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title: "Trouble with burrowscopes: is the Flesh-footed Shearwater population on Lord Howe Island decreasing or stable?"
---

# Trouble with burrowscopes: is the Flesh-footed Shearwater population on Lord Howe Island decreasing or stable?

Nicholas Carlile ([Department of Planning and Environment](https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/), Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia) and colleagues have published open access a letter in the journal *Global Ecology and Conservation* commenting on a [previous publication](https://www.acap.aq/en/latest-news/3247-issues-with-determining-the-population-status-of-flesh-footed-shearwaters-on-lord-howe-island-with-burrow-scopes?highlight=WyJsYXZlcnMiLDIwMTksImZsZXNoLWZvb3RlZCIsIjIwMTkgZmxlc2gtZm9vdGVkIl0=) in the same journal that considered population changes in [globally Near Threatened](http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/flesh-footed-shearwater-ardenna-carneipes) Flesh-footed Shearwaters *Ardenna carnepeis* on Australia’s [Lord Howe Island](https://www.lordhoweisland.info/).

  **![](https://www.acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Flesh_footed/Flesh-footed_Shearwaters_in_colony_Ian_Hutton.jpg)**

 A pair of Flesh-footed Shearwaters on Lord Howe Island, photograph by Ian Hutton

  **References:**

 Carlile, N., Priddel, D., Reid, T. & Fullagar, P. 2019.  Flesh-footed shearwater decline on Lord Howe: rebuttal to Lavers *et al*. 2019.  [Global Ecology and Conservation  doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00794,](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989419305487?via%3Dihub)

 Lavers, J.L., Hutton, I. & Bond, A.C. 2019.  Changes in technology and imperfect detection of nest contents impedes [*sic*] reliable estimates of population trends in burrowing seabirds.  [*Global Ecology and Conservation* doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00579](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235198941830533X?via=ihub&fbclid=IwAR1o0elCI6CrzP1zpIvXayBuJ3SxqoqmdVJwxtZgyK7TXn81ZqSez0VUCU0).

 *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 13 October 2019*