Assessing the impact of nest searches on breeding birds — a case study on Fiordland crested penguins (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus)
Long-term population monitoring has become an important tool for conservation management and indicator of environmental change. In many species nest counts are used as an index of population numbers. A pilot study using double-counts in Fiordland crested penguins (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus) found that up to 12% of nests had failed following the first count, raising concerns about search-related disturbance effects and the reliability of long-term monitoring data.