A Black-footed Albatross pair on Wake Atoll, photograph by Mark Rauzon

The USA’s Wake Atoll in the tropical Pacific has recently been proclaimed as free of introduced rodents, following a successful eradication exercise directed at the Pacific Rat Rattus exulans.  There are already signs of seabirds returning, including the ACAP-listed Black-footed Phoebastria nigripes and Laysan P. immutabilis Albatrosses (both Near Threatened):

“16 species of nesting native birds are reappearing and increasing in number without invasive rodents devouring their eggs and young. A newly discovered Bonin Petrel (or Nunulu in Hawaiian) colony marks the first documented nesting of this species on Wake Atoll, while the atoll’s globally significant population of Sooty Terns enjoyed a record-breaking breeding season.  Other native seabirds—including Laysan albatross, wedge-tailed and Christmas shearwater, black-footed albatross, red-footed booby, and red-tailed tropicbird—are also showing early signs of increased nesting activity and improved reproductive success”.

Laysan Albatrosses on Wake Atoll, photograph by Mark Rauzon

Wake Atoll lies towards the edge of the current breeding range of the Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses.  The first definite breeding record for the Laysan was in 1996, following sightings in the 1980s.  A chick fledged in 2001 and there were three failed attempts in 2008.  Another chick, the last recorded, successfully fledged in 2009.  A Laysan Albatross laid an egg in November 2013 below an introduced Ironwood Casuarina equifolia tree that was incubated for two weeks before failing.  A second egg found in 2013 was also abandoned.

Black-footed Albatrosses visit Wake in small numbers.  Successful breeding has not been reported although eggs have been recorded occasionally since 1996 and up to at least 2003, when three pairs attempted breeding (click here),

Wake Atoll (739 ha) is made up of three low coral islands: Wake Wilkes and Peale, lying around a central lagoon.  Wake and Wilkes are connected by a causeway.  The atoll is situated within Micronesia in the Northern Pacific Ocean a little north of the Marshall Islands and is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the USA.  It falls within the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument declared in 2009.

“Feral domestic cats Felis catus originally brought to the atoll as pets killed many birds (estimated as 30 000 a year) in the past on Wake but have now been successfully eradicated from all three islands.  A shooting and trapping campaign in the first decade of the century removed 170 animals.  An eradication attempt in 2012 was successful in removing the Asian House Rat Rattus tanezumi but not the Pacific Rat R. exulans” (click here).

Wake Atoll Rat Eradication Project - Using research to eradicate the novel rodent species, Neotoma leucodon

The successful effort to eradicate Pacific Rats presumably also removed the recently discovered White-throated Woodrat Neotoma albigula/leucodon, although this seems not to have been specifically reported.

With thanks to Sue Tonin, Mouse-Free Marion Project.

Selected References:

Griffiths, R., Wegmann, A., Hanson, C., Keitt, B, Howald, G., Brown, D., Tershy, B., Pitt, W., Moran, M., Rex K., White, S., Flint, B. & Torr, N. 2014.  The Wake Island rodent eradication: part success, part failure, but wholly instructive.  Proceedings of Vertebrate Pest Conference 26: 101–111.

Hanson, C., Rex, K., Kappes, P.J. & Siers, S.R. 2020.  Feasibility of a successful rat eradication on Wake Atoll following initial partial failure: potential causes, remedial actions, and remaining knowledge gaps. In: Woods, D.M. (Ed.), Proceedings of the 29th Vertebrate Pest Conference, Paper No. 40, University of California, Davis, 9 pp.

Kappes, P.J., Siers, S.R., Rex K. & Hanson, C. 2020.  If at first you don’t eradicate: remediating rat eradication failure on Wake Atoll. In: Woods, D.M. (Ed.).  Proceedings of the 29th Vertebrate Pest Conference, Paper No. 58, University of California, Davis, 6 pp.

Piaggio, A.J., Lanners, E., Taylor, D.R., Shiels, A.B., Matocqm, M. & Eisemann, J. 2024.  Discovery of a novel invasive rodent species on Wake Atoll with a desert southwest USA origin.  BioInvasions Records 13: 675-683.

Rauzon, M.J, Everett, W.T., Boyle, D., Bell, L. & Gilardi, J. 2008.  Eradication of feral cats at Wake Atoll.  Atoll Research Bulletin No. 560.  21 pp.

Samaniego, A., Kappes, P., Broome, K., Cranwell, S., Griffiths, R., Harper, G., McClelland, P., Palmer, R., Rocamora, G., Springer, K., Will, D. & Siers, S. 2020.  Lessons learned from failed island rodent eradications redone successfully: Implications for the second rat eradication attempt on Wake Atoll. Unpublished Final [Report].  85 pp.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 30 April 2026

 Newell’s Shearwater, photograph by Eric VanderWerf

Andre Raine and colleagues (Archipelago Research and Conservation, Hawaii, USA) have published in the open-access journal Avian Conservation and Ecology on observations of interspecific competition between Endangered Hawaiian Petrels and Critically Endangered Newell’s and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters.

The paper’s abstract follows:

““Colony creation projects are a vital tool for the recovery of threatened and endangered seabird populations and have significant conservation value by creating colonies inside highly protected and more easily managed areas.  However, project sites need to be carefully chosen using a wide range of criteria to maximize success.  One of these criteria is the potential for interactions with species already breeding within the site, in particular the possibility of interspecific competition.  We considered three species of Procellariids in Hawaiʻi—two endangered Hawaiian endemics, the ʻuaʻu (Hawaiian Petrel, Pterodroma sandwichensis) and the ʻaʻo (Newell’s Shearwater, Puffinus newelli) and one native, the Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica)—to assess the prevalence of interspecific competition.  Colony monitoring was conducted at six management sites on the island of Kauaʻi, one on the coast and five in the mountains.  Cameras were deployed at breeding burrows and any interactions between species recorded.  Interspecific competition was recorded at all sites.  At the coastal site, Wedge-tailed Shearwaters consistently attacked breeding pairs of ʻaʻo and ultimately evicted 55.6% of established breeding pairs and 87.5% of prospectors.  At montane management sites, aggressive interactions were recorded between ʻuaʻu and ʻaʻo at all sites and increased over time in tandem with population increases.  Colony creation is an essential component of seabird conservation worldwide but, as this study shows, the presence of other breeding seabird species needs to be considered in the planning process if these projects are to succeed.  This is particularly true if Wedge-tailed Shearwaters are already present (or could recolonize the site) and/or if the site already has a high density of a breeding species that is of a similar size and utilizes the same breeding habitat and breeding strategy.”

An aggressive interaction between a Hawaiian Petrel and a Newell's Shearwater at the latter’s burrow

Reference:

Raine, A.F., Driskill, S., McFarlin, M., Brittingham, R., Rothe, J.A. & H. Raine, H. 2026.  Interspecific competition among procellariids: implications for seabird management and colony creation projects.  Avian Conservation and Ecology 21. doi.org/10.5751/ACE-02962-210101.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 29 April 2026

Images of deceased shearwaters on beaches in southeastern Australia, from the publication

Jennifer Lavers (Adrift Lab, Underwood, Tasmania, Australia) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Conservation Biology, reporting that marine heat waves resulted in an estimated 629 000 seabird deaths, notably of two Australian shearwater species, in 2023–2024.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Marine heat waves detrimentally affect a range of marine species, including seabirds, and are increasing in frequency and severity.  When thousands of dead seabirds wash up on beaches, the public becomes concerned.   However, the number of dead birds recorded on beaches is only a fraction of the total mortality; most birds perish at sea. As a result, estimates of total mortality are scarce, and this impedes the ability to determine how such mortality events affect populations.  Community science programs can greatly enhance the geographic or temporal scale of studies, which can be critical when mortalities or changes take place over large distances or many months.  Using three community science data repositories, we examined the number and composition of seabirds found dead on beaches in eastern Australia during the 2023–2024 marine heat wave.  Mortality estimation models developed for other sectors were refined using measures of searcher efficiency and carcass persistence for beach-washed birds. Total mortality of sable shearwaters (Ardenna carneipes) and short-tailed shearwaters (Ardenna tenuirostris) was >13,900 and >608,000, respectively.  The loss of these birds, in total more than 629,000 individuals, highlights the increasingly perilous marine environment in which many marine species now exist.”

Reference:

Lavers, J.J., Fulton, W., Stuckenbrock, S. & Bond, A L. 2026.  Estimating the total mortality of seabirds following a marine heat wave.  Conservation Biology doi.org/10.1111/cobi.70273.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 28 April 2026

Streaked Shearwaters in a breeding colony

Helen Pružina (School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, United Kingdom) and colleagues have published in the open-access journal Marine Ornithology on young Near Threatened Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas socializing ashore during the breeding season.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Many seabird species have a long breeding-deferral period, during which individuals mature and spend most of their time at sea, making them particularly difficult to study.  In some species, immatures are known to start visiting colonies before reaching adulthood, presumably to learn the behaviours required to secure a nest and mate for future breeding.  However, immature colony attendance remains undocumented in many species, particularly those that are difficult to observe, such as nocturnal, cavity-nesting species and species in which immatures are indistinguishable from adults.  Here, we studied the attendance patterns and behaviour of Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas on Awashima Island, Japan, during the chick-rearing period.  We logged the number and duration of visits to the colony and assessed the potential influence of moonlight on these metrics.  We found a weak effect of moonlight on attendance but identified two types of nocturnal visits: one in which birds spent little time above ground and the other in which birds spent hours sitting on the surface.  During the latter, birds often gathered in groups and either rested or engaged in behaviours such as allopreening, fighting, calling, and digging burrows.  These longer visits sharply decreased in numbers well before the end of the chick-rearing period, and we suggest these visits are most likely undertaken by immatures, based on behaviours documented in other shearwater species.  The presence of immature Streaked Shearwaters at the colony during the breeding period has implications for the population ecology of the species and highlights the potential impact of predators and other at-colony risks on an additional age class of Streaked Shearwaters, beyond adults and chicks.”

Reference:

Pružina, H.M., Shoji, A., Shirai, M., Matsumoto, S., Yoda, K. & Fayet, A L. 2026.  Evidence for colony attendance by immature Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas during the chick-rearing period.  Marine Ornithology 54: 79-86.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 27 April 2026