A pre-eradication survey of Wedge-tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificuson Monuriki, Mamanuca Group, Fiji

A brief visit to Monuriki, an island in Fiji’s Mamanuca group was completed in March-April 2011 to gather baseline data on the island’s population of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters Puffinus pacificusprior to the eradication of alien invasive Polynesian Rat Rattus exulansand feral goats Capra hircusfrom the island in December 2011. We estimated an island-wide population of 2,000-5,500 pairs of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, the largest population recorded in Fiji. Productivity was estimated to be 40%. It is anticipated these baseline figures will be used to assess the impacts that the removal of invasive mammals has on the population.