Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels

ACAP Latest News

Read about recent developments and findings in procellariiform science and conservation relevant to the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels in ACAP Latest News.

Detecting arrival of Short-tailed Shearwaters at breeding sites by acoustics

Short-tailed Shearwater off North Cape,New Zealand, photograph by Kirk Zufelt

Harrison Talarico (Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Avian Conservation and Ecology on detecting the presence of Short-tailed Shearwaters Ardenna tenuirostris with acoustic recording units.

The paper’s reference follows:

“The migratory timings of many seabirds are shifting because of climate change, and viable methods to quantify these patterns are required. Using acoustic recording units (ARUs) to detect vocalizations can be effective in monitoring seabird migration. Specifically, ARUs can help detect the arrival dates of seabirds and assess the impact of environmental changes. However, processing large volumes of acoustic data can be challenging, particularly in seabird colonies where overlapping vocalizations and non-target noise are prevalent. Acoustic indices may mitigate some methodological challenges associated with processing acoustic data from colonies as they are fully automated and easy to use for researchers with limited experience in bioacoustics. However, little is known about the efficacy of acoustic indices in quantifying the arrival dates of seabirds. Short-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna tenuirostris) are ecologically and culturally important migratory birds. Their late arrival to breeding areas in Tasmania in recent years created a need for efficient monitoring. This study aimed to explore the use of acoustic indices in identifying the timing of post-migratory return to their colonies in southeastern Tasmania. Five nightly subsamples were taken from recordings over three to four weeks at nine nesting sites, which spanned the period around the normal arrival time of the birds. The samples were manually tagged for vocalizations and other biotic and abiotic sounds. We used two acoustic indices (ACI and NDSI; applied to both raw data and data filtered using a novel wind-filter) to detect change points in number of vocalizations, as a proxy for arrival dates. By using a combination of the NDSI on raw data and ACI on wind-filtered data, we were able to detect the arrival of Short-tailed Shearwaters at seven of the nine study sites.”

Reference:

Talarico, H.R., Jordan, G.J.,. Woehler, E.J., Hamer, R. & Lavers, J.L. 2025. The efficacy of acoustic indices in detecting the post-migration return of Short-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna tenuirostris) to their colonies. Avian Conservation and Ecology 20(1):26. doi.org/10.5751.

The genetic code of the Wandering Albatross has been set to music to mark World Albatross Day

Rupert Summerson plays his shakuhachi (Japanese flute) on a hill overlooking Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel with Navarino and Hoste Islands in the distance

Rupert Summerson has offered a contribution to mark World Albatross Day on 19 June this year: The Wanderer – music composed from the genetic code of the Vulnerable Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans.

Rupert writes to ACAP Latest News that he and CJ Symon arranged a segment of genetic code, kindly provided by Andrea Polanowski and Leonie Suter at the Australian Antarctic Division, into music, while remaining faithful to the genetic sequence. “Three of the four letters of the genetic code of all creatures (C, A & G) are musical notes. We converted T, the fourth letter, into F by simply running up the alphabet counting from A to G until we reached T. I am playing a 2.0 shakuhachi, the lowest note of which is C.”

There are two versions

Lisa Roberts has kindly added an animation to the music which you can watch – and listen to here:

The music-only version can be accessed here.

Australian Antarctic Program scientists have used DNA technology to help identify threatened albatross species caught unintentionally (as 'bycatch') during longline fishing operations in Australian waters. We’ve identified a combination of DNA ‘markers’ that target species-specific sections of seabird genomes, to enable molecular identification of the majority of dead bycaught seabirds, from poor quality feather samples (click here).

Rupert writes on 19 June: “Today is the day to think about the plight of the albatross. Knowledge is powerful but action is better. Please consider what you can do to improve the prospects of their survival.”

With thanks to Rupert Summerson.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 07 July 2025

Changing the guard. Jonathon Barrington takes over from Christine Bogle as ACAP’s fourth Executive Secretary

Christine Jonathon 1 July 2025 Wavee Christine Bogle and Jonathon Barrington, third and fourth Executive Secretaries, in ACAP's offices in Hobart, Tasmania at a farewell function, 02 July 2025, photograph by Thomas Bogle

On 1 July, Jonathon Barrington took over the role of ACAP Executive Secretary from Christine Bogle, the third person to hold the position. Jonathon, the fourth Executive Secretary, is a Tasmanian resident well known to ACAP as Australia’s Representative to sessions of the Meeting of the Parties and meetings of the Advisory Committee over many years. Prior to moving to ACAP, he was a Senior Policy Adviser working in the field of seabird conservation at the Australian Antarctic Division, which he had joined in 2004. Jonathon is a graduate of the University of Western Australia, University of Tasmania and Australian National University with qualifications in science, fisheries, business and law.

“I am delighted to be selected to this important position and am very much looking forward to working with and for the ACAP Parties over the coming triennium in implementing the strategies, programmes and initiatives agreed to at the recent Eighth Session of the Meeting of the Parties,” said Jonathon Barrington on commencing work at the ACAP Secretariat.

On her departure from ACAP, Christine has written to the ACAP community:

“It has been a wonderful experience to work with you all over the past six and a half years. It is heart-warming that we are all dedicated to the same worthy cause – the conservation of albatrosses and petrels.”

She continues:

“Travelling the world and working in three languages has been a welcome bonus (and please forgive me for many language errors). I am sure I will continue my peripatetic existence (I shall be staying in Hobart until October, and then returning to Wellington, New Zealand, but I won’t be stopping my international travel, with a visit to South America and Antarctica planned for November). I hope that I will meet up with some of you again, someday, somewhere. Wishing you all the best for future endeavours.”

The ACAP community in turn offers its thanks and best wishes to Christine and welcomes Jonathon to his new role as the ACAP Executive Secretary.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 04 July 2025

Bycatch hotspots for Scopoli's Shearwaters in the South Ionian Sea

Scopoli's Shearwater, photograph by Pep Arcos

Nikolaos Simantiris (Department of Environment, Ionian University, Zakynthos, Greece) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Marine Environmental Research on determining bycatch hotspots for turtles and seabirds in the Mediterranean’s South Ionian Sea, including for Scopoli's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Bycatch, the incidental catch of non-target species, threatens marine megafauna such as sea turtles and sea birds in the Mediterranean region. Identifying bycatch hotspots is essential to guide mitigation measures and target audiences. In the Mediterranean Sea, South Ionian Sea in Greece is a major marine habitat, including critical nesting areas, for sea turtles, and an important breeding and foraging habitat for sea birds. This work combined methodologies to identify bycatch hotspots through a vulnerability assessment and questionnaire surveys utilising both scientific data and local ecological knowledge (LEK). The study determined the major bycatch hotspots for sea turtles and sea birds, evaluated the potential impact on both species, and discussed mitigation measures to reduce the impact of bycatch and effectively protect this economically and ecologically important ecosystem. Our approach and outcomes may well contribute to a science-based and LEK included, adaptive management framework regarding the establishment or revision of Marine Protected Areas in the study area and elsewhere across critical marine habitats for sea turtles and sea birds.”

With thanks to George Karris.

Reference:

Simantiris, N., Dimitriadis, C., Xirouchakis, S., Voulgaris, M.-D., Beka, E., Vardaki, M.Z. & Karris, G. 2025. Combining methods for detection of bycatch hotspot areas of marine megafauna species in and around critical rookeries and foraging areas. Marine Environmental Research 210, 107299.

The Pacific Seabird Group’s annual meeting next year will only be online

Isla Alcatraz, Sonora, Mexico, photograph by Alexandra Edwards

The 2026 Annual Meeting of the Pacific Seabird Group will be held fully online over 23-27 February 2026. It will have the theme “Seabirds: Connecting Oceans, Islands, and People”.

“We are excited to hold a fully online conference for the first time since 2021, and we hope that this meeting will increase access opportunities to all of [sic] our membership while reducing the environmental costs of our annual meeting. A call for symposia and workshops, and for award nominations, is soon forthcoming.”

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 02 July 2025