Graphical abstract from the publication

Patricia Serafini (Laboratory of Biomarkers of Aquatic Contamination and Immunochemistry, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil) and colleagues have reviewed contamination biomarkers in seabirds in the Marine Pollution Bulletin. The paper notes that seabirds are key sentinels for monitoring global marine pollution.  A key gap identified was the limited application of biomarkers in Southern Hemisphere seabird species.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Seabirds are long-lived apex predators that serve as key sentinels of ocean health, integrating contaminant exposure across trophic levels. This systematic review synthesises 275 peer-reviewed studies on biomarkers of aquatic contamination in seabirds, with 124 (45.1%) published in the last decade and the earliest dating back to 1976. Most studies focused on biomarkers associated with organic contaminants (64.0%), metal(loid)s (19.6%), or both (8.0%). Blood was the predominant biological matrix (55.6%), reflecting its suitability for non-lethal monitoring, followed by liver tissue (40.7%), primarily used to assess detoxification pathways. Unlike previous reviews that focused exclusively on molecular biomarkers or synthesised the use of biomarkers across broad aquatic taxa, this study provides the first global, cross-disciplinary synthesis integrating biochemical, cellular, molecular and physiological biomarkers specifically in seabirds. Across the dataset, biomarkers of xenobiotic biotransformation were the most frequently investigated (32.0% of studies), followed by endocrine disruption (20.3%) and oxidative stress (14.9%). A key gap identified was the limited application of biomarkers in the Southern Hemisphere species. Results highlighted the need to incorporate omics approaches, such as transcriptomics and proteomics to improve understanding of sublethal toxicity of aquatic contaminants. Coupling these approaches with non-lethal sampling in ecologically diverse sentinel species and mapping of global contamination hotspots offers a path toward developing sensitive, reproducible indicators of marine environmental health. Collectively, these findings provide an evidence-based framework to guide monitoring programmes and targeted capacity building in underrepresented regions, strengthening transboundary assessment of contaminants impacts and regulatory actions in marine ecosystems.:

With thanks to Patricia Serafini.

Reference:

Serafini, P., Dias, V.H.V., D., da Costa, D.M., da Silveira, G. de E., Geraldo, M.E., Deconto, V.S., Bugoni, L., Bainy, A.C.D., Lüchmann, K.H. 2026.  A systematic review of aquatic contamination biomarkers in seabirds and their potential for ocean health monitoring.  Marine Pollution Bulletin doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2026.119234.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 20 January 2026

Laysan Albatross orange 6M3 in the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge

A Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis was photographed on 16 January in the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on the Hawaiian island of Kauai wearing the orange colour band 6M3.  Laysan Albatrosses banded on Kauai usually get blacl colour bands with white lettering, so this bird was clearly unusual.  The bird had been banded as a chick in May 2017 on Islote Morro Prieto, a small islet that is part of Mexico’s Guadalupe Island.  The bird had been sighted for the first time in the refuge in April 2024 and then three times in April 2025.  This year it has turned up significantly earlier in the 2025/26 breeding season.

Laysan Albatrosses that fledged from a Mexican breeding island being recorded ashore on a Hawaiian island is quite common.  In addition to 6M3, a Guadalupe bird fledged a chick in the 2025/26 season and is now back incubating with the same partner.  In addition, Louise Barnfield writes "We also have a couple of other walkers [= non-breeders] who first showed up a couple of years ago and are back this year, but still just as walkers."

Over on Oahu in the Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve, three Mexican-fledged birds are reported breeding in the current season along with “several more that hang out regularly”, according to Lyndsay Young.

Information from the Facebook page of Pacific Rim Conservation, and from Louise Barnfield and Lyndsay Young, with thanks.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 19 January 2026, updated 20 January 2026

An adult Hawaiian Petrel fights with a Newell’s Shearwater outside its burrow (from the publication)

André Raine (Archipelago Research and Conservation, Kauai, Hawaii, USA) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Avian Conservation & Ecology on interspecific competition in three procellariid species on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

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

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.”

Reference:

Raine, A.F., Driskill, S., McFarlin, M., Brittingham, R., Rothe, J.A. & Raine, H. 2026.  Interspecific competition among Procellariids: implications for seabird management and colony creation projects.  Avian Conservation & Ecology 21(1).  doi.org/10.5751/ACE-02962-210101.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 16 January 2026

The Fourth World Seabird Conference (WSC4) will be held as a hybrid event in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia over 07-11 September 2026 with the overall theme “Wings of Adaptation: Seabirds in a Changing Climate”.

Abstract submissions (and travel award applications which require an abstract submission) for the conference have been extended from today until Friday 23 January 2026.

During the conference Richard Phillips (British Antarctic Survey, UK) and Johannes Fischer (Department of Conservation, Aotearoa New Zealand) will co-convene a symposium entitled “Bridging the implementation gap between seabird and seabird-bycatch mitigation research and fisheries management”.  Read about this and other symposia and workshops of interest to ACAP from here.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 15 January 2026