Localised decline in colonies of the short-tailed shearwater: an explanation

Historical declines in local populations of the short-tailed shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris in the Furneaux Group are reviewed; particular attention is paid to information collected on Big Green Island, off Whitemark, Flinders Island. Disease, predators, and introduced stock are dismissed as causative agents in reported declines of colonies, as is changing vegetation. It is proposed that over-harvesting, initially of all stages and later of young, provides an explanation of such reductions, one which is demonstrated using a simple, deterministic model.