Autumn-Lynn Harrison (University of California, Santa Cruz, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Long Marine Laboratory, California, USA) and colleagues have published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution on an analysis of tracking data from 14 marine species in the Pacific Ocean, including the ACAP-listed Black-footed Phoebastria nigripes and Laysan P. immutabilis Albatrosses, as well as Sooty Shearwaters Ardenna grisea.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“During their migrations, marine predators experience varying levels of protection and face many threats as they travel through multiple countries’ jurisdictions and across ocean basins. Some populations are declining rapidly. Contributing to such declines is a failure of some international agreements to ensure effective cooperation by the stakeholders responsible for managing species throughout their ranges, including in the high seas, a global commons. Here we use biologging data from marine predators to provide quantitative measures with great potential to inform local, national and international management efforts in the Pacific Ocean. We synthesized a large tracking data set to show how the movements and migratory phenology of 1,648 individuals representing 14 species—from leatherback turtles to white sharks—relate to the geopolitical boundaries of the Pacific Ocean throughout species’ annual cycles. Cumulatively, these species visited 86% of Pacific Ocean countries and some spent three-quarters of their annual cycles in the high seas. With our results, we offer answers to questions posed when designing international strategies for managing migratory species.”

Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses, photograph courtesy of the Kure Atoll Conservancy

Read more about the publication here and here.

Reference:

Harrison, A.-L., Costa, D.P., Winship, A.J., Benson, S.R., Bograd, S.J., Antolos, M., Carlisle, A.B., Dewar, H., Dutton, P.H., Jorgensen, S.J., Kohin, S., Mate, B.R., Robinson, P.W., Schaefer, K.M., Shaffer, S.A., Shillinger, G.L., Simmons, S.E., Weng, K.C., Gjerde, K.C. & Block, B.A. 2018.  The political biogeography of migratory marine predators.  Nature Ecology & Evolution doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0646-8.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 12 September 2018

The Southern Seabird Solutions Trust based in New Zealand is seeking bright ideas on how to keep seabirds out of deepwater trawl nets.

Warp strike mortalities, where birds are killed on the wires connecting to the trawl net, have been a widely known issue since the early 2000s but until recently, net captures had been reported far less frequently. In New Zealand, after successfully reducing warp captures, attention has now focused on an apparent increase in captures of seabirds in or on the trawl net itself.

Richard Wells of New Zealand’s Deepwater Group said the birds most affected seem to be several of the smaller albatross species and diving birds such as the globally Vulnerable (and ACAP-listed) White-chinned Petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis and globally Near Threatened Sooty Shearwater Ardenna grisea. Captures include birds that have entered the net or become entangled on top of it. Many are still alive after capture (30-60%) although their survival is not known after release.

“The vessels where this is a problem are factory processor stern trawlers, 45 – 105 metres in length. Most trawl fishing effort in New Zealand is bottom trawl and the capture rate for these vessels is double that of midwater trawl vessels. As well as strict offal control the industry has tried several methods to reduce the incidence of seabird net captures. We have recently tried some acoustic deterrent methods but these seem to only have a very short-term effect on the birds’ behaviour. Our crews remove as many ‘stickers’ - the fish that are caught in the weave of the net - as possible before the net is shot away so the birds aren’t attracted to the net. Some vessels try to close the mouth of the net by turning the vessel while they are hauling. This may help, but we know it is not the complete answer.”

Albatrosses gather behind a stern trawler hauling its net

A giant petrel climbs aboard a full trawl net during hauling as albatrosses gather around

View a short video and send your ideas to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This project is sponsored by the New Zealand Department of Conservation, Sealord Group and Deepwater Group.

Janice Molloy, Southern Seabird Solutions Trust, New Zealand, 12 September 2018

The United Kingdom’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is seeking an Operational Manager experienced in the management of pest eradication and/or control projects, ideally involving aerial baiting, to oversee a House Mouse eradication attempt on Gough Island in the South Atlantic during the austral winter of 2020.

“Gough Island, part of the UK Overseas Territory of Tristan da Cunha, is [part of] a World Heritage Site, and one of the most important seabird islands in the world, with 22 breeding seabird species. The major threat to its biodiversity is the presence of introduced house mice that are preying on the chicks and eggs of endangered species including the Critically Endangered Tristan albatross and Gough bunting. All of Gough's seabirds, and especially those breeding in the winter, are vulnerable to mouse predation, and low breeding success means that most breeding seabird populations are declining, which has a negative impact on the site's importance and value."

The closing date for applications is 05 October 2018 with interviews scheduled for 17 October 2018.  Read more about the 30-month contract position and how to apply here.

Rob Ronconi restrains a Tristan Albatross chick attacked by mice on Gough Island, it died from its wounds the next day; photo by Peter Ryan

The Gough Island Restoration Programme is being carried out by the RSPB in partnership with Tristan da Cunha, BirdLife South Africa and the South African Department of Environmental Affairs.  Read more here.

Read more items in ACAP Latest News on Gough’s mice here.

With thanks to Clare Stringer.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 10 September 2018

Claire Mason (Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia) and colleagues have published in the journal Diversity and Distributions on the coverage of foraging areas of globally Near Threatened Shy Albatrosses Thalassarche cauta by Marine Protection Areas (MPAs).

The paper’s abstract follows;

“Aim: To assess the efficacy of marine reserves in Australia for shy albatross, using long-term tracking data.

Location: Albatross Island, Tasmania, and south Australian waters.

Methods:  We integrated a tracking dataset consisting of 111 individuals collected over 23 years and generated Brownian bridge kernel density estimations to identify important habitat. We quantified the overlap between the foraging distribution of early incubating adults and post-fledgling juveniles with management boundaries and marine reserves. We compared the extent of coverage of albatross foraging areas by Marine Protection Areas (MPAs) relative to a randomly designed network of the same size to determine whether the spatial protection measures are likely to be effective.

Results:  Incubating adults consistently foraged in waters to the northwest of Tasmania while post-fledglings occupied shelf waters around Tasmania and South Australia. We show that our sample of 99 incubating adults adequately represented the population but that our sample of 12 post-fledgling birds was insufficient, thereby limiting the confidence in our results for this life stage. The Commonwealth Government has the majority of management responsibility for shy albatross at-sea, containing 88% and 90% of the area occupied most intensively by adult and post-fledgling shy albatross, respectively. Randomly designed reserve networks outperformed the current MPA network for both life stages, such that the mean protection by a random reserve system was 30% and 12% higher than the actual protection for adults and juveniles in Commonwealth waters.

Main conclusions:  Important foraging habitat of shy albatross from Albatross Island is mostly within Commonwealth-managed waters. The current MPA network, the only spatial protection measure for shy albatross, provides less coverage for this species than a randomly placed network. An increase in the representation of productive shelf waters in MPA networks would benefit the conservation of shy albatross through reducing fisheries interactions and protecting habitat in these regions.”

Shy Albatrosses, photograph by Aleks Terauds

With thanks to Barry Baker.

Reference:

Mason, C., Alderman, R.| McGowan, J., |Possingham, H.P., Hobday, A.J., Sumner, M. & Shaw, J. 2018.  Telemetry reveals existing marine protected areas are worse than random for protecting the foraging habitat of threatened shy albatross (Thalassarche cauta).  Diversity and Distributions DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12830.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 07 September 2018