Anicee Lombal (School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia) and colleagues have published in the journal Conservation Genetics on genetic differences in two populations of Flesh-footed Shearwaters Ardenna carneipes.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Increasing evidence suggests foraging segregation as a key mechanism promoting genetic divergence within seabird species.  However, testing for a relationship between population genetic structure and foraging movements among seabird colonies can be challenging.  Telemetry studies suggest that Flesh-footed Shearwater Ardenna carneipes that breed at Lord Howe Island or New Zealand, versus southwestern Australia or Saint-Paul Island in the Indian Ocean, migrate to different regions (North Pacific Ocean and northern Indian Ocean, respectively) during the non-breeding season, which may inhibit gene flow among colonies. In this study, we sequenced a 858-base pair mitochondrial region and seven nuclear DNA fragments (352–654 bp) for 148 individuals to test genetic differentiation among colonies of Flesh-footed Shearwaters.  Strong genetic divergence was detected between Pacific colonies relative to those further West.  Molecular analysis of fisheries’ bycatch individuals sampled in the Sea of Japan indicated that individuals from both western and eastern colonies were migrating through this area, and hence the apparent segregation of the non-breeding distribution based on telemetry is invalid and cannot contribute to the population genetic structure among colonies.  The genetic divergence among colonies is better explained by philopatry and evidence of differences in foraging strategies during the breeding season, as supported by the observed genetic divergence between Lord Howe Island and New Zealand colonies.  We suggest molecular analysis of fisheries’ bycatch individuals as a rigorous method to identify foraging segregation, and we recommend the eastern and western A. carneipes colonies be regarded as different Management Units.”

Flesh-footed Shearwater, photograph by Barry Baker

Reference:

Lombal, A.J., Wenner, T.J., Lavers, J.L., Austin, J.J., Woehler, E.J., Hutton, I.  & Burridge, C.P.  2017.  Genetic divergence between colonies of Flesh-footed Shearwater Ardenna carneipes exhibiting different foraging strategies.  Conservation Genetics doi:10.1007/s10592-017-0994-y.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 11 July 2017

Christian Gutierrez, a 19-year-old university student, was sentenced last Thursday in a Hawaiian court to 45 days in jail, a fine of US$ 1000 and 200 hours of community service for his part in the killing of 15 breeding Laysan Albatrosses Phoebastria immutabilis in the Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve on the Hawaiian island of Oahu in December 2015.

“Christian Gutierrez must begin serving his jail sentence immediately. He also received one year’s probation.  He had pleaded no contest in state court in March to one count each of misdemeanour animal cruelty and theft, petty misdemeanour criminal property damage and of committing prohibited acts involving indigenous wildlife and in a natural area reserve” (click here).

A slaughtered Laysan Albatross lies next to its egg

Previous to sentencing Deputy Prosecutor Janice Futa had asked for the maximum penalty of a year in prison and up to US$ 7000 in fines, as well as restitution to Pacific Rim Conservation, the non-profit that manages the albatross colony.

Listen to a video clip and read the comment of the judge and Gutierrez's apology in court here.

Read earlier stories on the “albatrossity” in ACAP Latest News from here.

John Cooper, ACAP Latest News, 10 July 2017

Michelle Reynolds (Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Hawai’i National Park, Hawaii, USA) and colleagues have published in the journal Ecology and Evolution on the effects of the Japanese tsunami of March 2011 on Laysan Albatrosses Phoebastria immutabilis and other procellariiforms breeding on atolls within the North-Western Hawaiian Islands (click here).

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Earthquake-generated tsunamis threaten coastal areas and low-lying islands with sudden flooding. Although human hazards and infrastructure damage have been well documented for tsunamis in recent decades, the effects on wildlife communities rarely have been quantified. We describe a tsunami that hit the world's largest remaining tropical seabird rookery and estimate the effects of sudden flooding on 23 bird species nesting on Pacific islands more than 3,800 km from the epicenter. We used global positioning systems, tide gauge data, and satellite imagery to quantify characteristics of the Tōhoku earthquake-generated tsunami (11 March 2011) and its inundation extent across four Hawaiian Islands. We estimated short-term effects of sudden flooding to bird communities using spatially explicit data from Midway Atoll and Laysan Island, Hawai'i. We describe variation in species vulnerability based on breeding phenology, nesting habitat, and life history traits. The tsunami inundated 21%–100% of each island's area at Midway Atoll and Laysan Island. Procellariformes (albatrosses and petrels) chick and egg losses exceeded 258,500 at Midway Atoll while albatross chick losses at Laysan Island exceeded 21,400. The tsunami struck at night and during the peak of nesting for 14 colonial seabird species. Strongly philopatric Procellariformes [sic] were vulnerable to the tsunami. Nonmigratory, endemic, endangered Laysan Teal (Anas laysanensis) were sensitive to ecosystem effects such as habitat changes and carcass-initiated epizootics of avian botulism, and its populations declined approximately 40% on both atolls post-tsunami. Catastrophic flooding of Pacific islands occurs periodically not only from tsunamis, but also from storm surge and rainfall; with sea-level rise, the frequency of sudden flooding events will likely increase. As invasive predators occupy habitat on higher elevation Hawaiian Islands and globally important avian populations are concentrated on low-lying islands, additional conservation strategies may be warranted to increase resilience of island biodiversity encountering tsunamis and rising sea levels.”

Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses breeding on a low-lying atoll

Reference:

Reynolds, M.H., Berkowitz, P., Klavitter, J.L. & Courtot, K.N. 2017.  Lessons from the Tōhoku tsunami: a model for island avifauna conservation prioritization.  Ecology and Evolution DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3092. 

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 07 July 2017

William Sydeman (Farallon Institute, Petaluma, CA, USA) and (many) colleagues have reviewed best practices for studying competition between forage fisheries and seabirds in the journal Fisheries Research.

The paper’s abstract follows:

Worldwide, in recent years capture fisheries targeting lower-trophic level forage fish and euphausiid crustaceans have been substantial (∼20 million metric tons [MT] annually). Landings of forage species are projected to increase in the future, and this harvest may affect marine ecosystems and predator-prey interactions by removal or redistribution of biomass central to pelagic food webs. In particular, fisheries targeting forage fish and euphausiids may be in competition with seabirds, likely the most sensitive of marine vertebrates given limitations in their foraging abilities (ambit and gape size) and high metabolic rate, for food resources. Lately, apparent competition between fisheries and seabirds has led to numerous high-profile conflicts over interpretations, as well as the approaches that could and should be used to assess the magnitude and consequences of fisheries-seabird resource competition. In this paper, we review the methods used to date to study fisheries competition with seabirds, and present “best practices” for future resource competition assessments. Documenting current fisheries competition with seabirds generally involves addressing two major issues: 1) are fisheries causing localized prey depletion that is sufficient to affect the birds? (i.e., are fisheries limiting food resources?), and 2) how are fisheries-induced changes to forage stocks affecting seabird populations given the associated functional or numerical response relationships? Previous studies have been hampered by mismatches in the scale of fisheries, fish, and seabird data, and a lack of causal understanding due to confounding by climatic and other ecosystem factors (e.g., removal of predatory fish). Best practices for fisheries-seabird competition research should include i) clear articulation of hypotheses, ii) data collection (or summation) of fisheries, fish, and seabirds on matched spatio-temporal scales, and iii) integration of observational and experimental (including numerical simulation) approaches to establish connections and causality between fisheries and seabirds. As no single technique can provide all the answers to this vexing issue, an integrated approach is most promising to obtain robust scientific results and in turn the sustainability of forage fish fisheries from an ecosystem perspective.”

Black-browed  Albatrosses consume euphausiids

Reference:

Sydeman, W.J. et al. 2017.  Best practices for assessing forage fish fisheries-seabird resource competition.  Fisheries Research 194: 209-221.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 06 July 2017