Mr.SOlitary

Mr. Solitary

Brandon & Jeremy

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction
2. Species
3. Ecosystem
4. Food Web
5. Condition & population before change
6. Big Change
7. Condition & population after change
8. Analysis of cross-cutting concept
9. Source/Citations/Bibliography

1. Introduction

The Kakapo is a species of large, flightless, nocturnal,
ground-dwelling parrots of the super-family Strigopoidea,
endemic to New Zealand.
They have yellow and green feathers and plumage. They have
short legs, big feet, as well as short wings and tail. They are the
world's only parrot that can not fly.

2. Species

Adaptations:
Adaptations the kakapo use to survive in the environment

● Their beak helps them grind food.
● Fur color is green for camouflage.
● Good climbers, as they are flightless.
The birds do not have many adaptations, as they evolved
with few predators and abundant food
Diet:
The beak of the kakapo is adapted for grinding food finely.
For this reason, the kakapo has a very small gizzards
compared to other birds of their size. It is entirely
herbivorous, eating native plants, seeds, fruits, pollen and
even the sapwood of trees. It is particularly fond of the fruit
of the rimu tree, and will feed on it exclusively during
seasons when it is abundant.

Trophic level:
Kakapo’s are secondary consumers. (Herbivores)

3. Ecosystem

Location:
The Kakapos habitat was distributed between the
main islands of New Zealand,
Kakapo lived in a variety of habitats, including
tussocklands, scrublands and coastal areas. It also
inhabited forests dominated by podocarps (rimu,
matai, kahikatea, totara), beeches, tawa, and rata. In
Fiordland, areas of avalanche and slip debris with
regenerating and heavily fruiting vegetation – such as
five finger, wineberry, bush lawyer, tutu, hebes, and
coprosmas – became known as "kakapo gardens".

Climate:
Though they are now confined to islands free of
predation, they were once able to live in nearly any
climate present on the islands of New Zealand. They
survived dry, hot summers on the North Island as well
as cold winter temperatures in the sub-alpine areas of
Fiordland.

Vulnerabilities:
Flightless, no predators, no people. Never learns to
adapt.

Biotic and Abiotic factors in the ecosystem:
Abiotic: Habitat loss, lack of resources.
Biotic: Predators, humans, Dogs, Eagles, Hawks.

4. Food Web

Kakapos eat : Fruit, seeds, bark, roots, Rimu tree
fruit.
Predators of kakapo: Cats, rats, ferrets, and stoats,
dogs, humans(1800s)

Kakapos: They are now kept on predator free,
islands, meaning a food web is not fully in place.

5. Condition and Population
before Change

Fossil records show that in pre-Polynesian times,
Kakapos were the third most common bird. There Used
to be many Kakapos before Human settlement of the
country and European colonization of New Zealand and
surrounding islands.

6. Big Change

Change: Kakapo’s were deeply affected by the arrival of humans.
Maori, the polynesian people of what is now New Zealand, used
Kakapo for food and to craft different items.

Change 2: Kakapo was easy prey, due to the fact that it can not
fly. It’s eggs were preyed upon by rats, which were brought by the
Maori. They also cleared a lot of vegetation, reducing the range
that Kakapo had on the islands.

More: Europeans arrived on New Zealand, and cleared
large parts of the island for agriculture. This decreased
the Kakapos habitat even further. Dogs, cats, rats, and
stoats brought by europeans easily preyed on Kakapo as
well. Thousands of Kakapo were killed or trapped by
europeans to keep for zoos and museums.

7. Analysis of CCC

Humans arrived…

Kakapo was easy prey, due to the fact that it can not fly. The
bird’s eggs were preyed upon by rats, which were brought by the
Maori. They also cleared a lot of vegetation, reducing the
range that Kakapo had on the islands. That one arrival, ended
up killing all of the animals listed following destroying a whole
system:
Cats, rats, ferrets, and stoats, and dogs

Europeans arrived…

They cleared land for agriculture. They released dogs, cats and
stoats. The lack of kakapos keeps population down. This gives
many animals, who used kakapo as prey, less food. Genetic
diversity in Kakapo population decreases, making conservation
efforts even harder.

8. Condition after Change

3. Kakapo Recovery Programme: The New Zealand
Department of Conservation established this
programme. Islands had to be made completely free
from predators. Four islands were chosen.

Around 200 Kakapos are left worldwide, largely in part to
many conservation efforts.

1. Between 1890 and 1930, Kakapo were placed on safer
islands, but were still killed.

2. 1950 to 1980: Many expeditions were made to better
document Kakapo population, and to find if there were
remaining females. Stewart island, where there was a
relatively large Kakapo population, had a feral cat
population. The population was then moved to predator
free islands between 1982 and 1997.

9. Sources/Bibliography

Sources

Digby, A. (2019, March 6). 'Party parrot' is a real, critically-endangered bird. He needs a lot of help. Retrieved from
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/03/endangered-kapako-breeding-technology/.

Bates, M. (2018, June 29). The Creature Feature: 10 Fun Facts About the Kakapo. Retrieved from
https://www.wired.com/2014/03/creature-feature-10-fun-facts-kakapo/.

Kakapo: New Zealand Birds Online. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/kakapo.
Rare kakapo parrots have best breeding season on record. (2019, April 17). Retrieved from
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-47960764.

Extra time!

Gallery :

Core Values:

We can relate to the environmental stewardship and alert humans of how we
destroy the environment, we can definitely fix this now if we act now by caring
them.

We can relate to global awareness since human’s actions have brought this
result… We must alert everyone and fix this issue we have created.

We can relate this to innovation and creativity, as new solutions and ideas
have to be made and implemented to save species such as the Kakapo.