Removing plastic fragments from a Flesh-footed Shearwater chick on Lord Howe Island, photograph by Ian Hutton

Alexander Bond (Bird Group, The Natural History Museum, Tring, United Kingdom) and Jennifer Lavers have published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology on the global significance of plastic pollution impacts on Near Threatened Flesh-footed or Sable Shearwaters Ardenna carneipes.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Plastic pollution is a pervasive global threat, yet population-level impacts on wildlife remain poorly resolved for most taxa.  Sable Shearwaters (Ardenna carneipes) offer a rare opportunity, exhibiting some of the highest documented plastic burdens of any seabird and demonstrating clear physiological and demographic harm even at low exposure levels.  Their case reveals that the widespread assumption of minimal plastic impact is largely founded on a lack of evidence rather than evidence of no effect, driven by the difficulty of detecting mortality and sublethal effects in complex marine systems.  Their shared life history and anatomical traits make their responses to plastics broadly indicative of what many species may experience as global plastic inputs continue to rise.  As international policy efforts stall, these findings highlight the urgency of anticipatory, rather than reactive, research and governance.  Extreme-exposure systems like Sable Shearwaters provide essential early warning signals that must inform rapid conservation and regulatory action.”

Reference:

Bond, A.L. & Lavers, J.J. 2026.  When absence of evidence is not evidence of absence: what an advanced case reveals about plastic impacts on seabirds.  Environmental Science & Technology doi.org/10.1021/acs.ujest.5c17272.

 The latest ACAP Species Infographic released today, the 22nd to be produced in the 31-species series, is for the Vulnerable Chatham Albatross Thalassarche eremita.  The species breeds only on The Pyramid, a spectacular rocky stack off New Zealand’s Chatham Islands.  The new infographic has been sponsored by the New Zealand Department of Conservation with support from the Chatham Islands Landscape Restoration Trust.

It is the 18th albatross infographic to be produced, leaving just four albatrosses to go.  It is also being produced in the official ACAP languages of French and Spanish.  These two versions are expected to be released soon.

"Guardians of the Pyramid: The Chatham Albatross” by Anju Rajesh of Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) for World Albatross Day, 19 June 2026 and its theme of “Habitat Restoration”

The ACAP Species Infographic series has been designed to help inform the public, including school learners, of the threats faced by albatrosses and petrels and what is being and can be done to combat them.  They serve to complement the more detailed and referenced ACAP Species Assessments, the concise and illustrated ACAP Species Summaries and the ACAP Photo Essay series.  English and (for some) Portuguese language versions of the infographics produced to date are available to download here.  French and Spanish versions can be found in their respective language menus for the website under Infographies sur les espèces and Infographía sobres las especies.

The 22 infographics produced to date may be freely downloaded at a high resolution to allow for printing professionally in two poster sizes (approximately A2 and A3).  Please note they are only being made available for personal use or when engaging in activities that will aid in drawing attention to the conservation crisis faced by the world’s albatrosses and petrels – when ACAP will be pleased to receive a mention.  They should not be used for personal gain.

It is intended to produce one more ACAP Species Infographics in the first half of this year in support of World Albatross Day on 19 June (“WAD2026”).  It will be for the Endangered Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos, endemic to the Tristan da Cunha islands, part of the United Kingdom Overseas Territory of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic.

The ACAP Species Infographics are all created by Thai illustrator Namasri ‘Namo’ Niumim from Bangkok.  Namo is a graduate of the School of Architecture and Design, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design.

With thanks to Mike Bell, David Boyle, Johannes Fischer, Jess MacKenzie and Chris Robertson for their valued help.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 14 April 2026

First photo from the Crozets?  Wandering Albatrosses on Possession Island, summer 1907/08, photograph by Anders Harboe Ree

Joanie Van de Walle (Département de biologie, chimie et géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Canada) and colleagues have published on boldness in Vulnerable Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans open access in the journal Oikos.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Population dynamics are shaped by individual differences. With a good understanding of the relationships between individual differences and vital rates, population models can be improved to yield more realistic and detailed demographic projections. Personality is expected to shape individual differences in performance. Yet, an empirical quantification of its impact on population dynamics is currently lacking. Here, we developed and analyzed a three-dimensional hyperstate population model that accounts for three sources of individual differences simultaneously in its structure: age, breeding state and boldness as a measure of personality. We parameterized our model using empirical demographic and boldness data on the wandering albatross Diomedea exulans population from Crozet. We quantified the relative importance of boldness through sensitivity analyses and simulations of increased strength of relationship between boldness and three vital rates (survival, breeding probability and breeding success). We showed that sensitivity of population growth rate to changes in vital rates followed the normal distribution of boldness within the population with population growth rate being less sensitive to changes in the vital rates of extreme shy or bold individuals. Our simulations showed that increasing the strength of the relationship between boldness and survival would yield the greatest shift in boldness distribution over time compared to breeding probability and breeding success. However, shifts in boldness distribution appeared constrained by the low heritability (< 0.2) value and the large variance in boldness in this population. Our study provides an important contribution to our understanding of the role of personality in shaping the population dynamics of wild species. In the face of global change, our approach offers a promising avenue to predict the potential for behavioral adaptation. More generally, our approach may help to unravel the complex interplay between individual variations in any (or many) traits and population dynamics.”

Reference:

Van de Walle, J., van Daalen, S., Patrick, S.C., Barbraud, C., Delord, K., Weimerskirch, H., Thorley, J. & Jenouvrier, S. 2026.  Linking differences in personality to demography in the wandering albatross.  Oikos doi.org/10.1002/oik.11765p.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 13 April 2026

Balearic Shearwater by ABUN artist Mary Ann Stafford, watercolour and collage, after a photograph by Pep Arcos

Marina Ramírez-Bal (Marine Research, Basque Research and Technology Alliance, Pasaia, Spain) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation on migration of the Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus.  Their study shows that core non-breeding areas for the species are in the Bay of Biscay, outside the Mediterranaean and the western Iberian coast, inside it.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Understanding the migratory patterns of declining species is essential to guide targeted conservation efforts. We studied the migratory dynamics of the critically endangered Balearic shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus) using geolocator data spanning 88 annual cycles from 53 individuals tracked between 2017 and 2022. Breeding birds were tagged at colonies across their main breeding islands in the Balearic archipelago (Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca). Post-breeding movements revealed distinct migratory routes: all individuals from Ibiza and Mallorca (n = 78) migrated to the Atlantic, whereas 80 % of those from Menorca (n = 10) remained within the Mediterranean. Among Atlantic migrants, 54 % established core non-breeding areas in the Bay of Biscay, 41 % in the Western Iberia, and 5 % in the Gulf of Cadiz. Of the 27 individuals tracked across multiple years, 89 % consistently returned to the same non-breeding area, demonstrating strong site fidelity. Duration of stay in these regions ranged from one to seven months, with earlier arrivals typically remaining longer. Migration timing was influenced by breeding success: failed breeders departed approximately one month earlier than successful ones. These results underscore the importance of long-term monitoring programmes in capturing individual-level migratory patterns. By revealing consistent use of specific non-breeding areas, such programmes help identify sites that are repeatedly important across both space and time. Enabled by biologging technology, these insights are invaluable for the conservation of declining species. Site-based conservation actions focused on key Atlantic areas could deliver tangible benefits during the non-breeding season.”

Reference:

Ramírez-Bal, M., García-Barón, I., García, D., Arcos, J.M., Carrasco, G., Lewin, P., Delord, K. & Louzao, M. 2026.  Individual migratory patterns of the critically endangered Balearic shearwater: A multi-colony and multi-year study in the NE Atlantic.  Global Ecology and Conservation 65.  e03989.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 10 April 2026