brown teal

Population decline and extinction are often driven by multiple stressors. Since AD 1500, the predicted global extinction rates for birds is estimated to be at least 80-times higher than the long-term background average. Pāteke/brown teal (Anas chlorotis) is a threatened waterfowl endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand, with a current population of c. 2500, spread across two remnant populations and a handful of reintroduction sites. The decline of pāteke since the arrival of humans results from habitat loss and fragmentation, predation, and other anthropogenic interactions.

The brown teal or pateke (Anas chlorotis) is an endangered endemic duck that has declined greatly throughout its range in the last 20 years but about which there is little dietary information to inform the speciesÕ management. We studied the diet of brown teal from six populations (most data were from Great Barrier Island, with additional samples from Northland, Little Barrier Island, Kapiti Island, Mana Island and Karori Wildlife Sanctuary) using feeding observations, gut and faecal analyses.