A note on the 1997 survey of the translocated Ultramarine Lory Vini ultramarina population on Fatu Hiva, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia

Abstract

In 1991 a survey was conducted in the Marquesas Islands to determine the current range and population size of the Ultramarine Lory Vini ultramarina. A total of 313 birds were counted, restricted to one island, Ua Huka. A translocation program was initiated to capture and relocate birds to a less disturbed island. Fatu Hiva, an island within the historical range of the species, was chosen to establish a second population. This island still supports suitable habitat and does not have a resident population of Rattus rattus, which may have contributed to the decline of the species on Nuka Hiva and Ua Pou. Increased agriculture, grazing herbivores, bees, and banana plant disease may have also contributed to the decline.