Motunau Island

{{Short description|Island in New Zealand}} {{distinguish|text=[[Motunau / Plate Island]] in the Bay of Plenty}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2024}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}} {{Infobox islands | name = Motunau Island | native_name =  | sobriquet =  | image_name = | image_size = | image_caption = | image_alt = | locator_map = | locator_map_size = | map_caption = | location = [[Pegasus Bay]] | coordinates = {{Coord|-43.0623|173.0782|type:isle_region:NZ-CAN|display=inline,title}} | archipelago = | waterbody = | total_islands = | major_islands = | area_ha = 3 | area_footnotes = | rank = | length_m = 300 | length_footnotes = | width_m = 100 | width_footnotes = | coastline_km =  | coastline_footnotes = | elevation_m = 25 | elevation_footnotes = | highest_mount =  | Country_heading = | country = New Zealand | country_admin_divisions_title = | country_admin_divisions = [[South Island]] | country_admin_divisions_title_1 = Region | country_admin_divisions_1 = [[Canterbury, New Zealand|Canterbury]] | country_admin_divisions_title_2 = District | country_admin_divisions_2 = [[Hurunui District|Hurunui]] | country_capital = | country_largest_city = | country_largest_city_population = | country_leader_title = | country_leader_name = | country_1 = | country_1_admin_divisions_title = | country_1_admin_divisions = | country_1_admin_divisions_title_1 = | country_1_admin_divisions_1 = | country_1_admin_divisions_title_2 = | country_1_admin_divisions_2 = | country_1_capital_city = | website = | additional_info = }} [[File:White-flippered Penguin -standing on rocks.jpg|thumb|right|The island is an important breeding site for white-flippered penguins]] '''Motunau Island''' is a small, {{Convert|3|ha|abbr=on}}, island [[nature reserve]] lying {{Convert|1.2|km|abbr=on}} off the coast of [[New Zealand]]'s [[South Island]], at the northern end of [[Pegasus Bay]], south of the mouth of the [[Motunau River]]. The reserve is managed by the [[Department of Conservation (New Zealand)|Department of Conservation]] and access is by permit only.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/10173/motunau-island |title= Motunau Island|accessdate=13 July 2013 |work= Canterbury places – Amberley district|first=John |last=Wilson |publisher=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |date= 14 November 2012}}</ref>

==Description== About {{Convert|300|m|abbr=on}} long by {{Convert|100|m|abbr=on}} wide, the island has steep sides rising to a distinctive flat top some {{Convert|25|m|abbr=on}} above sea level. Geologically, it consists of [[Tertiary period|Tertiary]] rocks, capped with [[loess]] and [[gravel]]s, and surrounded by eroding cliffs and wave-cut [[reef]]s. The [[soil]]s are extensively burrowed by nesting [[seabird]]s.<ref name=doc>{{cite web |url= http://www.doc.govt.nz/documents/about-doc/role/policies-and-plans/n34020_motunaislandnatres.pdf|title= Motunau Island Nature Reserve|accessdate=13 July 2013 |publisher=Department of Conservation, New Zealand }}</ref>

==Flora and fauna== The island is an important site for [[seabirds]]. In 1967, it was the breeding site of an estimated 23,000 individual birds.<ref name=Lincoln1997>{{citation |publisher=Lincoln University Wildlife Management Report 14 |title=A Survey of Birds, Lizards and Mammals of Motunau Island, Canterbury, New Zealand. With Emphasis on the Effects of Vegetation Change on the Breeding Success of Burrowing Seabirds |author=G.S. Beach, K-J. Wilson and C.A. Bannock |date=April 1997 |hdl=10182/715 }}</ref> It is home to a [[bird colony|colony]] of 5,000 [[white-flippered penguin]]s. Other birds recorded as breeding there include [[white-faced storm petrel]]s, [[sooty shearwater]]s, [[fairy prion]]s, [[variable oystercatcher]]s and [[white-fronted tern]]s.<ref name=doc/><ref name=Lincoln1997/> The island has the only colony of white-faced storm petrels found along the coast between [[Cook Strait]] and the [[Otago Peninsula]].<ref name=Lincoln1997/>

Three species of [[lizard]] inhabit the island, including the species ''[[Oligosoma elium]]'', which is considered 'Nationally Endangered'.<ref name=doc/>

[[Arctocephalus forsteri|Fur seals]] use rock platforms around the island as [[hauling-out|haul-out sites]].<ref name=doc/><ref name=Lincoln1997/> An [[Mirounga leonina|elephant seal]] and a [[Phocarctos hookeri|Hooker's sealion]] have also been reported on the island.<ref name=Lincoln1997/>

The main vegetation type on the island plateau is [[introduced species|introduced]] [[grassland]]. Cliffs and scarps support grassland and [[herbfield]]. There are patches of mixed [[shrubland]], including many [[introduced species]].<ref name=doc/>

==Conservation status== The island has had protected status since 1935, when it became a wildlife refuge. In 1958 it was also designated a Reserve for the Preservation of Flora and Fauna. It is free of mammalian predators; rabbits were eradicated between 1958 and 1962.<ref name=Lincoln1997/> Threats come from introduced [[Lycium|boxthorn]] plants, which impale birds and block access to burrows, as well as from human disturbance resulting from unauthorised access.<ref name=doc/>

==References== {{reflist}}

[[Category:Seabird colonies]] [[Category:Hurunui District]] [[Category:Nature reserves in New Zealand]] [[Category:Protected areas of the Canterbury Region]] [[Category:Islands of the Canterbury Region]] [[Category:Penguin colonies]]