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Read about recent developments and findings in procellariiform science and conservation relevant to the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels in ACAP Latest News.

Around the world. Identifying a circumnavigation Southern Ocean flyway by tracking albatrosses and petrels

Flyways
The six marine flyways identified across four ocean basins from analysis of tracking data for 48 pelagic seabird species breeding at the 64 colonies indicated by the black squares

Joanne Morten (BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK) and many colleagues have published open access in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography on identifying marine flyways by tracking pelagic seabirds.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Aim

To identify the broad-scale oceanic migration routes (‘marine flyways’) used by multiple pelagic, long-distance migratory seabirds based on a global compilation of tracking data.

Location

Global.

Time Period

1989–2023.

Major Taxa Studied

Seabirds (Families: Phaethontidae, Hydrobatidae, Diomedeidae, Procellariidae, Laridae and Stercorariidae).

Methods

We collated a comprehensive global tracking dataset that included the migratory routes of 48 pelagic and long-distance migrating seabird species across the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific and Southern Oceans. We grouped individuals that followed similar routes, independent of species or timings of migration, using a dynamic time warping clustering approach. We visualised the routes of each cluster using a line density analysis and used knowledge of seabird spatial ecology to combine the clusters to identify the broad-scale flyways followed by most pelagic migratory seabirds tracked to-date at an ocean-basin scale.

Results

Six marine flyways were identified across the world's oceans: the Atlantic Ocean Flyway, North Indian Ocean Flyway, East Indian Ocean Flyway, West Pacific Ocean Flyway, Pacific Ocean Flyway and Southern Ocean Flyway. Generally, the flyways were used bidirectionally, and individuals either followed sections of a flyway, a complete flyway, or their movements linked two or more flyways. Transhemispheric figure-of-eight routes in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and a circumnavigation flyway in the Southern Ocean correspond with major wind-driven ocean currents.

Main Conclusions

The marine flyways identified demonstrate that pelagic seabirds have similar and repeatable migration routes across ocean-basin scales. Our study highlights the need to account for connectivity in seabird conservation and provides a framework for international cooperation.”

Reference:

Morten, J.A, et al. 2025.  Global marine flyways identified for long‐distance migrating seabirds from tracking data.  Global Ecology and Biogeography 34(2). e70004.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 24 February 2025

Wait for me fellows! Late-breeding Manx Shearwaters play catch up on migration

Manx Shearwater Brazil Dimas Gianuca
A Manx Shearwater off the coast of Brazil, photograph by Dimas Gianuca

Katrina Siddiqi-Davies (Department of Biology, University of Oxford, UK) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Scientific Reports on migrating Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Long-distance migrants must optimise their timing of breeding to capitalise on resources at both breeding and over-wintering sites. In species with protracted breeding seasons, departing earlier on migration might be advantageous, but is constrained by the ongoing breeding attempt. Here we investigated how breeding timing affects migratory strategies in the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus), a trans-hemispheric migratory seabird with large temporal variation in the onset of breeding. Using a geolocator tracking dataset, we found that that later-laying shearwaters had shorter overall breeding periods, yet still departed later for autumn migration. Earlier laying birds had increased migratory duration, stopped with greater frequency and at sites of higher chlorophyll concentration. Meanwhile, later departing birds flew more at night during migratory stints, and night flight generally increased with moon illumination, which could reflect moonlight providing the light conditions required for visually guided flight. Accordingly, birds that experienced higher levels of moon illumination whilst migrating had shorter migration durations. Here we provide an example of migratory behaviour being adjustable with breeding timing, allowing birds to both complete breeding and capitalise on resource availability at the wintering site.”

Reference:

Siddiqi-Davies, K., Wynn, J., Padget, O. et al. 2024.  Night flight facilitates late breeding catch-up in a long-distance migratory seabird.  Scientific Reports 14. 31792.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 21 February 202

Live with albatrosses for up to a year! Volunteer opportunities on Kure Atoll in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands

Kure advert The State of Hawai'i’s Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of Forestry and Wildlife is seeking Habitat Restoration Volunteers for work in the Kure Atoll Wildlife Sanctuary in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Also known as Hōlanikū, the atoll provides important habitat for wildlife, including the koloa pōhaka (Laysan Duck) and 'llioholoikauaua (Hawaiian Monk Seal).  Eighteen species of seabirds nest on Hōlanikū including kaʻupu (Black-footed Albatross) and ʻaoʻū, (Christmas Shearwater).

Laysan Albatrosses Kure Atoll Cynthia Vanderlip
A pair of Laysan Albatrosses with their egg on Kure Atoll, photograph by Cynthia Vanderlip

DLNR is committed to eradicating non-native and invasive plant species such as Golden Crown-beard Verbesina encelioides from the atoll.   Invasive plants are a significant management concern because they displace native plants, which are necessary for wildlife habitat and promote dune stability.  This position is a rare opportunity to protect and recover a unique ecosystem while living in a remote wildlife sanctuary.

Hōlanikū is an extremely remote work location and transportation to the atoll is limited and infrequent.   Deployment to any remote field station is a serious undertaking. Delays in travel dates due to weather or ship mechanical issues may occur.  Due to Hōlanikū being a remote location and difficult to access, response times for emergencies, including evacuation, may be uncertain.  The ability to live and work in close quarters with a small group of people for an extended period of time is of the utmost importance.  Field teams typically consist of three to five personnel.  The duration of this camp will be discussed during the interview process.

To learn more about the work click here for the full job description or visit http://kureatollconservancy.org/our-work/.

To apply send resume, cover letter and three references or email queries with a request for the full advertisement to Cynthia Vanderlip, Naomi Worcester and Dwight Moss at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Read a guest ACAP Monthly Missive by a Kure volunteer describing the field work she undertakes.

With thanks to Cynthis Vanderlip, Kure Atoll Conservancy.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 20 February 2025

New Zealand albatrosses are considered heavily reliant on fisheries as a food source

Bullers Albatross Virginia Nicol The guiding heart“The guiding heart”, a Buller’s Albatross Thalassarche bulleri by Virginia Nicol, Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) for World Albatross Day 2024

Aimee van der Reis and colleagues (Faculty of Science, The University of Auckland, New Zealand ) have produced a final report for the Department of Conservation’s Conservation Service Programme that looks at the diets of 10 species of albatrosses that breed within or visit New Zealand in relation to fishery discards.

The report’s executive summary follows:

“Seabird injury or mortality caused by interactions with New Zealand commercial fishing activities is a major conservation concern with the majority of interactions occurring in the surface longline (SLL) and trawl (TWL) fisheries.  Albatrosses (Diomedeidae) are among the most threatened and the majority of these long-lived, large seabirds have broad geographic ranges.vvv Seabirds are attracted to fishing vessel activity as an additional food source and this puts them at risk of interacting with vessel structures and fishing gear. This includes incidental capture whilst feeding on bait and discards. It is not clear to what extent the diet of albatrosses consists of naturally foraged prey in comparison to fisheries bait/waste associated with fishing activity, and ultimately their reliance on commercial fisheries as a food source.

In this dietary study, scat from colony birds and stomach contents from necropsy samples (commercial fishing mortalities) were used to detect taxa consumed by 10 albatross species using DNA metabarcoding.   Scat samples (n=86) were opportunistically collected from four subantarctic islands between January 2019 to April 2024.  Albatross necropsies (n=72) took place from September 2022 to February 2024.  Based on the frequency of occurrence, the diet among all albatross samples consisted largely of fishes (> 50% deep-sea and beyond known albatross diving depths) and to lesser extent cephalopods.   Differences in prey diversity (higher in necropsy samples) were found to be significant between sample type, however, no specific prey species were found to be responsible for this difference.  Observer and fisher reported bait and discard species were predominantly squid and mackerel.

Overall, the majority of fish and cephalopod species identified in both colony scat and necropsy samples overlapped extensively with species that were most likely to be made available through SLL and TWL fisheries activities, i.e., discard/species targeted/bait used. These results suggest that albatrosses are heavily reliant on fisheries as a food source whether they were sampled from fishing vessels (i.e., necropsy) or from nesting sites (i.e., scats).”

Reference:

van der Reis, A., Fei Tham, F, & Jeffs, A. 2025. Albatross Diet: Composition of Natural Prey versus Fisheries Bait/Waste.   Auckland: The University of Auckland.  [42 pp.]

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 1x February 2025

Less seal for dinner? Mercury concentrations have decreased in giant petrel chicks on Bird Island, South Atlantic

05 DSC 0157 sm
Giant petrels scavenge from a seal carcass on Bird Island, photograph by Richard Phillips

William Mills (British Antarctic Survey, UK) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Environmental Research on annual trends in mercury contamination of giant petrels Macronectes spp. in the South Atlantic. “This study demonstrates decreasing Hg contamination of giant petrels during the 2010s at [Bird Island], which corresponded with changes in their trophic niches (i.e., a likely reduction in carrion consumption) and was related to annual indices of fur seal carrion availability (dead pups).

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Annual variation in prey availability can influence seabird diets and hence their exposure to pollutants, including mercury (Hg).  Among seabirds, those species that scavenge carrion of marine mammals and other top predators may be especially vulnerable to accumulating high Hg concentrations.  In this study, total Hg (THg) concentrations and carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope values were measured in chick feathers of northern giant petrels Macronectes halli and southern giant petrels M. giganteus at Bird Island, South Georgia (2013–2020).  Both species are opportunistic predator-scavengers which feed mainly on penguins and Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella carrion, and to lesser extents on marine prey and other seabirds.  THg concentrations were not significantly different between northern giant petrels and southern giant petrels (means ± SDs, 2.49 ± 0.92 μg g−1 dw and 2.34 ± 0.85 μg g−1 dw, respectively), but concentrations in both species declined significantly over time, as did δ13C and δ15N values.  Annual feather THg concentrations of giant petrels were positively correlated with the number of dead Antarctic fur seal pups and their mortality rate at Bird Island, but not with population sizes or breeding success of penguins.  Accordingly, these results suggest a shift away from carrion (associated with the decreasing size and productivity of the Antarctic fur seal population) and towards the consumption of prey from lower trophic levels (e.g., Antarctic krill Euphausia superba), with a corresponding reduction in dietary Hg exposure.  Future work should investigate the consequences of changing prey availability for diets and pollutant exposure to other marine predators within the South Georgia and Scotia Sea marine ecosystems, given the ongoing environmental changes in the region.”

With thanks to Richard Phillips.

Reference:

Mills, W.F., Buss, D.L., Bustamante, P., Ramírez, F., Forcada, J., Forero, B.G. & Phillips, R.A. 2025.  Annual trends in mercury contamination are associated with changing trophic niches of giant petrels,  Environmental Research 270,  121010.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 18 February 2025

The Agreement on the
Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels

ACAP is a multilateral agreement which seeks to conserve listed albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters by coordinating international activity to mitigate known threats to their populations.

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