Josie A. Galbraith

Auckland Museum · Natural Sciences

Food availability is a primary driver of avian population regulation. However, few studies have considered the effects of what is essentially a massive supplementary feeding experiment: the practice of wild bird feeding. Bird feeding has been posited as an important factor influencing the structure of bird communities, especially in urban areas, al...

The practice of feeding wild birds is a widespread phenomenon, but there has been little consideration of both human and ecological dimensions of the impacts. We used a comprehensive approach to investigate the practice of bird feeding in the unique avian landscape of New Zealand. We quantified the practice and motivations of bird feeding via a nat...

Invasive birds that nest in cavities can monopolise cavity resources and limit breeding opportunities for cavity-breeding native species. Robust ecological information on the factors influencing selection and patterns of use of nesting sites, and a comprehensive multi-scale framework for the collection and analysis of nesting data, are essential fo...

Reliable survey methods for detection are critically important for the monitoring and management of exotic species. The eastern rosella (Platycercus eximius), a broad-tailed parakeet endemic to southeastern Australia, was introduced to New Zealand a century ago and is now geographically widespread. We studied the necessary timeframe for surveying t...

The maintenance of species-specific behavioural repertoires and traditions is an important but often implicit goal of conservation efforts. When captive rearing is used as a conservation practice, it becomes critical to address its possible implications for the social and behavioural traits of developing individuals. In particular, animals must ret...

Garden bird sugar water feeding is increasingly popular worldwide, but little is known about its effects on bird health and associated diseases. There is a concern that feeding stations can accumulate pathogens and facilitate pathogen transmission between individuals, resulting in adverse effects on body condition of visiting birds. We tested the e...

The Noises are an island group of outstanding biodiversity and cultural value positioned on the outer edge of the inner Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana / Te Moananui-ā-toi. Whilst terrestrial habitats of The Noises have been protected for decades, declines in the marine environment have brought together The Noises Trust, iwi, scientists and the wider c...

Feeding backyard birds with sugar water is increasingly popular in urban areas, but it has poorly understood effects on bird assemblages. In New Zealand, ca. 20% of households engaged in feeding wild birds use sugar water, often in an attempt to attract native, nectarivorous birds. Developing best practices for sugar water feeding could be a powerf...

The practice of garden bird feeding is a global phenomenon, involving millions of people and vast quantities of food annually. Many people engage in the practice of feeding assuming that birds gain some benefit from the food they provide, yet recent studies have revealed the potential for detrimental impacts as well. However, there is still a pauci...

Intentional feeding of wild birds in gardens or backyards is one of the most popular forms of human–wildlife interactions in the developed world, especially in urban environments. The scale and intensity of bird feeding are enormous with mainly birdseed consumed daily by a range of species. This represents a subsidy to natural diets of birds attrac...

Intentional feeding of wild birds in gardens or backyards is one of the most popular forms of human–wildlife interactions in the developed world, especially in urban environments. The scale and intensity of bird feeding are enormous with mainly birdseed consumed daily by a range of species. This represents a subsidy to natural diets of birds attrac...

Wild bird feeding often results in high densities of birds, potentially facilitating transmission of disease. Wild birds are major reservoirs of many zoonotic diseases, and although a number of avian disease outbreaks have been linked to bird feeders, urban bird-feeding and its role in disease systems remains poorly studied. We examined the impacts...

Invasive vertebrate species have had a dramatic impact on the unique native ecosystems of both Australia and New Zealand. Some of these species were accidentally introduced, though many were introduced deliberately for a number of reasons: as a food resource, for hunting and trade, as a mode of transportation, as a control tool for other pests, and...

Case history: Four juvenile eastern rosellas (Platycercus eximius) were admitted to two separate wildlife care facilities in the Auckland region by members of the public. They had missing or dystrophic wing and tail feathers that rendered them flightless, suggestive of beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) infection. Two were subject to euthanasia...

Supplementary Table 1 List of full genomes BFDV sequences used in maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis

Beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) infections are often fatal to both captive and wild parrot populations. Its recent discovery in a wild population of native red-fronted parakeets has raised concerns for the conservation of native parrots, all of which are threatened or endangered. The question of a recent introduction versus a native genotype...

The direct and indirect interactions of invasive ants with plants, insect herbivores, and Hemiptera are complex. While ant and Hemiptera interactions with native plants have been well studied, the effects of invasive ant–scale insect mutualisms on the reproductive output of invasive weeds have not. The study system consisted of Argentine ants (Line...

The study of avian eggshell structure, including composition, pigmentation, thickness, and strength, has important ecological and economic implications. Previous investigators have used a variety of techniques to derive either direct measures or indirect estimates of eggshell thickness. Assessing the repeatability and method agreement of different...