Kath Walker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Awards | Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Massey University |
| Thesis | |
| Doctoral advisor | Steven A. Trewick, Rod Hitchmough |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | New Zealand Wildlife Service , Department of Conservation |
Kathleen Joy Walker is a New Zealand conservation scientist and an expert on New Zealand snails. In 2023 Walker was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to wildlife conservation.
Walker joined the New Zealand Wildlife Service in 1981,and then worked for the Department of Conservation. [1] Walker led the establishment of the Rotoiti Mainland Island sanctuary,and the creation of bird sanctuaries at Motuara and Chetwode Islands through the eradication of rodent pests. [1] Walker is an expert on New Zealand's native snails,the giant carnivorous Powelliphanta. She conducted a national survey of the snails,and discovered a new species on Stockton Plateau, Powelliphanta augusta . She assisted in the efforts to maintain the snail populations in fridges once their habitat was destroyed by mining,and advocated for the restoration of their habitat. [1] Walker completed a PhD titled Systematics and phylogeography of the large land snail Powelliphanta at Massey University in 2018. [2] Her research reexamined the status of Powelliphanta in New Zealand,describing 20 distinct species and 59 subspecies. [1]
Walker is a science advisor at the Department of Conservation. She led an advisory group that warned in 2024 of the likely extinction of many of New Zealand's native snails due to climate change and predation by rodents,pigs,hedgehogs and birds. [3]
In the 2023 New Year's Honours Walker was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to wildlife conservation. [1]
Walker's partner is Graeme Elliott,advisory scientist at DOC. [4] Since 1991 the two have often travelled to the subantarctic to study Gibson's albatross and Antipodean albatross populations. [5] [6] [7]
The Auckland Islands are an archipelago of New Zealand, lying 465 km (289 mi) south of the South Island. The main Auckland Island, occupying 460 km2 (180 sq mi), is surrounded by smaller Adams Island, Enderby Island, Disappointment Island, Ewing Island, Rose Island, Dundas Island, and Green Island, with a combined area of 570 km2 (220 sq mi). The islands have no permanent human inhabitants.
The magenta petrel, or Chatham Island tāiko, is a small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus, Pterodroma. Found exclusively on Chatham Island, New Zealand, it is one of the rarest birds in the world, believed to be extinct for over 100 years before its rediscovery in the 1970s.
The Westland petrel(Procellaria westlandica),, also known as the Westland black petrel, is a moderately large seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae, that is endemic to New Zealand. Described by Robert Falla in 1946, it is a stocky bird weighing approximately 1,100 grams (39 oz), and is one of the largest of the burrowing petrels. It is a dark blackish-brown colour with black legs and feet. It has a pale yellow bill with a dark tip.
Adams Island is the second largest island of New Zealand's Auckland Islands archipelago.
The white-capped albatross is a mollymawk that breeds on the islands off of New Zealand. Not all experts agree that this form should be recognized as a separate species from the shy albatross, Thalassarche cauta. It is a medium-sized black, slate gray, and white albatross and is the largest of the mollymawks.
The southern royal albatross or toroa, is a large seabird from the albatross family. At an average wingspan of above 3 m (9.8 ft), it is one of the two largest species of albatross, together with the wandering albatross. Recent studies indicate that the southern royal albatross may, on average, be somewhat larger than the wandering albatross in mass and have a similar wingspan, although other sources indicate roughly similar size for the two species and the wandering species may have a larger average wingspan in some colonies.
The mottled petrel or kōrure is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. It usually attains 33 to 35 cm (13–14 in) in length with a 74 to 82 cm (29–32 in) wingspan.
Rhytididae is a taxonomic family of medium-sized predatory air-breathing land snails, carnivorous terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Rhytidoidea.
Powelliphanta annectens is one of the amber snails, an air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial gastropod mollusc in the family Rhytididae. It is a protected species with very limited distribution.
Powelliphanta augusta or the Mount Augustus snail, previously provisionally known as Powelliphanta "Augustus", is a species of large, carnivorous land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Rhytididae. Naturally occurring only on Mount Augustus near Westport on New Zealand's South Island, their entire habitat was destroyed by coal mining. The world population was taken into captivity, in theory until their habitat was restored and they could be released. The mining company concerned went bankrupt and habitat restoration has been unsuccessful, so the species' future is uncertain.
Powelliphanta rossiana, known as Ross' land snail, is a species of large, carnivorous land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Rhytididae. This species is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. Subspecies include:
Powelliphanta patrickensis is a species of large, carnivorous land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Rhytididae. This species is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. Formerly, it was considered as a subspecies of Powelliphanta rossiana.
The white-necked petrel, also known as the white-naped petrel, is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae. During the non-breeding season it occurs throughout a large part of the Pacific, but it is only known to breed on Macauley Island in New Zealand's Kermadec Islands and the Australian territory of Norfolk Island and Phillip Island. It formerly bred on Raoul Island, but has now been extirpated from this locality due to predation by rats and cats. Reports of breeding on Merelava, Vanuatu, are more likely to be the very similar Vanuatu petrel, P. occulta, which some consider to be a subspecies of the white-necked petrel. The IUCN rating as vulnerable is for the "combined" species.
Pycroft's petrel is a species of seabird in the petrel and shearwater family Procellariidae.
The grey-faced petrel is a species of petrel endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. In New Zealand it is also known by its Māori name ōi and as a muttonbird.
Disappointment Island is one of seven uninhabited islands in the Auckland Islands archipelago, in New Zealand. It is 475 kilometres (295 mi) south of the country's main South Island and 8 kilometres (5 mi) from the northwest end of Auckland Island. It is home to a large colony of white-capped albatrosses: about 65,000 pairs – nearly the entire world's population – nest there. Also on the island is the Auckland rail, endemic to the archipelago; once thought to be extinct, it was rediscovered in 1966.
The Auckland snipe, also known as the Auckland Island snipe, is a small bird in the sandpiper family. It is the isolated nominate subspecies of the subantarctic snipe that is endemic to the Auckland Islands, a subantarctic island group south of New Zealand in the Southern Ocean.
The Braeburn Range is a mountain range in the Tasman Region of New Zealand's South Island. It lies to the west of Lake Rotoroa and much of the eastern flank of the range is within the Nelson Lakes National Park. The range runs south-southeast, with a westwards curve at the northern end and several westward-trending spurs.
Megaherbs are a group of herbaceous wildflowers growing in the New Zealand subantarctic islands and on the other subantarctic islands. They are characterised by their great size, with huge leaves and very large and often unusually coloured flowers, which have evolved as an adaptation to the harsh weather conditions on the islands. They suffer from overgrazing due to introduced mammals.
The 1947 Snares Islands expedition was an expedition undertaken between November 1947 and December 1947 to research the birds and other biodiversity of the Snares Islands.
