropics and subantarctic, which are part of New Zealand but lie outside of the New Zealand continental shelf. Although considered as integral parts of New Zealand, seven of the nine island groups are not part of any...
Sources
- Volcanic history of Macauley Island, Kermadec Ridge, New Zealand, Royal Society of New Zealand]
- Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand (2006) Rats removed from Macauley Island. Forest and Bird 321: 8.
External links
- Department of Conservation - Kermadec Islands page
- Map of Macauley and Giggenbach submarine volcanoes—Picture of island and article by Ian Wright, Ocean Geology, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Wellington, New Zealand
- Te Ara - the Encyclopaedia of New Zealand - "The last goat on Macauley Island"