Biologist Kimberley Kliska currently based on Australia’s Macquarie Island reports on the latest census of ACAP-listed Northern Giant Petrels Macronectes halli after losses incurred during the Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Project (MIPEP).

“Over the past three weeks, the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife team of ranger Chris and wildlife ranger Marcus along with field biologist Kim and the assistance of trusty volunteers (Ali and George–BOM, chef Rocket and carpenter Joe), have been searching the featherbed for breeding northern giant petrels.  This work is part of the long-term monitoring of giant petrels on Macquarie Island to determine the population trend of these species informing international conservation management.

Northern giant petrels are one of two giant petrel species that breed on Macquarie Island annually, the other being the southern giant petrel.  Northern giant petrels are listed as a rare and vulnerable species under state and federal legislation, respectively.  Historically, the population has suffered from incidental mortality in fisheries and also predation by pest species, such as rats and mice.  The coastal nesting locations of giant petrels also leave them vulnerable to inundation by storm events and large waves: in October 2015 their population was impacted when many nests were washed away by large waves.

As both a scavenger and a predator that consumes small fish and the remains of carcasses, the giant petrels play a vital role in the Macquarie Island ecosystem.  Because of this, they were one species impacted during the Macquarie Island Pest Eradication Project (MIPEP), where in small numbers the giant petrels suffered incidental mortality through consumption of poisoned rabbit carcasses.  The census aims to monitor population recovery post MIPEP and meet Australia’s international obligations for monitoring threatened species.

The census, conducted in the north west of the island, counts and maps all the northern giant petrel nests in a set area each year.  This provides a comparable number of breeding attempts annually. A follow-up census in January counts all the surviving chicks, which provides an indication of breeding success. Last year the census showed that the population is stable and has continued to increase post-MIPEP.  This year it appears there is a slight increase in breeding numbers, however only time will tell if the chicks survive to continue the cycle.”

Taken from Macquarie’s weekly on-line newsletter (click here for census photos).

 

Northern Giant Petrel, photograph  by Marienne de Villiers

Read more about MIPEP here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 18 October 2016

The 13th Scientific Committee of Antarctic Research (SCAR) Antarctic Biology Symposium is to be held in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2021.

"As a major gateway to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, Christchurch is the ideal place for Antarctic researchers to meet.  Our modern central city facilities including the new Convention Centre, accommodation and hospitality venues and our location in the heart of the South Island make Christchurch an enticing destination for conferences."  Read more here.

White-capped Albatross - a New Zealand endemic, photograph by Graham Parker

Click here for information on the 12th SCAR Biology Symposium to be held in Leuven, Belgium in July 2017.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 17 October 2016

“The 2017 Annual Meeting of the Pacific Seabird Group will be held at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center in downtown Tacoma, Washington, USA, 22-25 February 2017.  In keeping with the locale for the meeting, the theme is “Sound to Sea: Marine Birds Across the Seascape” and we are planning a robust scientific program, with a variety of technical sessions and symposia.

Tacoma is ideally situated along the shores of southern Puget Sound where you’ll find great places to run, hike, kayak, paddle board and, of course, birdwatch – Puget Sound is a nationally significant wintering area for a wide diversity of marine birds.  Boasting stunning natural surroundings, with Mount Rainier in full view, you can enjoy the mesmerizing outdoors just minutes from the downtown.

Tacoma’s downtown core has undergone significant urban renewal with growing food, music and artistic scenes.  Conference attendees will have easy access to museums, urban parks, fine dining, nightlife, microbreweries, and local coffee and tea shops.  Within walking distance of the conference hotel, attendees will find the Washington State History Museum, the Tacoma Art Museum, and the Tacoma Museum of Glass. A bit further away, you will find the Point Defiance Zoo located in the vast and beautiful Point Defiance Park.”

The Pacific region supports three breeding albatrosses: Black-footed, Laysan and Short-tailed,  seen here together on Kure Atoll

“As in past years, the PSG Annual Meeting will include invited and contributed papers, including plenary speakers.  We have four Special Paper Sessions and three symposium.  Contributed sessions include topics familiar to PSG members such as breeding biology, conservation biology, and tracking & distribution.”

Registration, abstract submission (deadline 28 November) and travel award applications are now open (click here).

John Cooper, ACAP Information Office, 14 October 2016

The 6th International Albatross and Petrel Conference (IAPC6) was held in Barcelona Catalonia, Spain, from 19-23 September 2016 in the historic Paranimf (Paranymph) of the University of Barcelona.  About 150 researchers from all over the World, including 50 MSc and PhD students, attended.  Among the delegates were ACAP's Science Officer and several members of its Advisory Committee and working groups.

IAPC6 attendees in Barcelona

Approximately 100 oral presentations were given and 51 posters displayed, with notably more offerings on studies on the smaller, burrowing procellariiforms (especially shearwaters) than during the previous five albatross and petrel conferences.  Heading each oral session was one of 12 keynote presentations and there were two poster sessions.

Hadoram Shirihai spoke on the discovery and rediscovery of six petrel species at the opening reception and Frank Zino closed the conference with an account on conserving the Endangered Zino’s Petrel Pterodroma madeira.  Awards were given to students to recognize excellence in oral and poster presentations at the closing ceremony.

Two different workshops took place before the Conference, entitled “Data Challenge on Behavioural Annotation” and “GLS data analysis: state of the art and future”.

With general agreement that IAPC6 under the Chair of Jacob González-Solís and his Local Organizing Committee was an enjoyable and well-organized meeting, thoughts will now start to turn to where (and when) next?  It seems that an offer to host an IAPC7 in four to five years’ time is likely to be welcomed by the procellariiform community.

Oral and poster presentations on ACAP-listed species and bycatch issues are given below by presenting author and title.  Click here to access the programme and abstracts booklet.  Videos of the opening and closing talks, keynote presentations and workshops may also be found on the IAPC6 website here.

ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Angel, A.  Tristan Albatrosses need more protection at sea

Arcos, J.M.  A new scenario for Mediterranean fisheries: where do seabirds fit?

Arcos, J.M.  Understanding episodic bycatch of shearwaters in the Western Mediterranean; the Seabird Task Force in Europe

Beck, J.  Sex, age and body condition of albatross caught as bycatch in Hawaiian (2010-2015) and Alaskan longline fisheries (2007, 2009-2014)

Boersch-Supan, P.H.  Unravelling physiological and ecological determinants of albatross chick growth and survival

Bond, A.L.  Integrated population modelling of Atlantic Yellownosed Albatross using long-term data

Bonnet-Lebrun, A-S.  Quantifying individual specialization through multidimensional niches: a case study of black-browed albatrosses

Boulinier, T.  Infectious diseases as a threat to albatrosses and petrels: from basic immuno-ecology to perspectives for conservation

Bourret, V.  Testing a vaccine against avian cholera in albatrosses: combining observational and experimental data in a remote seabird community

Bretagnolle, V.  A quick overview of the forthcoming “Albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters of the world: a handbook to their taxonomy, identification, ecology and conservation”

Carle, R.  First steps for mitigating bycatch of Pink-footed Shearwaters Ardenna creatopus: Identifying overlap of foraging areas and fisheries in Chile

Carneiro, A.P.B.  Sex differences in movements, distribution and habitat use of white-capped albatrosses from New Zealand during the nonbreeding period

Clay, T.A.  Finding your niche: the fitness consequences of early life movements and specialization in individual albatrosses

Collet, J.M.  Beyond chances of encounters: exploring bird decision making to understand the determinants of seabird-fisheries interactions

Cortés, V.  Seabird bycatch assessment and mitigation tests in the demersal longline fleet from the Western Mediterranean coast

Crossin, G.T.  Circumnavigations, spatial segregation, and activity of nonbreeding albatrosses, and their physiological correlates

Debski, I.  Prioritising research and management of at-sea threats to New Zealand seabirds

De Grissac, S.  Early life foraging: behavioural response of newly fledge albatrosses to environmental conditions

Desprez , M.  Linking demography and foraging behaviours in a long-lived seabird, the black-browed albatross

Fitzgerald, S.M.  Performance and challenges of electronic monitoring for fisheries monitoring and seabird bycatch

Fitzgerald, S.M.  Seabird bycatch monitoring, conservation achievements, and ongoing work in North Pacific groundfish fisheries

Gianuca, D.  Influence of fisheries, climate and environmental cycles on the survival and breeding success of giant petrels

Gianuca, D.  Seabird bycatch and adoption of bycatch mitigation measures in pelagic longline fisheries off southern Brazil

González-Solís, J.  Ban of discards will likely increase Mediterranean seabirds’ bycatch

Hansen, A.M.K.  Successful mitigation of impacts to Bonin petrel (Pterodroma hypoleuca) and Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) chicks during emergency maintenance work on Midway Atoll

Hodum, P.  Engaging local communities to advance seabird conservation:  lessons from a decade of community based projects

Kroeger, C.E.  Influence of corticosterone and foraging behaviour on patterns of mass gain in two sympatric albatross species

Krüger, L.  Tomorrow never knows: projected distributions of albatrosses, petrels and fisheries in response to changing climate in the Southern Ocean

López, V.  Advancing conservation of Pink-footed Shearwaters (Ardenna creatopus) through community outreach and education

Louzao, M.  Foraging in productive marine grounds when human activity comes into play: assessing sensitivity to longline bycatch in a critically endangered species [Balearic Shearwater]

McInnes, J.C.  Methods to assess albatross diet past, present, and future – assessing priorities across their range

McInnes, J.C.  A global assessment of black-browed and Campbell albatross diet using DNA techniques

Morandini, V.  Physiological conditions of parent and offspring Blackbrowed Albatrosses

Nishizawa, B.  Foraging behavior of Laysan albatrosses: feeding on floating dead squid during daytime

Orben, R.  North Pacific albatrosses use predictable moulting areas

Orben, R.A. Comparative flight behaviour of Hawaiian albatrosses

Oro, D.  What can research on albatrosses and shearwaters teach us about the population dynamics of long-lived organisms?

Pardo, D.  Demographic buffering in declining populations: can pre and non-breeders save the grey-headed albatross?

Parker, G.C.  Post-rat recovery? Population estimate of Grey Petrels on Campbell Island 14 years after rat eradication

Phillips, R.A.  Conservation research and management of albatrosses and large petrels: progress and priorities identified by ACAP

Ponchon, A.  At-sea activity patterns of black-browed albatrosses during the breeding and non-breeding season

Rexer-Huber, K.  Linking phylogenetics and tracking for conservation management of white-chinned petrels

Reyes-González, J.M.  Multi-year tracking of seabirds as a tool to develop adaptive management strategies: the case of

Suryan. R.M.  North Pacific albatrosses use predictable moulting areas

Thorne, L.H.  Effects of El Niño-driven changes in wind patterns on North Pacific albatrosses

Torres, L.G.  Comparative albatross movement analysis in space and time

Tuck, G.  Macquarie Island’s Giant Petrels and the impacts of the Pest Eradication Project on population abundance

Walker, K.J.  Antipodean wandering albatross population decline, skewed sex ratio & male-male pairings

Watanuki, Y.  Foraging behaviour of Laysan albatrosses: feeding on floating dead squid during daytime

Weimerskirch, H.  Life time foraging and link with fisheries in albatrosses

Welch, A.J.  New approaches to an old question: exploring the evolutionary history of albatrosses and petrels

Yates, O.  Preventing seabird bycatch: experiences from grass roots action and international collaboration

Zajková, Z.  Giant petrels: a textbook example of sexual segregation in birds

POSTERS

Afán, I.  Where to head? Investigating the role of wind and productivity patterns in driving the foraging destinations in a critically endangered seabird [Balearic Shearwater]

Barbosa, A.  A review of the parasites of Antarctic albatrosses and petrels

Dolliver, J.  Using satellite imagery to count nesting short-tailed albatross in the Senkaku Islands

Feliss, J.F.  Migratory routes and wintering areas of Pink-footed Shearwaters (Ardenna creatopus)

Feliu, P.  Procellariforms in the Iberian Seabird and Marine Mammal Monitoring Network (RAM): 8 years of study in Mediterranean Sea and Gulf of Cadiz [Balearic Shearwater]

García-Barcelona, S.  Importance of genetic analyses to identify the genre Puffinus: a massive catch event as a case study [Balearic Shearwater]

Krüger, L.  Connecting South America fisheries to Antarctica through individual spatial segregation on a seabird population [Southern Giant Petrel]

Morandini, V.  Factors affecting plasma chemistry values of the Black-Browed Albatross

Moré, E.  Are Southern Ocean albatrosses and petrels carriers of zoonotic Campylobacter?

Petersen, E.S.  Geographical concentration of trace elements on Southern Giant Petrel from Antarctica

Tan, L.  Relationship between foraging effort and breeding performance in a pelagic seabird [Balearic Shearwater]

Thompson, D.R.  Spatial segregation in New Zealand's two populations of Salvin's albatross: conservation implications

Vanerio, M.  Summer diet in the Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) from sub-Antarctic Chile

Waugh, S.M.  Filling blanks on the map: Where do Westland petrels feed and how does marine protection in New Zealand assist their conservation?

Waugh, S.M.  Seabird trophic level shifts from the 1920s to 2010s for shelf feeding endemic species in the New Zealand region

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 13 October 2016