Toxic gases and dead birds at Sulphur Bay, Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand | Notornis and Birds New Zealand

[摘要] [First paragraph...]Sulphur Bay, the southernmost inlet of Lake Rotorua, in the central North Island, New Zealand, is unusual in being a loafing and roosting site for many bird species in an active geothermal area. The shores of the bay including, Motutara Point refuge and the nearby Sulphur Point Wildlife Sanctuary, are home to, among others, black-billed (Larus bulleri) and red-billed (L. novaehollandiae) gulls, New Zealand scaup (Aythya novaeseelandiae), black swan (Cygnus atratus), grey duck (Anas superciliosa), bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus), New Zealand dabchick (Tachybaptus rufopectus), banded dotterel (Charadrius bicinctus), cormorants (Phalacrocorax spp.), pied stilt (Himantopus leucocephalus), and Caspian tern (Sterna caspia). The birds roost and feed amongst geothermal features that include clear-flowing hot springs, hot ground, and fumaroles that emit carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrogen sulphide (H2S), water vapour (H2O), and other gases into the atmosphere. seemingly untroubled by the gas emissions.

[学科分类] 动物科学

[关键词] Antarctic tern;Laridae;mortality;New Zealand;predator-free;Snares Islands;Sterna vittata