Papers and Proceedings ofthe Roya! Society of Tasmania, Volume 142(1), 2008

9

IRYNEJ SKIRA (1950-2005): A SCIENTIFIC LIFE
by Lyndall Ryan
(with 15 plates)
Ryan, L. 2008 (31 :x): lrynej Skira (1950-2005): A scientific life. Papers and Proceedings ofthe Royal Society o/Tasmania 142(1): 9-20.
https://doi.org/10.26749/rstpp.142.1.9 ISSN 0080-4703. School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Education &Arts, Ourimbah Campus, University of Newcastle, PO Box 127, Ourimbah, NSW 2258, Australia. Email:Lyndall.Ryan@newcastle.edu.au
The unexpected death of wildlife biologist, Dr Irynej Skira, at the age of 54 in February 2005, sent shockwaves through the scientificcommuniry. His longitudinal study of Short-tailed Shearwaters, Pujfinus tenuirostris, also known as muttonbirds, was about to receive in­ternational recognition, while his recent second marriage appeared to open up a new chapter in his personal life. Who was this remarkableman, what was his contribution to science and what is his legacy? This article draws upon the funeral notes and memories of his family,
friends and colleagues, to provide an overview of his personal and professional life. It shows how his two periods of fieldwork on Macquarie
Island developed his interest in wildlife biology and how he extended it to assume responsibility for the longitudinal study of shearwaters.
It explores his particular contribution to rhc study over nearly three decades and then discusses his wider contribution to conservation andpreservation of wildlife in Tasmania. The article concludes with an assessment of his legacy.
Key Words: Irynej Skira, Short-tailed Shearwaters, Puffinus tenuirostris, muttonbirds, longitudinal studies, Tasmania, Macquarie
Island, Fisher Island, The Snares, conservation.

INTRODUCTION
At the end of 2004, lrynej Skira had reached a turning point
in his life. He had just married his second wife, SuzanneFrances Edwards, at a ceremony on his beloved Fisher Island.
He had accepted an invitation to visit The Snares, the seabird
sanctuary south of New Zealand and thus fulfill a long-held
dream, and he had been invited to present a paper at theSecond International Manx Shearwater conference in Belfast
in Northern Ireland in August 2005. This was long-awaitedinternational recognition that he was the world's foremost
researcher on Short-tailed Shearwaters, Puffinus tenuirostris(Temminck, 1835) (called "muttonbirds" or "yollas" inTasmania).
But he would not live to enjoy any of them. A month after
his marriage to Suzanne, he set off for The Snares (pl. 1).
An unsuspected heart infection erupted, leading to a stroke.
He was airlifted to Dunedin by helicopter and flown backto Hobart a few days later. He died in the Royal Hobart
Hospital on 18 February 2005 at the age of 54.
lrynej's unexpected death sent shockwaves through thescientific community. At his funeral, in St Joseph's Catholic
Church in Macquarie Street, Hobart, just up the street fromhis workplace, his long-time friend and colleague Nick
Mooney told an overflowing congregation of grieving family,
friends and workmates that Irynej had seemed indestructible.
He had conducted his research into muttonbirds (pl. 2) for
more than 25 years; he had weathered endless departmental
restructures; he was a gentleman who valued politeness andscientific integrity; and his quiet professionalism gave him
the aura of rock-like stability in "a sea of nonsense". His
loss was irreparable (Mooney 2005).
Who was this remarkable man? What was his contribution
to science? What legacy has he lefr us? This article attempts
some answers to these questions.

PLATE I
lrynej Skira on lhe Snares, January 2005.
(Photograph: Lisa Dag!ish)10

Lyndall Ryan

CHILDHOOD 1950-71
Irynej Osyp (Joseph) Skira was born at the Queen Victoria
Hospital in Launceston, Tasmania, on 18 May 1950, thesecond son and middle child ofJoseph and Irena Skira, who
had arrived in Tasmania as refugees from Ukraine in late 1948.
Born on the feastday of St Irene in the Ukrainian Catholic
Church calendar, Irynej was named after St Irenaeus, a scholar
and saint from the second centuryAD. According to his sister,which
Eva, his unusual first name (pronounced
no one could say, spell or write in the then-conservative
Anglo-Celtic culture - shaped his unique character fromthe outset (Skira, E. 2005).
Irynej told me that his father, Joseph, who had abackground in engineering, and his mother, who had started
a medical degree in Europe, had been given two choicesof residence in Australia: Queensland or Tasmania. They
chose the latter because of its cooler climate. In Irynej's viewhis family made the right choice. He was the first of theirchildren to be born in Tasmania and from his early days
had an empathy with his island home. He rarely felt thecold and appeared to be genetically attuned to the vagariesof the Tasmanian climate.
Joseph was employed as a foreman in a local saw-mill,initially out in the yard and maintaining the machinery,subsequently in an administrative position, while Irena took
on part-time work as a nursing carer. They built a modest
home at St Leonards, 12 km southeast of Launceston, inthe shadow of Mount Barrow, and the family moved there
in 1954. Both Joseph and Irena contributed widely to theircommunity and became actively involved in school, church
and Ukrainian associations, as well as the Launceston branchof the Good Neighbour Council.
Like so many postwar migrants with backgrounds inthe professions, but unable to gain employment in theirrespective disciplines, Irynej's parents pinned their hopes on
their children to achieve professional success by working very
hard, valuing excellence in academic studies and expecting
their children to have the same ethos; these values becamea defining aspect of Irynej's character.
As a child, Irynej was shy and had a stammer that would
remain with him all his life. In the 1980s Irynej had somespeech therapy and his colleagues immediately bore thebrunt of the new confidence through wit and cheek, atfirst putting it down to a new relationship (Nick Mooneypers. comm.). But he also had a bright, enquiring child's
mind, and his mother remembers him as the most restlessand exploring of her three children. Irynej later recalledfinding native animals outside the back fence, building
farm fences in the backyard, taking long bike rides into
the mountains behind his home and joining the scouting
movement, which fostered in him a love of bushwalking
throughout Tasmania. At first he wanted to become a farmer,
but after a while animal husbandry was replaced with ageneral love of nature and wildlife, in particular birds. Hispassionate relationship with the natural world was alreadywell in train at this time.
He attended St Leonards Primary school and then St
Patricks College in Launceston, from where he matriculated
in 1967, excelling in Latin, mathematics and science. He
also excelled at sport. He loved cricket and Australian Rules
Football, although he did break his bones a couple of times,
and he was a good runner and a good swimmer. He also
learned the piano, but later said he was relieved when hismusic teacher suddenly died, and he no longer had to takelessons. His parents, however, had given him a deep loveof classical music that would become an important sourceof enjoyment in adulthood.
Irynej also loved books. His sister Eva remembers thatat home he would spend hours looking at reference books
and encyclopedias that had both words and pictures. In his
early adult years he began to collect some fine books, manycataloguing birds (Skira, E. 2005). This passion for collecting
continued for the rest of his life. He also had an eye forblack and white photography, drawing and sketching, later
becoming interested in black and white prints.
In his later high school years, he worked in the longvacation in a saw-mill, where the incessant loud noise of
the electric saws permanently deafened him in one ear - a
not uncommon injury in an industry that, in those days,
had no occupational health and safety regulations. Partial
deafness became another factor in his defining status,
together with partial colour blindness and short sight. Noneof these disabilities were of concern to Dr Bob Green, thecurator of zoology at the Queen Victoria Museum, whotook him on his first field trips and started him on theroad to becoming a natural scientist.
In 1968, he went to the University of Tasmania to study
for a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in zoology, andmoved to Hobart. At the end of his first year he gained
a Commonwealth Scholarship to complete the rest of
the degree. He excelled in fieldwork and bushwalked thesouthwest of Tasmania. By the time he had completed his
undergraduate studies, there were few areas of his island
home that he had not traversed on foot or by pushbike.
He had already become a true Tasmanian.

TASMANIAN PARKS AND WILDLIFESERVICE AND MACQUARIE ISLAND
1972-77
On Irynej's twenty-second birthday, as a "chirpy new science
graduate" he began employment with the Tasmanian Parks
and Wildlife Service (TASPAWS) as a park ranger at Cradle
Mountain National Park (pI. 3). His colleague Trevor
Weston, who started on the same day, later pointed outthat science graduates were quite a novelty then and "Irybecame the department's most highly qualified cleaner"(Mooney 2005).
"Iry" had other ideas. He wanted to join the scientificsection of Wildlife. By the end of 1972, he was one oftwo biologists on Macquarie Island where TASPAWS had
taken over rabbit eradication work from the Departmentof Agriculture. One of his duties was to record the numberof cats and their colour. Many years later, it was found that
Irynej's sample of cat colours did not match those of otherresearchers, ginger being under-represented. Everyone had
forgotten his partial colour blindness (Mooney 2006).
According to Nick Mooney, Irynej came back fromMacquarie Island inspired by curiosity-led research and,after a short stint at Lake St Clair National Park, returned
to Macquarie Island for 16 months from November 1973
to March 1975 (pIs 4, 5). He started studying the rabbit
population with a view to impact assessment and control,
setting up a monitoring program that is still in operation
35 years later. This led to his first scientific publications andbecame the basis of his MSc degree, which was awarded
in 1980. Irynej demonstrated that as an active scientist hewould make a contribution to scholarly research.

Irynej SkiraA scientific life

11

PLATE 2
Short-tailed Shearwaters) Puffinus tenuirostris) also known
as "muttonbirds» or "yolla» in Tasmania.
PLATE 5
Irynej Skira with a large male Elephant Seal,
Mirounga leonina, on Macquarie Island

PLATE 3Irynej Skira in Cradle Mountain National Park as a ranger.

On his second return from Macquarie Island, he lobbied
hard for scientific input into wildlife management andeventually managed to transfer from the Parks to the Wildlife
Section as one of its first scientific officers. According to
Nick Mooney, "No doubt island life brought seabirds to
Iry's attention and what better seabird to study on his
return than the Short-tailed Shearwater" (Mooney 2006:
41). He was indeed well-suited to study this bird, because
they are identified by the shape of their tails and wingspans, rather than by their colour. His short-sightedness
enabled him to notice details of their eggs and burrows
and his partial deafness attuned his senses to their smell
and sounds. In studying the muttonbird, Irynej turned
all his perceived physical disabilities into positive, evennecessary, attributes.

THE SHEARWATER/MUTTONBIRDPROJECT 1977-95

PLATE 4
Irynej Skira on Macquarie Island with a Brown Skua)
Stercorarius antarcticus.

In 1947, Dominic Serventy, one of the fathers ofAustralianornithology, had started what would become 30 years' work on
Short-tailed Shearwaters) a trans-migratory seabird that breeds
only in southern Australia and migrates to the far northernhemisphere for the Austral winter. On their migration routethe shearwater can fly over 16 000 km each way, which isnearly the same distance as to the Moon and back.
The shearwaters return to Australian waters, largely toislands in Bass Strait, from September and their breeding
timetable is strict. It was once thought that they all laid
their eggs on the same day, which is close to the truth: 85%of all eggs are laid within three days either side of 24-25
November. The eggs are incubated for 54 days and chicks
fledge about 100 days after hatching.
Dominic Serventy was determined to study the population
dynamics and breeding habits of these birds, and to makethem the subject of a long-term study. In 1948 he built
a hut on Fisher Island in Franklin Sound, just off Lady
Barron on the southern side of Flinders Island, and madeit the centre of his research (pIs 6, 7) . Much of this 0.8
hectare island is bare rock, with the rest covered with Poatussock grass and friable soil.
By the mid-1970s, Serventy was ready to retire andpersuaded TASPAWS to take over responsibility for research

PLATE 6
Fisher Island offLady Barron) Bass Strait home of thelongitudinal study of Short-tailed Shearwaters.

PLATE 7
Irynej Skira offshore from Fisher Island in December 1992.
Clearly visible on the island is the hut from which the
Short-tailed Shearwater study was) and is) conducted.

and management of the program. At first Nigel Brothers
kept the study going, but Irynej, who had worked asServenty's field assistant or "dinghy boy" in 1973, impressed
the famous man and was anointed by him to continue hiswork (pI. 8). He could see that Irynej had an empathy
with the muttonbirds, the tenacity for a long-term study

PLATE 8Irynej Skira on Fisher Island in March 1976 when working
as a field assistant for Domenic Serventy.

PLATE 9Many who worked on the Short-tailed Shearwater project
photographed on nearby Green Island in December 1988.
Back (standing) from left to right: Nick Parrott) Irynej
Skira) Anna Navin. Front (seated) from left to right: Rod
Leaman) John Cassoti) Georgina Davis) Stuart Bradley and
Ron Wooller.

and the scientific temperament to carry it out. I think, too,that he was impressed by Irynej's family background, forServenty's parents were also migrants from Eastern Europe,
who valued scientific study and had given him the work
ethic of sticking with a long-term project. Irynej assumed

Skiraformal responsibility for the program in December 1978.
Six months later Dom wrote to Irynej: "you are now
thoroughly immersed in the Fisher Island work. When I
come over in November it will have to be as your assistant"(Skira 2005b: 4).
Around this time two personal events occurred. First,
his father Joseph passed away in July 1977, which had asignificant saddening effect on the whole family, particularly
Irynej and his mother. Second, in December 1978 hemarried Peggy Briggs, who was 17 years his senior andworked in the TASPAWS Office in Magnet Court at Sandy
Bay. Earlier, before his first stint on Macquarie Island hehad a relationship with a young woman, with whom hehad a daughter Sarah, but it didn't work out. He later told
me he was "a wild young man back then", with a penchantfor motor bikes, which he rode at breakneck speed up the
Midland Highway. Marriage to Peggy gave him confidence
and maturity.
By then he looked like everyone's idea of a wildlife
biologist. He had a lean frame and dark, good looks, withlarge brown eyes, longish, dark curly hair and a beard,
and wore glasses. He was more at home in the TASPAWS
field uniform of dark green trousers, shirt and jacket thanan office suit, and clearly preferred the uncertainties offieldwork to the more predictable life of the office. As asettled married man he was well-suited to continue what
would become the world's longest longitudinal study of any
seabird in the world.
Fisher Island would become the central focus of his
professional life for the next 25 years and the jumping-off
point for several important projects, scientific and nonscientific (pI. 9). It is extraordinary that this small island
would be the centre of a rich scientific life that opened up
new worlds for Irynej in so many different directions. As
Suzanne Skira later wrote:
Research on Fisher Island forms the cornerstone of
all management decisions on the species. Here Irynej
observed many aspects of shearwater life, including
population dynamics, survival, breeding and feeding.
One of the strengths of the Fisher Island study is its
simplicity of monitoring. Approximately 80 pairs
breed on the island each year in three discreet colonies:
Home Rookery, South Rookery and Potts Point. All theburrows are mapped and have their own pole with
an identification number. Irynej determined burrow
occupancy by using a stick 60 em long to feel inside theburrow. If it was occupied he gently removed the bird,
recorded the sex and band number and checkedfor an
egg. New birds were banded and old bands replaced.
(Skira 2005b: 4-5)
Irynej led fieldtrips to Fisher Island three times a year:
in December to count the eggs, in March to count andband the chicks and in April to monitor the muttonbird"harvest" on other islands in Bass Strait. It was arduous
work, but Irynej, undaunted, extended Dom Serventy's
work of banding the birds by monitoring them in theirburrows with transects (pI. 10), and with blood and feather
sampling as well as weighing and measuring. According to
Nick Mooney, Fisher Island also provided first-class field
experience for new employees in TASPAWS over the next
28 years.
The benefit of the shearwater experience and a stint
on Fisher Island became a rite ofpassage for several
generations of local scientists, rangers, students andnaturalists. He introduced TASPAWS rangers to the

A scientific life

13

PLATE 10
Original transects on Fisher Island were laid down by
Dominic Serventy with these same poles. Here they aremonitored by Irynej Skira (centre) in 1995.

eccentrzcztzes of scientists and the cooperation anddiscipline needed for long-term scientific research.))(Mooney 2006: 41)
In those days, Occupational Health and Safety guidelines
were "a matter of self reliance and common sense" andmobile phones had not yet been invented. When contact
was necessary, the ranger on Flinders Island would sometimes
fire a gun from the shore to try to get Irynej's attention. It
was only when Irynej got an outboard motor in the mid1980s that there was an accident. A senior ranger (no lessthan Peter Mooney, brother of Nick Mooney) fell out ofthe dinghy and had to tread water for over an hour until
the circling dinghy ran out of petrol, before he could rescue
himself. It is testimony to Irynej's great care and preparationthat more serious accidents did not occur.
Nick Mooney later pointed out:
Many ofus met our first muttonbirds on Fisher Island.
The early morning and late evening stints, arms buriedin shearwater burrows, the battle ofwits with the local
rats, Iry's bashing of abalone, and the endless rowingof a battered dinghy are all etched in our minds.))(Mooney 2006: 41)
In this way he trained many generations of young and notso young scientists in the art of recording and banding thebirds. He also trained them in thorough preparation forfieldwork, an essential aspect of the life of a field biologist.
This included the ordering of food supplies and scientificequipment and how to account for everything on the tightest
possible budget. His field notebooks, which contain his
distinctive "scientific" style of handwriting and recording
observations, stand as a model of scientific note-taking,while his black and white photographs are testament to his
keen eye fo r detail.
Over the next two decades, Irynej published morethan 40 scientific papers on the population dynamics ofthe shearwaters and other seabirds. He found that their
population is about 23 million adults and that they firstbreed between four and five years of age and can live up
to 38 years. He also found that there are 250 muttonbird
colonies in Australia, of which over 200 are in Tasmania,
comprising 800/0 of the total population. The colonies are
distributed around the coast of Tasmania and its offshoreislands. The largest colony is on Babel Island, with overtwo million burrows. By the time of his death in 2005,
more than 70% of the breeding colonies were protected

14
on reserves.
In 1981 he gained a grant from the Australia-JapanFoundation to study seabirds and Japanese Snipe, Gallinago
hardwickii
Gray, 1831), in Japan, and in 1985 gained
a further grant from the Yamashina Institute of Ornithology
in Japan to follow the seasonal patterns of migration of the
muttonbird, from Bass Strait to the Bering Strait, the west
coast of Canada and across the Pacific Ocean back to Bass
Strait. To this end he made a six-week return voyage on
a cargo ship from Japan to the west coast of the UnitedStates via Hawaii.
This extraordinary journey brought home to him theinternational and regional significance of the shearwaters
and how they were an important marker of climate change.
He published several papers that noted increases in ocean
temperatures in various parts of the Pacific Ocean in different
seasons and the effects on the muttonbird's migratory habits.
A paper he published in 2003, for example, indicated thatthe increase in winter ocean temperatures off the east coastof New South Wales in 1999 had resulted in there being
insufficient food for the muttonbirds, which had led to asignificant increase in the death rate, far beyond the norm,
and that a further increase in ocean temperatures in thefollowing years had led to another increase in muttonbird
deaths (Skira 2003b). By then scientists had identified
EI Nino and its effect on drought in Australia. Irynej's
interest, however, was the impact on muttonbirds. Put
together with Dom Serventy's work, the longitudinal study
provided important information about the fluctuations inbird populations and in ocean temperatures over nearly
60 years.
As Nick Mooney pointed out:
These long-term studies are both rare and valuable: rare
because they require dogged persistence and valuable
because they show natural fluctuations in populations
over meaningful periods of time and thus) can also
reveal abnormal change. Some offry's study birds wereactually older than him - at one stage) one was atleast 46 years old)) (Mooney 2006: 41).
Suzanne Skira noted that when she worked with Irynej on
the island in 2003 that "the older pre-banded birds seemed
to anticipate Irynej's handling and remained calm." (Skira
2005b: 5)
The legacy of this work is that Irynej produced the best
knowledge in the world on the ecology of shearwaters,
which has led to better protection and conservation of
species. Above all he demonstrated the value of long-termmonitoring programs.

THE SHEARWATER PROJECT AND THE
TASMANIAN ABORIGINAL COMMUNITY
One of the first groups ofpeople Irynej met when he became
responsible for the shearwater management program was theAboriginal community, which had been engaged in seasonal
muttonbirding since time immemorial and on a commercial
basis since the early nineteenth century (pI. 11).
Two Aboriginal women, Marge Mansell and Phyllis
Pitchford, showed him how to pluck muttonbirds andhow to locate the best burrows. Mter Irynej had finishedhis Master's degree, he began to realise that the history of
muttonbirding in relation to the Tasmanian Aborigines andother human groups needed serious study, so he enrolled asa doctoral candidate at the University of Tasmania. At his

PLATE 11
Harvested muttonbirds in the Bass Strait islands.

PhD ceremony dinner some years later, Irynej told me that
he had great difficulty in finding a university department
and a supervisor for the project. Eventually he was acceptedby the Environmental Studies program in the Geography
Department, where he was supervised by Peter Hay, who
had enormous faith in Irynej and the project. He rapidly
mastered the disciplinary demands of historical research,and set about the task with flair and confidence.
In the first section of the thesis, Irynej set out theecology of the muttonbird, from its evolution, distribution
and abundance, migration, feeding, breeding biology andmortality rates. This was based on his own scientific researchover the previous decade. In the next section he outlined the
exploitation of muttonbirds in the past by the Indigenous
peoples in Tasmania and on the east coast of Australia, as
well as in New Zealand and the northern hemisphere. For
this information he drew on archaeological papers, reports
and theses and revealed for the first time the importanceof muttonbirds as a major source of food and ritual inthese societies.
In the third section, he outlined the arrival of European
explorers and sealers to Tasmania in the early nineteenth
century and their interaction with Aboriginal people innorthern Tasmania, which led to the development of theIslander community in Bass Strait in the later nineteenth
century and their conflict with European farmers and settlers
who took out leaseholds on the islands to graze sheep
and cattle. He then explored social change in the Islander
community in the first half of the twentieth century, in
relation to the Cape Barren Island Reserve Acts of 1912
and 1951 and their impact on the muttonbird industry. The
final section of the thesis explored the commercial aspectsof the industry to the present (Skira 1993).
Irynej produced a bold and innovative thesis, one of
the first in Australia to explore the relationship between
food resources and human groups in the past and thepresent. The examiners were historians, a prominentenvironmental historian in one instance, and a historianof Aboriginal-European interactions on the other. The
doctorate awarded in 1995 was the pinnacle of his career tothat point. In Hay's opinion, its disciplinary sweep makes
it an extraordinary study. It is a great tragedy that it has
never been published.

Skira1
By then Irynej's marriage to Peggy had ended and his older
brother, Peter, had died, leaving a deep emotional scar. He
moved to a cottage at Kingston Beach and was often seen in
Hobart scouring bookshops for rare titles and taking coffeewith friends at Fullers Bookshop. He shared an interest in
antique colonial furniture with Ray Prince and in painting
with George and Mary Davis. Over the next five years, he
met a number ofwomen with whom he developed very close
relationships, but none could match his emotional depth andintensity. He would have to wait a few more years before
he found the woman who did. In the meantime his closefriends could see that he was unsettled and unfulfilled. He
was sustained by exciting new developments in the study
and management of muttonbirds.
In the late 1990s, he made contact with the Maoricommunity in New Zealand to learn the ways they engaged
with muttonbirding. In 1999 he hosted four New Zealandscientists on Fisher Island to "... look at the Tasmanian
muttonbird harvest and ecological research" (Moller 2000:
4). Henrik Moller wasa. •• amazed (and envious) of the detailed scientificknowledge of the Short-tailed Shearwater. They havemeasurements ofthe size ofpretty well every colony inall ofAustralia and one very long study ofthe birds on
Fisher Island. It shows the value oflong term research- those scientists over there have been banding andsurveying their muttonbirds for 50 years!" (Moller
2000: 4)He also noted that Irynej had recorded their lives in waysthat more than matched records of human activity. "Onebird had outlived two lots of metal bands, and was last seen
in 1994 at the age of 38 years" (Moller 2000: 6).
Irynej used their visit to initiate contact between the Maoricommunity in New Zealand and the Aboriginal community
in Tasmania so that they could visit each other during the
muttonbird season and explore and understand the different
ways they conducted the industry. He also obtained funding
from the Contract Employment Programs for Aborigines in
Nature and Cultural Resources Management to employ up
to ten Tasmanian Aboriginal people to undertake research
into muttonbirds from an Aboriginal perspective.
His enthusiasm for collaboration with scientific colleagues
was a marked feature of his career. According to Nick
Mooney, "his many co-authorships are testament to his
extensive collaborations" (Mooney 2006: 41). He neverworried overly about his ownership of data and always
welcomed people to the field. For example, when I arrived
in Tasmania in February 1995 to collect new material forthe second edition of my book, The Aboriginal Tasmanians)
he gave me access to his own unpublished doctoral thesis
and read many drafts of my manuscript. I admired his
ability to deal with pressure, manage ambiguity and change
in dealing with the Aboriginal community over "cultural
muttonbirding" and the way he balanced their claims
against environmental, social and regulatory concerns, andGovernment policy. Here vvas a scientist who really caredabout Aboriginal people and the muttonbirds and theplace of both in a complex environment. He also helped
students from mainland Australia and overseas universities
with shearwater and gull studies, some on his beloved
Fisher Island. He also shared his wealth of knowledge
with local students, wildlife care groups and any interested
volunteers.

A sczentn7c lift

15This is the sign of a true scholar.
Irynej also encouraged artists and writers to visit Fisher
Island and they often gave him some of the products of theircreative endeavours. When I first met Irynej in 1995, he
had a significant collection of drawings of plants and birds
as well as paintings of Fisher Island and the surroundingislands in Bass Strait. He encouraged many friends to join
him for a week or so at a time, to give them a break fromtheir own busy lives, but in reality to assist him in recording
and banding the birds. In 1997, he hosted a Fisher Island
fiftieth birthday party in Hobart, inviting all those who
had been there, to join him in the celebrations. The large
turnout of people from a wide variety of backgrounds,
including medicos, academics, artists and writers as wellas his scientific colleagues, is testament to his wide circle
of friends who were proud of their association with him,with Fisher Island and with the project.
Irynej's professional life as a wildlife biologist also
continued to vary. For example, he helped with the small
mammal surveys on Hunter Island and even joined Nick
Mooney in search of thylacines after the famous 1982 reportby Hans Naarding. Nick always found him good company,"suitably eccentric and quick to laugh, with a dry, incisivewit. We didn't always agree, but why would we want to?"(Mooney 2006: 41)
In 1993, he gained a significant grant from the Australian
Nature Conservation Agency and National Estate to investigate the threat from the North Pacific seastar on native
marine invertebrates and became a founding member of
the Seastar National Taskforce.
After the Iron Baron oil spill in Bass Strait in 1996, Irynej
took responsibility for organising the response equipment,
and helped with seal surveys in Bass Strait. At other times hemoved, to Bass Strait, errant seals which had attacked salmon
farms in southern Tasmania. This involved capturing theseal and putting it in a saltwater tank in a cage on a trailer
and then towing it up the Midland Highway for release ata beach at the mouth of the Tamar River. At one stage in1996 and 1997, he was making four or five trips a week,
a terrible waste of his scientific skills and abilities. Then hebecame part of a seal tagging program and assisted in tracking
the remarkable behaviour of "Radar", an adolescent maleseal which he captured several times at salmon farms andthen released into the Tamar before it finally disappeared
into the South Pacific Ocean. "Radar" aroused considerable
media interest and Irynej was photographed at least once inthe Hobart Mercury, with his boisterous charge in tow.
But Irynej was equally famous for not doing things thathe thought were a waste of time or just plain silly. Every
now and then he would apply for promotion to a senior
position, only to be told that he should wear a suit andattend more meetings. As his colleague Nick Mooney recalls:"few of us escaped the odd sharp rebuff in this regard"(Mooney 2005: 3).
Among Irynej's more thankless tasks, was as secretary
to the Department's Animal Ethics Committee, where
he had to endure some aggressive lobbying and, at times,
rather nasty criticism, which he weathered with complete
professionalism. Other tasks included responsibility forgovernment management of zoos and wildlife parks in
Tasmania - a frustrating and difficult task for a wildlife
biologist. However, he dealt with the managers of theseoutfits more successfully than his predecessors by adopting afirm but civilised approach and by refusing to be drawn intoslanging matches. His exemplary professional behaviour asone third
after
Mortality
rates arewitheach year.
muttonbird season more than a quarter of all
burrows are badly damaged and vegetation destroyed,
all to reach one bird. I>ve seen evidence of not only a
to a
but where people haveused toearth because they can>t reach theburrow. There are places where vegetation
taken to with a chainsaw to obtain easier

wasofnature.
would meet his soul-mate at aHe
believed that he should
shearwaters andsummer hetours at Clifton Bluffcolonywho
There in 2000, he met Suzanne
had an instantand it was not
to
their
When
were married on
Island in2004 (pI.
both believed that their best
ahead. His
that he had at
found personal
friends wereandOne of them built a new housewhich
collectioncolonial
returnedh'lf""\ntn"",,('C'

PLATE 12
Irynej and Suzanne Skira on East Kangaroo Island on
13 December 2004) prior to their wedding on Fisher Island.
(Photograph: Dawn Zelman).
from the University of Otago at Dunedin, he believed it wasan important moment in his scientific career.
Suzanne, Irynej was feeling tired
According to his
the day he left for Dunedin. But they put it down to
the strain of preparation for this long-awaited trip andbelieved that once he got under way, he would return to"normal", a word he often used to describe the ordinary.
Besides, he had always enjoyed extraordinarily good healthand could barely recall a day's illness. When he arrived
in Dunedin he told Suzanne in an email that he still felt
tired, but that the excitement of almost being at The
Snares had taken over.
He arrived on Friday, 21 January 2005 and had time torecord in his diary every animal and bird he came acrossbefore his last entry three days later: "Nice calm morning.
Blue skies. Got up approx 6 am - noisy shearwaters
everywhere". By the end of the following day, he was fighting
for his life and awaiting transport by emergency helicopter
to Dunedin Hospital. He died in Hobart 25 days later.
The last diary entries struck a chord with his colleagues.
According to Nick Mooney, they were:... 100% Irynej
thorough and dry. He was obviously
pleased to be there> in the best ofcompan)l, both people
and wildlife
sea lions> shearwaters and a black tom
sure he wouldn>t mind me saying he more or lesstit.
died with his boots on. » (Mooney 2006: 41)

1m

When news of Irynej's death reached the international
scientific community, the Second International Manx
ShearwaterWorkshop in Belfast was
There his wife Suzanne presented a paper to a hushed audiencethat understood, perhaps for the first time, his immense
contribution to the field (Skira 2005b). Obituaries followed
in several scientific publications and journals devoted to thestudy of birds (Moller 2005,
2005, Sharpe 2005,
Skira 2005c, Mooney 2006).
rf"",,;1r'"lrto.rf

Irynej Skira was a professional wildlife biologist with theTasmanian government for almost 33 years.
TASPAWS, by the time he died, it had transmogrified into
Nature Conservation Branch of the Tasmanian Departmentof Primary Industries, Water and Environment. He used his
position genuinely and tenaciously to strive to work towards
the conservation of the species (pI. 13), in fact it was his
life's work. How many of us can say that we have given ourlives for a cause?
As his sister, Eva, noted in her eulogy at his funeral, it
could be argued that Irynej's professional interest in seabirds
in general and muttonbirds in particular was shaped byfour islands. The first is the island of Tasmania, where he
was born and grew up and which ignited his love of thenatural environment. The second is Macquarie Island, where
he conducted his first scientific fieldwork and began his
professional career as a scientist. The third is Fisher Island,
where his long-term study of the population dynamics ofmuttonbirds, established him as a scholar of international
repute. And the fourth is The Snares, which he believed
contained the secrets of the habits of several seabirds (Skira,E. 2005). It is a tragic irony that he was struck down on
the island that he had longed to visit.
A quiet, gentle, softly spoken, unassuming and uniqueman, with a dry, ironic sense of humour, Irynej's devotion
to environmental science was greatly admired and respected
tolerant,by his peers. Henrik Moller noted his
generous nature - a real gem of a man as well as a finescholar" (Moller 2005: 4). Nick Mooney believed that his"extra effort born of enthusiasm, curiosity, discipline and apositive attitude", "those extra yards and minutes", got Irynej
his achievements (Mooney 2005: 5). His PhD supervisor,Peter Hay, told me he had the attributes of a Renaissancescholar. He was a first-class scientist, widely read across a huge
range of disciplines, with a deep love of music, painting andphotography and open to new ways of studying the world.
His wife Suzanne noted that "he moved gently on the earth
but left behind a huge legacy". He showed how one person'scommitment and personal endeavour can make a difference.
It is a tragedy that at the moment when he found personalhappiness and achieved international recognition, his life
was cut short. His premature death brought to an end aremarkable and passionate relationship with nature.
The chief legacy of Irynej's work was to demonstrate theimmense importance of long-term monitoring of seabird
populations (pI. 14). A quote from theSuzanne2005
presented to the conference in Belfast inforcefully shows this:

PLATE 13
Irynej Skira with a young Short-tailed Shearwater, thespecies whose conservation formed apartscientific

PLATE 14
Skira with a Short-tailed Shearwater removed
its burrow as a partprogramme.

18

Lyndall Ryan
Short-tailed Shearwaterpopulations are difficult to gauge
without having access to long-term data sets. More than
50years ofdata are available on Short-tailed Shearwaters
on Fisher Island but the small breeding population
makes it difficult to determine whether large-scale climate
influences or othersfactors are influencing thepopulation.
Nevertheless, such data serve as a startingpoint. Seabirds
are an important indicator ofchanges in global climate.
Long-term data sets are the crucial answer to theproblems
ofseabird population fluctuations.

But, long-term monitoring needs long-term support
and this can probably only come from government. But
in Irynej's view anyone contemplating long-term study
should also actively seek publicity in order to anchor theirresearch in the public mind. It then makes it harder toterminate. The publicity generated by shearwaters, largely
through their own amazing lifestyle (pI. 15), has always
been of great media interest and has helped keep the work
alive (Skira 2005b: 6).
This issue is homage to this remarkable man and to his
extraordinary work.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Peter Hay and Clive Tilsely for sharing
their memories of Irynej and commenting on earlier drafts.
I would particularly like to thank Eva Skira for sharing her
memories of Irynej's childhood, providing a copy of her
funeral oration on Irynej and for her sound editorial skills.
I would also like to thank Nick Mooney for allowing me touse his eulogy and obituary ofIrynej, to flesh out his scientificcareer. Above all I would like to thank Suzanne Skira forsharing her memories of Irynej's later life and sending me
copies of his publications as well as her own and others, tounderstand his scientific legacy. Any mistakes or oversights
are my own.

REFERENCES
Moller, H. 2000: Taking a look at the Tasmanian Titi Harvest.
Titi Times 7, February: 4-7.

Moller, H. 2005: Farewell and thanks to Irynej, Titi Times 15,
July: 4.

Mooney, N. 2005: Eulogy for Irynej Skira. Unpublished (copyin possession of the author).

Mooney, N. 2006: Dr Irynej Skira: 18 May 1950-18 February
2005. Wingspan 16(1): 41.

Murray, D. 2005: Irynej Skira (18 May 1950-18 February 2005).
Australian Bird Study Association Newsletter 78: 6.

Sharpe, D. 2005: Dr Irynej Skira: scientist and naturalist. Aurora
ANARE Club journal 24(4): 21.

Skira, E. 2005: Irynej Joseph Skira 18-5-1950-18-2-2005.
Funeral Address: 24 February 2005. Unpublished (copyin possession of the author).
Skira, I. 1993: Tasmanian Aborigines and Muttonbirding:a Historical Examination. Unpublished PhD thesis,
University of Tasmania, Hobart.
Skira, I. 2003a: Biologist disputes bird claim. Advocate 13 May.
Skira, I. 2003b: Large mortality ofshort-tailed shearwaters Puffinus
tenuirostris in Australian and New Zealand seas in October
2000. Corella 27(3): 81-84.
Skira, S. 2005a: Soaring legacy of a gifted scientist. 1he Mercury,
25 April.
Skira, S. 2005b: Maintaining the Passion: Reflections on the life

PLATE 15
Short-tailed Shearwaters, Puffinus tenuirostris, leaving
their breedings grounds in Tasmania in April for their transequatorial migration.

of Dr Irynej Skira: a true field biologist. Paper presented
to the Second International Manx Shearwater Workshop
in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Skira, S. 2005e: Irynej Skira 1950-2005. Emu 105: 343.

PUBLICATIONS - IRYNEJ SKIRASkira, I.J. 1977: The rabbit on Macquarie Island. Aurora. ANAREClub journal (Midwinter 1977).

Skira, I.J. 1977: The Tasmanian muttonbird. Tasmanian Naturalist
49: 8.

Skira, I.J. 1978: Reproduction of the rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus(L.) on Macquarie Island, subantarctic. Australian Wildlife
Research 5: 317-326.
Jones, E. & Skira, I.J. 1979: Breeding distribution of the Great
Skua at Macquarie Island in relation to number of rabbits.
Emu 79: 19-23.
Skira,I.J. 1979: Underwater feeding by Short-tailed Shearwaters.
Emu 79: 43.
Skira,I.J. 1980: Some population parameters and seasonal changes
in the weights of internal organs of rabbits, Oryctolagus
cuniculus (L.) at Macquarie Island. Australian Wildlife
Research 7: 235-245.
Skira, I.J. & Wapstra, J.E. 1980: Occupation of burrows as ameans of estimating harvest of Short-tailed Shearwaters
in Tasmania. Emu 80: 233-238.
Copson, G.R., Brothers, N.E & Skira, I.J. 1981: Distribution
and abundance of the rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.) at
subantarctic Macquarie Island. Australian Wildlife Research
8: 597-611.
Skira, I.J., Brothers, N.E & Copson, G.R. 1982: Coat colourand fitness of rabbits on Macquarie Island. Australian
Wildlift Research 10: 121-123.
Brothers, N.E, Ebehard, I.E., Copson, G.R. & Skira, I.]. 1982:
Control of rabbits on Macquarie Island by Myxomatosis.
Australian Wildlife Research 10: 477-485.
Skira, I.J., Brothers, N.E & Copson, G.R.1983: Establishment of
the European Rabbit flea on Macquarie Island. Australian
Wildlift Research 10: 121-127.
Brothers, N.P & Skira, I.]. 1983: Hippolyte Rocks, Tasmania.
Seabird Islands No. 132. Corella 7: 80-82.
Fujimaki, ~ & Skira, I.J. 1984: Notes on Latham's Snipe Gallinago
hardwickii in Japan. Emu 84: 49-51.
Brothers, N.E & Skira, I.J. 1984: The Weka on Macquarie Island.
Notornis 31: 145-154.
Skira, I.J. 1984: Breeding distribution of the Brown Skua on
Macquarie Island. Emu 84: 248-249.
Skira, I.J. 1984: The rabbit on Macquarie Island. TasmanianNaturalist 79: 14-15.
Towney, G. & Skira, I.J. 1985: Seabird islands No. 139. BabelIrynej Skira
Island, Furneaux Group, Tasmania. Corella 8: 103-104.

Towney, G. & Skira, I.J. 1985: Seabird islands No. 143,. Trefoil
Island, Tasmania. Corella 8: 111-112.

Brothers, N.]?, Skira, I.J. & Copson, G.R. 1985: Biology of theferal cat, Felis catus L., on Macquarie Island. Australian
Wildlife Research 12: 425-436.
Wooller, R.D., Skira, I.J. & Serventy, D.L. 1985: Band wear
on Short-tailed Shearwaters, Puffinus tenuirostris. Corella
9: 121-122.
Skira, I.J. 1986: Food of the Short-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus
tenuirostris, in Tasmania. Australian Wildlife Research 13:
481-488.
Skira, I.J., Wapstra, J.E., Towney, G.N. & Naarding, J.I. 1986:
Conservation of the Short-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus
tenuirostris, in Tasmania, Australia. Biological Conservation
37: 225-236.

Maruyama, N., Oka, N., Watabe, ~, Yuroda, N., Skira, I. &Kohno, H. 1986: Reexamination of the migration routeof Short-tailed Shearwaters, Puffinus tenuirostris. 36-42(In Japanese).

Skira, I.J. & Davis, G. 1987: The Short-tailed Shearwater colonies
of King Island. Tasmanian Naturalist 90: 1-6

Skira, I.J. & Brothers, N.]?' 1987: Seabird Islands No. 172. Briggs
Islat, Furneaux Group, Tasmania. Corella 11: 79-80.

Brothers, N.]?' & Skira, I.J. 1987: Seabird Islands No. 173.
Chappel Island, Furneaux Group, Tasmania. Corella 11:81-82.

Skira, I.J. & Brothers, N.]?' 1987: Seabird Islands No. 174. Battery
Island, Furneaux Group, Tasmania. Corella 11: 83-84.
Oka, N., Maruyama, N. & Skira, I.J. 1987: Chick growth andmortality of Short-tailed Shearwaters in comparison with
Sooty Shearwaters, as a possible index of fluctuations ofAustralian Krill abundance. Proceedings of the National
Polar Research symposium, Polar Biology 1: 166-174.
Skira, I.J. 1987: Socioeconomic aspects of muttonbirding in
Tasmania, Australia. In Diamond, A.W & Filion, F.L.
(eds): The Value of Birds. International Council for the
Preservation ofBirds Technical Publication 6: 63-75.
Wooller, R.D., Bradley, J.S., Serventy, D.L. & Skira, I.J. 1988:
Factors contributing to reproductive success in Short-tailed
Shearwaters Puffinus tenuirostris. Proceedings of the XIX
International Ornithological Congress: 848-856.
Skira, I.J. & Brothers, N.]?' 1988: Seabird Islands No. 182.
Billy Goat Reefs, Furneaux Group, Tasmania. Corella
12: 78-79.
Skira, I.J. & Brothers, N.P. 1988: Seabird Islands No. 183.
Little Green Island, Furneaux Group, Tasmania. Corella
12: 80-81.
Skira, I.J. & Brothers, N.P. 1988: Seabird Islands No. 184.
Great Dog Island, Furneaux Group, Tasmania. Corella
12: 82-84.
Brothers, N.P & Skira, I.J. 1988: Seabird Islands No. 185.
Little Dog Island, Furneaux Group, Tasmania. Corella
12: 85-86.

Bradley,J.S., WooHer, R.D., Skira, I.J. & Serventy, D.L.
1989: Age-dependent survival of breeding Short-tailed
Shearwaters Puffinus tenuirostris. Journal ofAnimal Ecology
58: 175-188.
Pemberton, D. & Skira, I.J. 1989: Elephant seals in Tasmania.
Victorian Naturalist 106: 202-204.

WooHer, R.D., Bradley, J.S., Skira, I.J. & Serventy, D.L.
1989: Lifetime reproductive success in the Short-tailed
Shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris. In Newton, 1. (ed.):Lifetime Reproduction in Birds. Academic Press, London:
405-417.

Serventy, D.L., Gunn, B.M., Skira, I.J., Bradley,J.S. &Wooller,
R.D. 1989: Fledgling translocation and philopatry in aseabird. Oecologica 81: 428-429.

Skira,I.J. 1990: Human exploitation of the Short-tailed Shearwater(Puffinus tenuirostris). Papers and Proceedings of the Royal
Society of Tasmania 124: 77-90.

A SClentlllC life

19

Wooller, R.D., Bradley, J.S., Skira,&D.L. 1990:
Reproductive success of Short-tailed Shearwaters Puffinus
tenuirostris, in relation to their age and breeding pvr,\pr1pn{~Po
Journal ofAnimal Ecology 59: 161-170.

Bradley, J.S., Wooller, R.D., Skira, I.J. &D.L.

1990: The influence of mate retention and divorce upon
reproductive success in Short-tailed Shearwaters, Puffinus
tenuirostris. Journal ofAnimal Ecology 59: 487-496.
Slater, J. & Skira, I.J. 1990: The effect of the Exxon Valdez oil
spill on Short-tailed Shearwaters. Tasmanian Naturalist
101: 1-4.
Brothers, N.P & Skira, I.J. 1990: Seabird Islands No. 202.
Reef, Furneaux Group, Tasmania. Corella 14:
Skira, I.J. & Wapstra, J.E. 1990: Control of Silver Gulls in
Tasmania. Corella 14: 124-129.
Skira, I. 1991: Australian bird reviews No.3. The Short-tailed
Shearwater: a review of its biology. Corella 15: 45-52.
Bradley,J.S., Skira, I.J. &Woolley, R.D. 1991: Along-term studyof Short-tailed Shearwaters, Puffinus tenuirostris on Fisher
Island, Tasmania. Ibis 133 Supplement 1: 55-61.
Skira, I. 1992: Commercial harvesting of Short-tailed Shearwaters(Tasmanian muttonbirds) In Meek, l? & O'Brien, l? (eds):
Wildlife Use and Management. Bureau of Rural Resources
Report R/2/92: 7-18.
Skira, I. 1993: Tasmanian Aborigines and Muttonbirding:a Historical Examination. Unpublished PhD thesis,
University of Tasmania, Hobart.

Meathrel, C.M., Bradley, J.S., Wooller, R.D. & SIdra, I.].
1993: The effect of parental condition on egg-size andreproductive success in Short-tailed Shearwaters, Puffinus
tenuirostris. Oecologia 93: 162-164.
Meathrel, C.M., Skira, I.J., Bradley,J.S. &WooUer, R.D. 1993:
The influence of egg-size, mass and composition uponhatching success in the Short-tailed Shearwater, Puffinus
tenuirostris (Aves: Procellariiformes). Journal of Zoology,
London 230: 679-686.
Skira, I. 1994: C.H. Smith & Co., of Launceston, a muttonbird
buyer. Tasmanian Historical Research Association Papers andProceedings 41: 163-176.
Bradley, J.S., Wooller, R.D. & Skira, I.J. 1995: The relationshipof pair-bond formation and duration to reproductive
success in Short-tailed Shearwaters, Puffinus tenuirostris.
Journal ofAnimal Ecology 64: 31-38.
Skira, I. 1995: A muttonbird in the hand. Natural History 104(8):August 24-35.
Pemberton, D., Gales, R. & Skira, I. 1995: Interactions between
seals and fisheries: a clash ofvertebrate predators and pests.
10 th Australian Vertebrate Pest Conference: 249-254.
Skira, I. 1996: Aboriginal people and muttonbirding in Tasmania.
In Bomford, M. & Caughley, J. (eds): Sustainable Use of
Wildlife by Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islanders.
Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra:
167-175.
Oka, N., Maruyama, N., Kuroda, N. & Skira, I. 1996: Colony site
selection of Short-tailed Shearwaters in Tasmania. Journalof Ya7nashina Institute of Ornithology 28: 35-41.
Brothers, N., Pemberton, D., Gales, R. & Skira, I. 1996: The
status of seabirds in Tasmania. In Ross, G., Weaver,K. & Greig, J. (eds): The Status of Australia's Seabirds:
Proceedings of the National Seabird Workshop) Canberra
1-2 November, 1993. Biodiversity Group, Environment
Australia, Canberra: 181-183.
Skira, I. 1997: Always afternoon: Aborigines on Cape Barron
Island, in the nineteenth century. Tasmanian Historical
Research Association Papers and Proceedings 44: 120-131.
Skira, I. 1997: Aboriginals in Tasmania: Living on Cape Barron
Island in the twentieth century. Tasmanian Historical
Research Association Papers and Proceedings 44: 187-201.
Skira, I. 1997: I hope you will be my "frend": TasmanianAborigines in the Furneaux Group in the nineteenth
century - population and land tenure. Aboriginal History:

20

Lyndall Ryan

21: 30-45.
Walsh, D., Kirkpatrick, J.B. & Skira, I.J. 1997: Vegetation
patterns, environmental correlates and vegetation change
in a Puffinus tenuirostris colony at Cape Queen Elizabeth,
Tasmania. Australian Journal ofBotany 45: 71-79.
Brothers, N.~, Pemberton, D. & Skira, I. 1997: Seabird islands
No. 234. Rum Island, Furneaux Group, Tasmania. Corella

21: 92-93.
Brothers, N.~, Pemberton, D. & Skira, I. 1997: Seabird islands
No. 235. Beagle Island, Furneaux Group, Tasmania.
Corella 21: 94-96.
Bradley, J .S., Gunn, B.M., Skira, I.J., Meathrel, C.E. & Wooller,
R.D. 1999: Age-dependent prospecting and recruitment
to a breeding colony of Short-tailed Shearwaters, Puffinus
tenuirostris. Ibis 141: 277-285.
Skira, I.J., Bothers, N.~ & Pemberton, D. 1999: Distribution,
abundance and conservation status of Short-tailed
Shearwaters, Puffinus tenuirostris in Tasmania. Marine
Ornithology 24: 1-14.

Bradley, J.S., Wooller, R.D. & Skira, I.J. 2000: Intermittent
breeding in the Short-tailed Shearwater, Puffin us
tenuirostris. Journal ofAnimal Ecology 69(4): 639-650.
Skira, I.J. & Brothers, N.~ 2000: Seabird islands No. 246.
Preservation Island, Furneaux Group, Tasmania. Corella

24: 45-46.
Brothers, N.~ & Skira, I.J. 2000: Seabird Islands No. 247.
Little Chalky Island, Furneaux Group, Tasmania. Corella

24: 47-48.
Skira, 1.2003: Large mortality ofShort-tailed Shearwaters Puffinus
tenuirostris in Australia and New Zealand seas in October
2000. Corella 27(3): 81-84.
Skira, I. 2007: Shearwaters, Short-tailed and Sooty. In Riffenburgh,
B. (ed.) Encyclopedia of the Antarctic volume 2 L-Z.
Routledge, New York and London: 893-895.

(accepted 5 August 2008)