Auckland Island

Auckland Island is the main island of the eponymous uninhabited archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean. It is part of the New Zealand subantarctic area. It is inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list together with the other New Zealand Subantarctic Islands in the region.

Geography

The island has a land area of about, and is long. It was formed 25 to 10 million years ago from a huge volcanic pile which formed two domes – one centred around Carnley Harbour in the south and another around Disappointment Island to the west. The island is made of volcanic scoria, blanketed in over 2m of peat. It is notable for its steep cliffs and rugged terrain, which rises to over. Prominent peaks include Cavern Peak, at ; Mount Raynal, at ; Mount D'Urville, at ; Mount Easton, at ; and the Tower of Babel, at.
The southern end of the island broadens to a width of, encompassing Carnley Harbour. At the western side a very narrow channel known as Victoria Passage separates the main island from the smaller Adams Island. Adams Island and the southern part of the main island form the crater rim; north of Carnley Harbour's mouth lies Cape Lovitt, the westernmost point of New Zealand.

Flora

There are distinct vegetation zones. There is a band of Southern rātā Metrosideros umbellata around the coast apart from on the western side, the height of which is determined by the shelter, aspect and degree of the slope. The rātā forest may extend into the Chionochloa tussock grasslands but in most places merges into a thick band of low, tight scrub dominated by Dracophyllum longifolium, Ozothamnus vauvilliersii and Myrsine divaricata. This scrub band is almost impenetrable and in places is dense enough to walk on top of.
An expedition report from 1907 describes the scrub thusly:
The scrub band breaks into patches and transitions into extensive grassland of Chionochloa antarctica which in turn merges into a sparsely vegetated fellfield community on the most exposed alpine areas. The megaherbs Anisotome antipoda, Anisotome latifolia, Bulbinella rossii, Pleurophyllum criniferum, Pleurophyllum hookeri, Pleurophyllum speciosum and Stilbocarpa polaris were historically found from the coast into the alpine, however the distribution and populations of these species have been severely impacted by the actions of introduced pigs.

Marine mammals

Port Ross at the north end of Auckland Island is the only breeding site for the New Zealand population of southern right whales. Up to 400 may be found in the harbour during the winter months, and are regularly surveyed by the University of Otago.
A breeding population of New Zealand sea lions is found on the island. 80% of the total population live and breed in the archipelago. The New Zealand Department of Conservation has conducted an annual survey of the population on the islands since 1994.

Bird life

The island is part of the Auckland Island group Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of the significance of the group as a breeding site for several species of seabirds.
The Gibson's albatross Diomedea antipodensis gibsoni, Auckland shag Leucocarbo colensoi, Auckland teal Anas aucklandica, Auckland rail Lewinia muelleri and Auckland snipe Coenocorypha aucklandica are all endemic to the Auckland Island group. Of these only shags are currently breeding on main Auckland Island, in areas where introduced cats and pigs cannot access their nests.
The Auckland Island merganser Mergus australis went extinct in 1902. The population is thought to have been 20–30 breeding pairs prior to predation by introduced pigs and cats. The last specimen was collected as a museum specimen in January 1902.

English name	Māori name	Scientific name	New Zealand Threat Status	Estimated no. breeding pairs on Auckland Islands group	Percentage of world population on Auckland Islands group	Status on main Auckland Island
Gibson's albatross		Diomedea antipodensis gibsoni	Nationally critical	> 5,800	100	Rare
Southern royal albatross	Toroa	Diomedea epomophora	Naturally uncommon	< 100	1	Rare, breeding
Northern royal albatross	Toroa	Diomedea sanfordi	Naturally uncommon	2	< 0.01	Absent
NZ white-capped albatross		Thalassarche cautasteadi	Declining	95,900	> 99	Local colonies
Light-mantled sooty albatross	Pēō / kōputu / toroa haunui / toroa ruru / toroa pango	Phobetria palpebrata	Declining	< 5,000	< 23	Occasional
Northern giant petrel	Pāngurunguru	Macronectes halli	Naturally uncommon	340	3	Rare
Yellow-eyed penguins	Hoiho / takaraha	Megadyptes antipodes	Nationally vulnerable	< 550	35–40	Breeding
Eastern rockhopper penguin		Eudyptes filholi	Nationally critical	< 3,000	1	Local colonies
Erect-crested penguin		Eudyptes sclateri	Declining	No recent records	Unknown	Absent
Snares Cape petrel		Daption capense australe	Naturally uncommon	> 10	1	Absent
White-chinned petrel		Procellaria aequinoctialis	Declining	> 153,000	13	Absent
White-headed petrel		Pterodroma lessonii	Not threatened	> 100,000	40	Absent
Sooty shearwater	Tītī hakoko / hākēkeke / koakoa / totorore / takakau / ōi	Puffinus griseus	Declining	> 10,000	< 1	Absent
Subantarctic diving petrel		Pelecanoides urinatrixexsul	Not threatened	> 1,000	< 1	Absent
Black-bellied storm petrel		Fregetta tropica	Not threatened	> 10,000	> 10	Absent
NZ white-faced storm petrel	Takahikare / takahikare-moana	Pelagodroma marina maoriana	Relict	> 10	< 1	Absent
Grey-backed storm petrel	Reoreo	Garrodia neresis	Relict	> 1,000	> 10	Absent
Lesser fulmar prion		Pachyptia crassirostris	Naturally uncommon	< 1,000	100	Absent
Antarctic prion	Totorore / whiroia	Pachyptila desolata	Naturally uncommon	100,000	< 1	Rare
Auckland Island shag	Kōau / kawau general name for shag or cormorant	Leucocarbo colensoi	Nationally vulnerable	1,500	100	Rare
New Zealand Antarctic tern		Sterna vittata bethunei	Recovering	> 50	> 10	Rare
Southern white-fronted tern		Sterna sterna	Declining	> 50	< 1	Rare
Red-billed gull	Tarāpunga / akiaki / katatē / taketake / makorā / karehākoa	Larus novaehollandiae scopulinus	Nationally vulnerable	< 300	< 1	Rare
Southern Black-backed Gull	Rāpunga / karoro / kōtingotingo / pohio / kaiē / toie	Larus dominicanus dominicanus	Not threatened	< 500	< 1	Occasional
Subantarctic brown skua	Hākoakoa	Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi	Naturally uncommon	> 50	< 1	Occasional
Auckland Island teal	Tētē whero	Anas aucklandica	Nationally vulnerable	500	100	Absent
New Zealand falcon	Karearea	Falco novaeseelandiae	Nationally vulberable	> 15	> 1	Rare
Auckland Island banded dotterel	Pohowera / piopio /	Charadrius bicinctus	Naturally uncommon	> 300	100	Rare
Auckland Island rail		Lewinia muelleri	Naturally uncommon	Unknown	100	Absent
Auckland Island snipe	Hōkio / hākuai/ hākuwai / hōkio	Coenocorypha aucklandica aucklandica	Naturally uncommon	Unknown	100	Absent
Ruddy turnstone		Arenaria interpres	Migrant	Regular in small numbers	< 0.1	Rare
Auckland Island tomtit	Ngirungiru / piropiro / kōmiromiro	Petroica macrocephela marrineri	Naturally uncommon	Unknown	100	Breeding
Auckland Island pipit	Hīoi / pīhoihoi / whioi / kātaitai / whāioio / manu kahaki	Anthus novaeseelandiae aucklandicus	Recovering	> 1,000	100	Breeding
Red-crowned parakeet	Kakariki / porete / kākāwaiariki / kākāwariki / kawariki / pōreterete / pōwhaitere / torete / tōreterete	Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae	Relict	Unknown	Unknown	Occasional
Yellow-crowned parakeet	Kakariki / porete / kākāwaiariki / kākāwariki / kawariki / pōreterete / pōwhaitere / torete / tōreterete	Cyanoramphus auriceps	Not threatened	Unknown	Unknown	Rare
Tui	Tūī	Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae	Not threatened	Unknown	Unknown	Occasional
Bellbird	Korimako	Anthornis melanura	Not threatened	Unknown	Unknown	Common
Silvereye	Pihipihi / tauhou / hiraka / iringatau / kanohi mōwhiti / mōtengitengi / pīkaraihe / poporohe / whiorangi	Zosterops lateralis	Not threatened	Unknown	Unknown	Common