219
Successfully introduced birds in New Zealand were
released in higher numbers and on more occasions
than introduced birds that failed to establish
(Veltman et al. 1996; Duncan 1997; Green 1997;
Cassey et al. 2004; Lockwood et al. 2005; Blackburn
et al. 2009). This raises an important question: were
species successful because they were introduced
in large numbers, or were they introduced in
large numbers because the initial releases were
successful? The former case is called propagule
pressure (e.g., Veltman et al. 1996; Duncan 1997;
Green 1997; Cassey et al. 2004; Lockwood et al. 2005;
Sol et al. 2008; Blackburn et al. 2009), whereas the
later represents what has been dubbed a “Franklin
Delano Roosevelt” efect (Blackburn et al. 2013;
Moulton & Cropper 2014a). The term stems from
former US president Franklin D. Roosevelt who
once said, “Do something. If it works, keep doing
it.” By this efect, people would have continued
introducing individuals of a species, even if the
species was already established, in order either to
increase the population or simply expand its range.
Both cases have been argued using historical
records taken mostly from the acclimatisation
societies in New Zealand. The main references used
in these studies for New Zealand were Thomson
(1922) and Long (1981). As noted previously
(Moulton et al. 2011), for nearly all references for
exotic birds released in New Zealand, Long (1981)
cites Thomson (1922) directly or indirectly (i.e.,
when the reference he cited actually cited Thomson
1922) as the authority. Thus, the accuracy and
thoroughness of the historical records reported by
Thomson (1922) are of fundamental importance in
Notornis, 2014, Vol. 61: 219-222
0029-4470 © The Ornithological Society of New Zealand Inc.
SHORT NOTE
Received 18 July 2014; accepted 30 October 2014
*Correspondence: moultonm@ul.edu
New records for passerine introductions to the Otago Acclimatisation
Region in New Zealand
MICHAEL P. MOULTON*
Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, PO Box 110430, Gainesville, FL
32611-0430, USA
EDUARDO S.A. SANTOS
LAGE do Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo; São Paulo, SP,
Brazil
WENDELL P. CROPPER, JR.
School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, PO Box 110410, Gainesville, FL 32611-
0410, USA
JIAHUI NAT LIM
Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand