White-capped Albatross by ABUN artist Lea Finke, from a photograph by Graham Parker

Colin Miskelly (Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand) and colleagues have published in the journal Notornis on historical and recent records of birds of the Auckland Islands, including of six ACAP-listed species.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“The Auckland Islands are the largest island group in the New Zealand subantarctic region, and have the most diverse avifauna, including eight endemic taxa.  We present the first vcomprehensive review of the avifauna of the Auckland Islands, based on a database of 23,028 unique bird records made between 1807 and 2019.  At least 45 species breed (or bred) on the islands, with a further 77 species recorded as visiting the group as migrants, vagrants, or failed colonisers.  Information on the occurrence of each species on the different islands in the group is presented, along with population estimates, a summary of breeding chronology and other reproductive parameters, and diet where known.  The frequency at which 33 bird species were encountered during visits to the seven largest islands is compared graphically to facilitate comparison of each island’s bird fauna in relation to habitat differences and the history of introduced mammals.  Disappointment Island (284 ha) is the least modified island in the group.  However, it lacks forest, and so has a very restricted land bird fauna, lacking ten species that breed on other islands in the group.  Auckland Island (45,889 ha) is the only major island in the group where introduced mammals are still present.  As a result, it also has a depauperate bird fauna, with at least 11 species completely absent and a further seven species reported at lower frequencies than on the next largest islands (Adams and Enderby Islands).”

This publication forms part of a compilation of 19 papers appearing in a special issue of the journal Notornis of Birds New Zealand that covers many aspects of the avifauna of the Auckland Islands.  The special issue is also being made available as a 436-page book with the title Lost Gold: Ornithology of the subantarctic Auckland Islands.  Edited by Colin Miskelly and Craig Symes, it can be ordered for purchase (click here).  An interview with the two editors gives information about their work with the book.  Click here to access abstracts for all 19 papers.

With thanks to Colin Miskelly.

Reference:

Miskelly, C.M., Elliott, G.P., Parker, G.C., Rexer-Huber, K., Russ, R.B, Taylor, R.H., Tennyson, A.J.D. &Walker, K.J. 2020.  Birds of the Auckland Islands, New Zealand subantarctic.  Notornis 67: 59–151.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 26 April 2020

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Matt Rayner holds up a ‘WAD2020’ banner on Rosemary Rock, Manawatāwhi/Three Kings Islands, with Northern Buller’s Albatross chicks on both sides, photograph by Kevin Parker

After photographing a World Albatross Day banner on Campbell Island, site of New Zealand’s southernmost albatross colonies, Kevin Parker of Parker Conservation was fortunate enough to take another banner photo on New Zealand’s northernmost albatross colony on the Manawatāwhi/Three Kings Islands.  Parker Conservation’s other two staff members, Kalinka Rexer-Huber, with whom Kevin travelled to Campbell, and Graham Parker also recently took banner photos on New Zealand’s Auckland and Bounty Islands.

Rosemary Rock, a small islet (170 x 40 m; 50 m high) in the Princes Chain of the Manawatāwhi/Three Kings Islands is situated 57 km north of New Zealand’s North Island.  It supports a small population of 15-35 pairs of the globally Near Threatened and nationally Naturally Uncommon Northern Buller’s Albatross Thalassarche buller platei first discovered in 1983.

Along with Matt Rayner, Curator of Terrestrial Vertebrates, Jen Carol, photographer, both from the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and Trenton Neho and Thomas Hvid of local iwi Ngāti Kuri (the local Māori tribe), Kevin managed to get ashore in late February.  He writes: “It was a very quick trip and a very difficult landing - we had to swim onto the island and contend with a chunky swell in scrambling up some very slippery rocks - it was all great fun though!”  Seven adult Northern Buller’s Albatrosses and four chicks were seen on the island.  The Manawatāwhi/Three Kings Islands are mana by Ngati Kuri and the New Zealand Department of Conservation.

WAD2020 banner photos have also been taken at the Antipodes and Snares Islands, so in addition to the Three Kings, all five New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic island groups have been covered.

With thanks to Kevin Parker, Matt Rayner, Trenton Neho, Thomas Hvid and Jen Carol.

References:

Frost, P. 2017. Sooty Tern: Three Kings Islands.  BirdingNZ.net.

Wright, A.E. 1984.  Buller's Mollymawks breeding at the Three Kings Islands.  Notornis 31: 203–207.

McCallum, J., Brook, F. & Francis, M. 1985.  Buller's Mollymawks on Rosemary Rock, Three Kings Islands, in 1985. Notornis 32: 257-259.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 25 April 2020

Buller’s Albatross by ABUN artist Virginia Nicol, from a photograph by Laurie Smaglick Johnson

Wandering Albatrosses at sea, by ABUN artist Maureen Bennetts, from a photograph by Dimas Gianuca 

Jonathan Handley (BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Diversity and Distributions on using predator tracking, including of seven species of ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels, to test the efficacy of a large Marine Protected Area.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Aim

Marine protected areas can serve to regulate harvesting and conserve biodiversity. Within large multi‐use MPAs, it is often unclear to what degree critical sites of biodiversity are afforded protection against commercial activities. Addressing this issue is a prerequisite if we are to appropriately assess sites against conservation targets. We evaluated whether the management regime of a large MPA conserved sites (Key Biodiversity Areas, KBAs) supporting the global persistence of top marine predators.

Method

We collated population and tracking data (1,418 tracks) from 14 marine predator species (Procellariiformes, Sphenisciformes, Pinnipedia) that breed at South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and identified hotspots for their conservation under the recently developed KBA framework. We then evaluated the spatiotemporal overlap of these sites and the different management regimes of krill, demersal longline and pelagic trawl fisheries operating within a large MPA, which was created with the intention to protect marine predator species.

Results

We identified 12 new global marine KBAs that are important for this community of top predators, both within and beyond the focal MPA. Only three species consistently used marine areas at a time when a potentially higher‐risk fishery was allowed to operate in that area, while other interactions between fisheries and our target species were mostly precluded by MPA management plans.

Main conclusions

We show that current fishery management measures within the MPA contribute to protecting top predators considered in this study and that resource harvesting within the MPA does not pose a major threat—under current climate conditions. Unregulated fisheries beyond the MPA, however, pose a likely threat to identified KBAs. Our approach demonstrates the utility of the KBA guidelines and multispecies tracking data to assess the contributing role of well‐designed MPAs in achieving local and internationally agreed conservation targets.”

With thanks to Richard Phillips.

Reference:

Handley, J.M., Pearmain, E.J., Oppel, S.,  Carneiro, A.P.B., Hazin, C., Phillips, R.A., Ratcliffe, N., Staniland, I.J., Clay, T.A., Hall, J., Scheffer, A., Fedak, M., Boehme, L., Pütz, K., Belchier, M. & Boyd, I.L. & Dias, M.P. 2020. Evaluating the effectiveness of a large multi‐use MPA in protecting Key Biodiversity Areas for marine predators.  Diversity and Distributions DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13041.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 24 April 2020

The Short-tailed and Black-footed Albatross Research Team at the Hatsunezaki colony

From left: Miwa Konno, Naoki Tomita, Bungo Nishizawa, Yuna Kimoto, Masayoshi Kamioki, Satoshi Konno and Haruka Hayashi, photograph by Miwa Konno

 The World Albatross Day 2020 banner challenge has now reached 18 islands with the display of a banner on Japan’s Torishima in the Izu Islands, home of most of the world’s globally Vulnerable Short-tailed Albatrosses Phoebastria albatrus.

Naoki Tomita of the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology reports to ACAP Latest News that the banner was displayed on Torishima by the 2020 Short-tailed and Black-footed Albatross Research Team from the Yamashina Institute near the Hatsunezaki Short-tailed Albatross colony.  It was joined with a flag designed by Fumio Sato who was the Leader of the project that established this new colony in 1995 by attracting birds using decoys and audio devices (click here).  The 2020 research team was on the island over February and March monitoring the island’s albatrosses.

Yasuka and Mitsuki Tomita making the banner, photograph by Naoki Tomita

 The Torishima banner completed, photograph by Yasuko Tomita

The Torishima WAD2020 banner was made by Naoki Tomita’s wife, Yasuko and daughter, Mitsuku.  Both, Naoki reports, much enjoyed the task.

With thanks to Naoki, Yasuko and Mitsuki Tomita.

References:

Eda, M., Izumi, H., Konno, S., Konno, M. & Sato, F. 2016. Assortative mating in two populations of Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus on Torishima. Ibis 158: 868-875.

Sato, F. 2009.  Increase in pairs of the Short-tailed Albatross Diomedea albatrus at an artificial breeding ground.  Journal of the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology 40: 139-143.

Sato, F., Momose, K., Tsurumi, M., Hiraoka, YT., Mitamura, A. & Baba, T. 1998.  The first breeding success in the Short-tailed Albatross Colony Restoration Project on Tori-shima, using decoys and vocal lure.  Journal of the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology 30: 1-21.

Short-tailed Albatross by ABUN artist, Shary Page Weckwerth‎

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 25 April 2020