Peter Ryan (FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa) and colleagues have a paper in press with Marine Pollution Bulletin that reports on plastics ingested by 868 albatrosses killed on longlines off South Africa.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“We provide data on regional differences in plastic ingestion for two Southern Ocean top predators: Arctocephalus fur seals and albatrosses (Diomedeidae).  Fur seals breeding on Macquarie Island in the 1990s excreted small (mainly 2–5 mm) plastic fragments, probably derived secondarily from myctophid fish.  No plastic was found in the scats of these seals breeding on three islands in the southwest Indian and central South Atlantic Oceans, despite myctophids dominating their diets at these locations.  Compared to recent reports of plastic ingestion by albatrosses off the east coast of South America, we confirm that plastic is seldom found in the stomachs of Thalassarche albatrosses off South Africa, but found no Diomedea albatrosses to contain plastic, compared to 26% off South America.  The reasons for such regional differences are unclear, but emphasize the importance of reporting negative as well as positive records of plastic ingestion by marine biota.”

Black-browed Albatrosses by Graham Robertson

Reference:

Ryan, P.G., de Bruyn, P.J.N. & Bester, M.N. 2016.  Regional differences in plastic ingestion among Southern Ocean fur seals and albatrosses.  Marine Pollution Bulletin doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.01.032.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 04 February 2016

Black-browed Albatross, photograph by Kolette Grobler

Letizia Campioni (MARE—Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA—Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal) and colleagues have published in the journal Behavioral Ecology on isotopic signatures of Black-browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris and Cory’s Shearwaters Calonectris borealis.

The paper’s abstract follows:

In long-lived species with slow maturation, prebreeders often represent a large percentage of the individuals alive at any moment, but their ecology is still understudied.  Recent studies have found prebreeding seabirds to differ in their isotopic (and trophic) niche from adult breeders attending the same nesting colonies.  These differences have been hypothesized to be linked to the less-developed foraging performance of younger and less-experienced immatures or perhaps to their inferior competitive abilities.  Such differences from adults would wane as individuals mature (“the progressive ontogenetic shift hypothesis”) and could underpin the prolonged breeding deferral until adulthood displayed by those species.  This study documents a marked difference in the nitrogen and carbon isotopic ratios measured in the whole blood of immatures and breeders in 2 pelagic seabird species (Cory’s shearwaters, Calonectris borealis, and black-browed albatrosses, Thalassarche melanophris) nesting in contrasting environments.  However, blood isotopic values did not present a relationship with prebreeder age, suggesting no gradual ontogenetic shift from an immature toward an adult isotopic niche.  Furthermore, isotopic signatures of sabbatical adults could not be separated from those of immatures attending the same colonies, but were clearly segregated from adult breeders.  These results suggest that isotopic differentiation between immatures and breeders is mainly linked to a factor unrelated to previous experience and hence probably unrelated to a hypothetical gradual improvement of foraging competence or competitive abilities.  Any ecological differentiation between breeders and nonbreeders is more likely related to the severity of the central-place foraging constraints and to the energetic requirements of reproduction (“the reproductive constraint hypothesis”).”

Cory's Shearwater, photograph by Paulo Catry

With thanks to Paulo Catry.

Reference:

Campioni, L., Granadeiro, J.P. & Catry, P. 2015.  Niche segregation between immature and adult seabirds: does progressive maturation play a role?  Behavioral Ecology  doi:10.1093/beheco/arv167.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 31 January 2016

White-capped Albatross, photograph by Graham Parker

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in the UK is seeking a highly-motivated individual with energy, enthusiasm and initiative to update global summaries of the population status and threats to seabird species worldwide.  The position will work closely with both the BirdLife International Marine Programme, hosted by RSPB, and with the BirdLife Global Species Officer (Red List Coordination).

Specifically, the post will:

Assess the albatross and petrel IUCN Red List changes that could be expected in the future if current BirdLife Marine Programme work to reduce seabird bycatch is successful, and to identify the priority population monitoring gaps that must be filled in order to measure success.

For penguins and albatrosses, support the IUCN Penguin Specialist Group and the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) to collate relevant data (including on distribution, population status, trends, and threats and actions) data to feed into the 2016 IUCN Red List update, and use these data to update the relevant BirdLife Species Fact Sheets.

For the 35 gadfly petrels Pterodroma spp., collate relevant data (including on distribution, population, trends, threats and actions) to feed into the 2016 IUCN Red List update, and use these data to update the relevant BirdLife Species Fact Sheets.

For the 25 alcid species, collate relevant data (including on distribution, population, trends, threats and actions) to feed into the 2016 IUCN Red List update, and use these data to update the relevant BirdLife Species Fact Sheets.

For other seabirds, collate relevant data (including on distribution, population, trends, threats and actions) to feed into the 2016 IUCN Red List update, and use these data to update the relevant BirdLife Species Fact Sheets, following an agreed sequence of priorities to be determined.

Update seabird species range maps using ArcGIS, referring to seabird tracking data and other sources to revise distributional limits and seasonality coding where appropriate.

The successful candidate will have an excellent attention to detail, understand the IUCN Red List criteria and their application, and have a broad knowledge of seabirds, marine ecology and conservation.

The post is for a full-time nine-month contract.  Application closing date is 11 February.

Read more here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 30 January 2016 

Heather Lynch (Ecology and Evolution Department, Stony Brook University, New York, USA) and colleagues have published in the journal Polar Biology on the numbers of seabirds, including ACAP-listed Southern Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus, breeding on the South Sandwich Islands.

The paper’s abstract follows:

The South Sandwich Islands, in the South Atlantic Ocean, are a major biological hot spot for penguins and other seabirds, but their remoteness and challenging coastlines preclude regular biological censuses.  Here we report on an extensive survey of the South Sandwich Islands, the first since the late 1990s, which was completed through a combination of direct counting, GPS mapping, and interpretation of high-resolution commercial satellite imagery.  We find that the South Sandwich Islands host nearly half of the world’s Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) population (1.3 million breeding pairs), as well as c. 95,000 breeding pairs of Macaroni Penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus), and several thousand breeding pairs of Gentoo Penguins (Pygoscelis papua). Despite being at the northern edge of their breeding range, we found an unexpectedly large (≥125,000 breeding pairs) population of Adélie Penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae).  Additionally, we report that nearly 1900 pairs of Southern Giant Petrels (Macronectes giganteus) breed in the South Sandwich Islands, 4 % of the global population, almost all of which are found on Candlemas Island.  We find that the South Sandwich Islands have not experienced the same changes in penguin abundance and distribution as the rest of the Scotia Arc and associated portions of the western Antarctic Peninsula.  This discovery adds important context to the larger conversation regarding changes to penguin populations in the Southern Ocean.

Southern Giant Petrel breeding on Candlemas, South Sandwich Islands, photograph by Andy Black

Reference:

Lynch, H.J., White, R., Naveen, R., Black, A., Meixler, M.S. & Fagan, W.F. 2016.  In stark contrast to widespread declines along the Scotia Arc, a survey of the South Sandwich Islands finds a robust seabird community.  Polar Biology doi:10.​1007/​s00300-015-1886-6.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 January 2016