Dragonfly Data Science are excited to collaborate with Ōamaru Blue Penguin Colony on a project to modernise its data management systems, and to help learn about the daily lives of blue penguin or kororā.
Ōamaru Blue Penguin Colony
Ōamaru Blue Penguin Colony (OBPC) attracts thousands of visitors annually to visit kororā in its natural environment, and is a well-known South Island tourism operator. To better understand and support blue penguin, OBPC has been working beyond its public-facing programmes to collect three decades worth of data on the blue penguin population. The data are a valuable source of information on the penguin’s population and behaviour that has the potential to help with the conservation of this species around the country.
Modern data management
We have been enlisted to help organise and streamline these historical data, and to carry out some exploration of the data. They will then be used to create educational materials to engage OBPC visitors.
Dragonfly Director of Data Science, Finlay Thompson, is looking forward to bringing life to this dataset, and ultimately, to learn more about this native New Zealand species.
“Having the foresight to begin monitoring Ōamaru kororā back in 1993 provides this colony with a real advantage,” Finlay says.
“By diving into these data, OBPC has been able to track the health and habits of the penguins, including their nesting behaviours, foraging patterns, and overall population trends.”
“Ensuring we are utilising these data to their full potential will further enable a balance of tourism, conservation, and science that brings the story of the colony to the public, and improves outcomes for the species going forward.”
An increasing population
Encouragingly, blue penguin populations are stable and increasing in some New Zealand colonies–including at Ōamaru–where there is predator control in place, and where there is active penguin rehabilitation work, monitoring, and habitat maintenance.
Starting with 30 breeding pairs in 1993, the colony has increased by an average of eight to nine percent every year, to reach 270 breeding pairs in the most recent season.
Improved outcomes for kororā
Data collection is a painstaking task, and good tools can help make it both easier and more accurate. We are also developing systems to help OBPC with efficient, ongoing data collection.
By collaborating with us, OBPC aims to elevate its research capabilities, to improve outcomes for blue penguin, and to develop engaging information for its visitors.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Rob Suisted (Nature’s Pic) for the photograph of a blue penguin being released back to the sea.