Kelly Hare (School of Graduate Research, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand) and colleagues have published open access in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand on seven New Zealand plant and animal species with decreasing populations that are deemed “intractable”  to conservation, including the Flesh-footed Shearwater Ardenna carenepeis (globally Near Threatened but nationally Vulnerable).

Conservation actions proposed for the shearwater are land-based predator control, “expanding global co-operation on fisheries bycatch mitigation and halting the “cultural harvest”.

The papers abstract follows:

“Global biodiversity loss is accelerating at an alarming rate. While considerable effort and resources have gone into conservation management for many threatened species in New Zealand (NZ), some species are still ‘losing the battle’ despite much effort, and others have been ignored altogether. Here, we present seven case studies to illustrate the breadth of complex, often ambiguous, threats faced by taxa in NZ. These threats originate from the effects of agriculture and harvesting, irreversible habitat modification and loss, impediments to connectivity, disruption of parasite–host relationships, introduced species and susceptibility to disease, and are further exacerbated by complexities of political and legal inertia, low prioritisation and limited conservation funding. We outline the conservation challenges and identify advances needed to meet NZ's long-term conservation goals. The next 30 years of conservation require new tools in order to protect especially those ‘intractable’ species that have thus far defied efforts to ensure their survival.”

Removing plastic particles from a Flesh-footed Shearwater, photograph by Ian Hutton

Read a popular article on the paper here.

Reference:

Hare, K.M., Borrelle, S.B., Buckley, H.L., Collier, K.J., Constantine, R., Perrott, J.K., Watts, C.H. & Towns, D.R. 2019.  Intractable: species in New Zealand that continue to decline despite conservation efforts.  Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand  doi.org/10.1080/03036758.2019.1599967.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 30 April 2019

Alice Pereira (Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Marine Ornithology on distinguishing skeletal specimens of Black-browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris from those of Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses T. chlororhynchos.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Identifying albatross species in the wild involves recognizing plumage pattern and bill coloration. However, skeletal specimens in museums or deteriorated beached carcasses may lack the external characters needed for identification. Although it is possible to distinguish Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris from Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross T. chlororhynchos based on skull morphology, the specimen remains unidentified if the skull is not available. We measured 96 specimens of Black-browed and 55 Atlantic Yellow-nosed albatross, performing 64 measurements for the entire skeleton. Fifty-nine measurements were based on the literature and five new measurements were established specifically for this work. To search for morphometric differences, we first carried out t-tests and principal component analysis (PCA). Then, we performed discriminant function analysis on PCA results and on six selected postcranial measurements to generate a discriminant function. Sixty-one means (93.85 %) of Black-browed Albatross measurements were significantly larger than those of Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross. The discriminant function containing the six selected postcranial measurements correctly identified 97.35 % of the specimens through reclassification. This is the first work on osteological morphometric analysis of the entire skeleton for Black-browed and Atlantic Yellow-nosed albatross that is based on a large sample of specimens.”

Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, photograph by Peter Ryan

Reference:

Pereira, A., Tavares, M. & Moreno, I.B. 2019.  Separating Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris and Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross T. chlororhynchos by osteological morphometric analysis.  Marine Ornithology 47: 139-148.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 April 2019

Karine Delord (Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé, Villiers-en-Bois, France) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Marine Ornithology on aspects of foraging behaviour of the globally Near Threatened Grey Petrel Procellaria cinerea.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“There is growing interest in the consistency of individual differences in animal behavior as it relates to life history traits and fitness. Despite the relatively large number of studies investigating repeatable behaviors, studies have only recently investigated repeatability in foraging or migratory behaviors, and this has seldom been explored between years. We examined the individual consistency in foraging behavior of the Grey Petrel Procellaria cinerea, a pelagic long-distance migrant. We analyzed how foraging, activity, and migratory patterns were repeatable across different seasons. We used tracking data to monitor the migratory movements and behavior of individuals during the non-breeding period over five years. Despite the small sample size, we found that there was a relatively high individual consistency in wintering strategies across years, with birds displaying high fidelity to their non-breeding destinations during consecutive years. Activity parameters, date of departure of inward migration, duration of migration, and duration spent in non-breeding areas were repeatable as well. The duration of the non-breeding period was the most repeatable, reflecting consistent departure times and, to a lesser extent, consistent arrival times. A high overall repeatability was seen in the timing of the return migration. With respect to sex, males tended to be more consistent in their migration strategy (i.e., timing of migration, time spent in non-breeding areas) than females. Although conditions during the Holocene have generally been stable in the Southern Ocean, species lacking variability in migratory traits are probably at a considerable disadvantage in terms of their capacity to respond to the rapid environment changes currently underway.

Grey Petrel at sea, photograph by Peter Ryan

Reference:

Delord, K., Barbraud, C., Pinaud, P., Ruault, S., Patrick, S.C. & Weimerskirch, H. 2019.  Individual consistency in the non-breeding behavior of a long-distance migrant seabird, the Grey Petrel Procellaria cinerea. Marine Ornithology 47: 93-103.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 26 April 2019

The BOU John & Pat Warham Studentship is now open for the third year for a 3.5 year studentship starting between 1 January 2020 and 31 March 2021.  The studentship is funded by the John and Pat Warham Scholarship Fund, a legacy left to the British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) by the late John and Pat Warham and aims to provide training to PhD level in research on any aspect of the biology or ecology of Sphenisciformes (penguins )and Procellariiformes (tubenoses) by citizens of Commonwealth countries who are also members of the BOU.

John Warham (1919-2010) was one of the pioneers in conducting field research on mainly New Zealand albatrosses and petrels as well as on penguins, publishing two important books on the former group at the end of his long career (click here to read his obituary in ACAP Latest News). His wife Pat helped with field work in their early years together.

The late John Warham

Kirsty Franklin was the first BOU John & Pat Warham Student, awarded in 2018 to study towards her PhD the ‘Round Island petrel’, a hybrid Pterodroma gadfly petrel that breeds only on Round Island in the Indian Ocean (click here).  The second studentship went this year to the University of Tasmania to study crested penguins Eudyptes spp.

Proposals must be submitted by 30 June 2019. Read more on the studentship and how to apply here.

Selected literature:

Warham, J. 1990.  The Petrels: their Ecology and Breeding Systems.  London & San Diego: Academic Press.  440 pp.

Warham, J. 1996.  The Behaviour, Population Ecology and Physiology of the Petrels.  London & San Diego: Academic Press.  613 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 25 April 2019