Lucía Soliño (Instituto Português do Mar da Atmosfera, Lisbon, Portugal) and colleagues have published in the journal Harmful Algae on whether harmful algal blooms can affect pelagic seabirds, such as Cory’s Calonectris borealis and Scopoli’s C. diomedea Shearwaters.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Marine birds have been hypothesized to be underreported victims of harmful algal blooms (HABs). Toxic blooms of Pseudo-nitzschia spp., the primary amnesic toxin producer microalgae, domoic acid (DA) are known to cause massive mortalities of coastal seabirds and marine mammals around the world. However, these fatalities are only detected when birds die nearby the coastline and little is known about possible outbreaks of pelagic seabirds in oceanic areas. Here we aim to understand whether pelagic seabirds are exposed to amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) toxins. For this purpose, we tracked pelagic seabirds feeding on small epipelagic fish and squid, reported to be vectors of DA, which are obtained in high productivity zones where intense Pseudo-nitzschia blooms regularly occur. In particular, we tracked Cory’s (Calonectris borealis) and Scopoli’s (C. diomedea) shearwaters breeding in Gran Canaria (Canary Is.) and in Menorca (Balearic Is.) and feeding on the Canary Current region and the Catalonian coast, respectively. We sampled birds for blood at the recovery of the GPS (Global Positioning System) and analyzed it for DA determination by Liquid Chromatography coupled with Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Among the 61 samples analyzed from Gran Canaria, and 87 from Menorca, 31 (50.8%) and 28 (32.2%) from each location presented detectable levels of DA ranging 1.0–10.6 ng mL⁻¹. This work reveals that DA can be detected at variable levels in the blood of ASP-asymptomatic shearwaters and suggests a chronic exposure of shearwaters to DA, highlighting the need for further studies on DA effects. These results are of high relevance due to the vulnerability of these marine birds, which populations are in continuous decline. Since global warming is expected to alter and increase the occurrence of HABs, marine toxins might become an additional stressor for seabirds and exacerbate the already precarious conservation status of many species.”

Scopoli's Shearwater, photograph by 'Pep' Arcos

Reference:

Soliño, L., Ferrer-Obiol, J., Navarro-Herrero, L. González-Solís, J. & Costa, P.R. 2019.  Are pelagic seabirds exposed to amnesic shellfish poisoning toxins?  Harmful Algae 84: 172-180.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 23 May 2019

Ben Dilley (FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa) and colleagues have published in the journal Ardea on three species of burrowing petrels at Marion Island competing for burrows, including two ACAP-listed Procellaria petrels.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Competition for nest sites is relatively common amongst burrow-nesting Procellariiformes, especially on some sub-Antarctic islands where there is limited availability of good burrow-nesting habitat. Where space is limited, petrels may even successfully share a common burrow entrance or nest chamber and burrow densities can reach >7000 burrows/ha. Interspecies burrow competition and chick evictions generally occur as a result of an overlap in breeding seasons, yet there are few documented records of this behaviour and even within study colonies many evictions are unconfirmed or probably go undetected. Here we report on interactions among three burrow-nesting petrels (White-chinned Petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis, Grey Petrels P. cinerea and Great-winged Petrels Pterodroma macroptera) at Marion Island which we observed through regular nest checks with a burrowscope and using infra-red video cameras inside burrow chambers. Despite relatively low petrel densities, White-chinned Petrels were responsible for 17% (8/46) of the Great-winged Petrel chick mortalities over the five breeding seasons (3% of the breeding attempts), but two were also recorded feeding Great-winged Petrel chicks. A pair of White-chinned Petrels evicted a Grey Petrel chick, but then had their own chick killed by Grey Petrels the following season, who went on to breed successfully in the same burrow. Feral Cats Felis catus were eradicated in 1991 and the greatly reduced petrel populations are slowly recovering, which could exacerbate competition for burrows on Marion.”

White-chinned Petrel with a 97-day old Great-winged Petrel chick it had killed, photograph by Ben Dilley

 Supplementary video at https://youtu.be/OyeSBDW8tqg of a White-chinned Petrel kiling a 30-day old Great-winged Petrel chick.

With thanks to Ben Dilley.

Reference:

Dilley, B.J., Davies, D., Stevens, K., Schoombie, S., Schoombie, J. & Ryan, P.G. 2019.  Burrow wars and sinister behaviour among burrow-nesting petrels at sub-Antarctic Marion Island.  Ardea 107: 97-102.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 22 May 2019

After two weeks of meetings in the neighbourhood of Jurerê Internacional, Santa Caterina Island, Brazil, the Eleventh Meeting of the Advisory Committee (AC11) completed its work with the adoption of its report last Friday – preceded by a sea trip to two island fortresses that date back to the 18th Century.

In the first week the Population and Conservation Status (PaCSWG5) and Seabird Bycatch (SBWG9) Working Groups met separately for a total of five days of discussions.  The reports of these two meetings were then presented to AC11 by their Co convenors for consideration and are now publicly available on this website (see AC11 Docs 9 & 10).

The AC11 report will now undergo copy-editing by the Secretariat in Hobart and then be circulated to ACAP Parties for final approval, from when it will also be publicly available on this website, at which time ACAP Latest News will summarize its main achievements.

Closing AC11 and preparing for a Hobart winter:  ACAP's Information Officer presents the last "A-beanie" left over from AC4 held in South Africa in 2008 to Christine Bogel, ACAP's third Executive Secretary

The day before report adoption, 21 attendees of ACAP’s 2019 meetings in Brazil went on a day-long sea trip from the Centro district of the island city of Floreanópolis into the 4400-ha Anhatomirim Environmental Protection Area (AEPA), visiting the Brazilian mainland for a help-yourself buffet at the sea’s edge and then made landings on two small islands in Baie Norte that are home to small fortresses built in the mid-18th Century.  Although no dolphins were seen, a particular aim of the excursion (click here), Magnificent Frigatebirds Fregata magnificens flying overhead and roosting on palm trees as well as Capybaras Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (the largest living rodent) acting as lawn mowers around the Fortaleza de Santa Cruz on Ilha de Anhatomirim and Fortaleza de Santo Antônio on Ilha de Ratones Grande were highlights of an enjoyable day. The two island fortresses are part of a suite of 19 coastal fortresses (“Brazilian Fortresses Ensemble”) which was placed on Brazil's Tentative List for World Heritage status in 2015.

Fortaleza de Santa Cruz

Richard Phillips, Co-convenor, Population and Conservation Status Working Group, gets down to Capybara level

A day's break: the excursion party on the entrance steps to the Fortaleza de Santa Cruz

A juvenile Magnificent Frigatebird tries to seize a food item while staying on the wing, photograph by Richard Phillips

With grateful thanks to Patricia Pereira Serafini for arranging and helping to guide the outing, and to all ACAP’s Brazilian colleagues for so efficiently hosting this year's ACAP meetings in the delightful surroundings of a sub-tropical beach resort.

John Cooper, .AP Information Officer, 21 May 2019

A juvenile mollymawk albatross Thalassarche sp. in an emaciated state was taken into care by Wildbase, a wildlife health service attached to the School of Veterinary Science at Massey University in New Zealand’s Palmerston North on 15 April this year.

The young bird (considered most likely a Globally and Nationally Vulnerable Campbell Albatross T. impavida from photographs seen by Colin Miskelly, Curator Vertebrates, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa) was found some 60 km inland from the nearest sea in Greytown on New Zealand’s North Island.  Over 12/13 April strong southerly winds of up to 47 km/h in the region may have contributed to the bird being blown inland.  On arrival at Wildbase it weighed only 1300 g, in comparison with healthy adult Campbell Albatrosses that weigh around three kilograms.  Despite treatment (oral and intravenous rehydration, feeding by tube and being placed in an incubator) the albatross died overnight on the 16/17th.

The juvenile albatross in captivity at Wildbase

Ventral X-ray of the albatross with a plastic straw in the oesophagus (vertical position at top)

Lateral X-ray of the albatross

The plastic straw removed on post mortem

Wildbase reports on its Facebook page:

“It unfortunately died despite our efforts.  It was emaciated and in a very poor state … The [plastic] straw (photographed) was a find on post mortem - which you may be able to make out in the oesophagus of the lateral X-ray”.

Wildbase has also written to ACAP Latest News: “We see emaciated young albatross around this time each year and we now are actively looking for ingested plastics as they are hard to identify on X-ray. We have been using the gastroscope to check the stomach of these birds and often remove bits of plastic.”

Ingestion of plastic items by many albatross species has been regularly recorded, most notably by the Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis of the North Pacific.  Plastic fed to chicks by their parents may be regurgitated in a bolus (along with squid beaks and other indigestible items) prior to fledging.  The albatross, probably having only recently left Campbell Island (the sole breeding site for Campbell Albatrosses where fledging occurs from mid-April to early May), may have been fed the straw by a parent prior to it fledging, or it may have picked it up from the sea surface and swallowed it itself.

Plastic straws appear to be rarely recorded as having been swallowed by southern hemisphere albatrosses.  A previous record covered by ACAP Latest News is of a Grey-headed Albatross T. chrysostoma washed up dead on an Australian shore which contained a straw as well as fragments of latex balloons (click here).

Globally, campaigns have started against the use of single-use plastic straws, many of which end up at sea once discarded (click here).  If successful, perhaps not too many more albatrosses will die from them.

Albatrosses do occasionally end up surprising distances inland.  An Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos ended up 500 km inland in Canada (click here).

With thanks to Pauline Nijman, Wildbase Technician Supervisor and Colim Miskelly, for information and photographs.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 20 May 2019