2022 Volume 54 Issue 1 Pages 103-139
On Minamitorishima Island, the easternmost island of Japan, 11 species of seabirds were breeding during the Meiji period (about 120 years ago). However, by 1952, nine of these species no longer had breeding populations due to overhunting and environmental destruction. In this study, we clarified the historical background and restored the collected data of specimens from Minamitorishima Island in the Tokyo Imperial Household Museum (TIHM) collection during the Meiji period. As a result, 26 specimens of 11 species from Minamitorishima Island were found, all of which were obtained in connection with the Minamitorishima Island Incident of 1902: the conflict between Japan and the U.S. over the acquisition of this island. For five species of the specimens found in our study, (Wedge-tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificus, Christmas Shearwater P. nativitatis, Brown Booby Sula leucogaster, Black Noddy Anous minutus, White Tern Gygis alba), breeding populations are still absent from Minamitorishima Island. The specimens from Minamitorishima Island in the TIHM collection are useful research resources to elucidate the past breeding populations and/or historical materials to demonstrate a period when seabirds were hunted indiscriminately.
