Manuel Marin (Feather Link Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.) has published in the open-access journal Marine Ornithology on aspects of Southern Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus in Chile.

The paper’s abstract follows:

Here I review the current knowledge of the breeding status of the Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus in Chile and provide new data on the population at Isla Noir in the Región de Magallanes. Breeding numbers on Isla Noir are approximately six times greater than previously reported for the entire country, including all offshore islands except for the Diego Ramirez Archipelago, for which information is sparse. Here, I also describe the nests and eggs of this species found in Isla Noir, as well as feeding behavior, including consumption of carrion but also active hunting in penguin colonies. Only the Southern Giant Petrel, and not the Northern Giant Petrel M. halli, has been seen within Chilean fiords and nearshore waters.

Southern Giant Petrel, photograph by John Cooper

Reference:

Marin, M. 2018. Breeding of the Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus in southern Chile. Marine Ornithology 46: 57-60.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 04 April 2018

This season’s hand-reared Chatham Albatrosses Thalassarche eremita, translocated as chicks from the Pyramid, sole breeding site for the species, have commenced fledging from the Point Gap translocation site on New Zealand’s Chatham Islands. During a windy period (view video) this week, the first four fledglings have left for the coastal waters of Chile (where a hand-reared bird from a previous season has been identified by its colour band - click here).

Translocated chicks on their bucket nests among adult decoys at Point Gap

The attempt to create a second breeding colony at Point Gap for the globally Vulnerable species is being led by the NGO Chatham Island Taiko Trust. The current group of 60 chicks is the fifth and last cohort to be hand-reared, bringing the total number translocated over the five years of the project to 282 (click here).

Decoys and a sound system will be left in place at Point Gap to help attract albatrosses to the site - which will be monitored for returning hand-reared as well as for wild birds. Visits to the Pyramid will also be made to look for any translocated birds that might have returned there instead.

Access ALN earlier postings on the translocation exercise here.

With thanks to Dave Boyle, Chatham Island Taiko Trust.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 April 2018

The first Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis hand-reared from an egg translocated from Kauai has returned to the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge on Oahu in the Hawaiian islands after three years at sea in the North Pacific Ocean.

VIO6, a three-year-old hand-reared Laysan Albatross, returns to the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge

Photograph by Megan Dalton, Pacific Rim Conservation

The NGO Pacific Rim Conservation which is responsible for running the project designed to establish a new colony safe from sea-level rise has written on its Facebook page “We are beyond excited to share that the first of the translocated Laysan Albatross chicks raised in 2015 returned as an adult!  V106 landed in the release site on Monday [26 March] after three years on the open ocean. She looked happy and healthy which is great.”

V106, deemed to be a female and currently the subject of a naming competition, is the first to return of the 10 chicks hatched from the translocated eggs collected in December 2014 and that fledged in June 2015 from within a predator-proof fence on the refuge. Over three seasons a total of 46 hand-reared chicks (out of 50 eggs that hatched) has fledged from the refuge (10 in 2014/5, 19 in 2015/16 and 17 in 2016/17), so it seems a good bet more returning hand-reared Laysan Albatrosses will be having their colour bands read over the next few years. The expectation is that they will form pairs and commence breeding in the refuge, thus establishing a new colony for the species.

V106 as a downy chick during hand rearing in 2015

Photograph by Robby Kohley, Pacific Rim Conservation

According to Pacific Rim Conservation more than 700 wild adult Laysan Albatrosses have visited the refuge over the past three years as a result of a social attraction project that uses speakers and decoys to attract birds. A pair of wild adults has commenced breeding in the refuge for the first time, laying an egg in December 2017 (click here).

Read more here and here.

Access earlier ACAP Latest News items on translocation efforts, including now with Black-footed Albatrosses P. nigripes for the second year, at the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge here.

With thanks to Lindsay Young, Pacific Rim Conservation

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 02 April 2018

Three Antarctic organisations have once again announced opportunities for early-career researchers. The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) are working together to attract talented early-career researchers, scientists, engineers and other professionals to strengthen international capacity and cooperation in fields such as climate, biodiversity, conservation, humanities and astrophysics research.

Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus on Signy Island, photograph by Michael Dunn

SCAR will offer three to four fellowships of up to USD 15 000 each and COMNAP will offer up to one fellowship with funding of up to USD 15 000. The fellowships enable early-career researchers to join a project team from another country, opening up new opportunities and often creating partnerships that last for many years and over many Antarctic field seasons. Note that the application process for SCAR and COMNAP Fellowships are now separate and the eligibility criteria differ. The deadline for SCAR and COMNAP Fellowship applications is 11 July 2018.

The SCAR and COMNAP schemes are launched in conjunction with CCAMLR’s Scientific Scholarship Scheme. The CCAMLR Scholarship provides funding of up to AUD 30 000 to assist early-career scientists to participate in the work of the CCAMLR Scientific Committee and its working groups over a period of two years. The objective of the scheme is to build capacity within the CCAMLR scientific community to help generate and sustain the scientific expertise needed to support the work of CCAMLR in the long-term. The deadline for CCAMLR Scholarship applications is 1 October 2018.

All three schemes are being jointly promoted by the three organisations.

View more information at SCAR and COMNAP Fellowships and CCAMLR Scholarships.

John Cooper, ACAP information Officer, 30 March 2018