Projects that have been supported by ACAP's Small Grants Programme include (clockwise from top left): Mitigation measures with curtain systems in demersal trawl; image © ATF Chile: Update on EM device for compliance with bird scaring lines; Sihle Victor Ncongo holding the device he developed: Bycatch mitigation in longline SSF in Southern Peru; a section of Figure 6 from the paper: ACAP Small Grant 2023-10 - Manufacture of heavy hook; Nigel Brothers presents on the Procella hook (thumbnail of Figure 1. from the paper) to ACAP's Advisory Committee

The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) is now accepting applications for its Small Grants Programme. The programme, now in its sixteenth year, provides support for projects aimed at improving the conservation status of albatrosses and petrels. 

Project proposals should focus on tasks within the Advisory Committee Work Programme (see Annex 5, AC14 Report) and any research priorities identified by the AC Working Groups (see AC14 Doc 12 Rev 1: SBWG Report, AC14 Doc 13 Rev 1: Joint SBWG12-PaCSWG8 Report, and AC14 Doc 14 Rev 2: PaCSWG Report). Innovative proposals that make a significant contribution to the Agreement’s objective will also be considered.

Past projects have included studies on seabird bycatch reduction, population monitoring, and habitat restoration. 

Researchers, conservation organisations, and institutions from ACAP Parties are encouraged to apply. Applications will only be accepted from ACAP Parties, however, proposals can involve collaboration with institutions or individuals based elsewhere. 

Applicants are encouraged to contact the relevant Working Group Convenors or the Advisory Committee Chair to discuss the development and relevance of their application to ensure it addresses the requirements of the AC Work Programme.

Applications close 12 November 2024 AEDT (UTC+11).  

Applications can be completed in English, French or Spanish and should be forwarded to relevant  ACAP National Contact Points, who will then submit them to the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Applicants will be advised of the outcome of their applications by 18 March 2025.

Details on the eligibility criteria and the application process are available at the ACAP website. 

17 September 2024

 
Seasonality in sea-ice extent and breeding schedules of the study species, and temporal coverage of tracking data (see the paper for a full description)

Ewan Wakefield (Department of Geography, Durham University UK) and colleagues have published open access in the journal on Progress in Oceanography on tracking seven species of sub-Antarctic albatrosses and petrels in relation to their use of the Antarctic seasonal sea-ice zone.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“The Antarctic seasonal sea-ice zone (SIZ) is one of the most extensive and dynamic habitats on Earth. In summer, increased insolation and ice melt cause primary production to peak, sustaining large populations of locally-breeding seabirds. Due to their hypermobility, large Procellariiformes, including albatrosses, breeding in the subantarctic also have the potential to access the SIZ and track macroscale resource waves over the Sothern Ocean but the extent to which they do this is poorly known. Here, we analysed the foraging movements of breeding albatrosses and large petrels (seven species, 1298 individuals) recorded using GPS loggers and satellite-transmitters to quantify their use of sea-ice habitats and test whether they tracked seasonal drivers of primary production. Foraging latitudes of white-chinned petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis and black-browed Thalassarche melanophris, grey-headed T. chrysostoma and wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans varied sinusoidally over the breeding season, presumably in response to lagged effects of solar irradiance on primary production. Foraging latitudes of northern and southern giant petrels (Macronectes halli and M. giganteus), and light-mantled albatrosses Phoebetria palpebrata, exhibited no strong seasonal trend, but the latter two species spent ≥ 20 % of their time in the SIZ during incubation and post-brood, prior to or at the time of the spring ice breakup. Southern giant petrels travelled hundreds of km into the pack ice, encountering sea-ice concentrations up to 100 %, whereas light-mantled albatrosses remained almost exclusively in open water near the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ). The remaining species spent up to 15 % of their time in the SIZ, typically from 5-7 weeks after breakup, and avoided the MIZ. This supports hypotheses that sea ice presents albatrosses but not giant petrels with physical barriers to flight or foraging, and that open-water-affiliated species use the SIZ only after primary production stimulated by ice melt transfers to intermediate trophic levels. Given that all seven species used the SIZ, it is likely that the phenology and demography of these and many other subantarctic-breeding seabirds are mechanistically linked to sea-ice dynamics. Declines in Antarctic sea ice predicted under climate change could therefore modulate and exacerbate the already unsustainable anthropogenic impacts being experienced by these populations.”

Read a popular account on the publication here.

Reference:

Wakefield, E.D., McClymont , E.L., Carneiro, A,P.B., Croxall, J.P., Gonzalez-Solís, J., Granroth-Wilding, H.M.V., Thorne, L., Evans, V.W., Wood, A.G., Xavier, J.C., Phillips, R.A. 2024.  Progress in Oceanography. 103334.

16 September 2024

Albatross counters on Midway Atoll’s Eastern Island next to a WWI gun; photograph from Susan Scott

The Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (FOMA)  has made an appeal on its Facebook page in support of the annual volunteer census of incubating Black-footed Phoebastria nigripes (Ka'upu) and Laysan P. immutabilis (Mōlī) Albatrosses on the USA’s Midway Atoll in the North Pacific.

The 2021 albatross bird census activities were captured by photographer Jon Brack in a video.  This crew counted over 500 000 nests occupied by incubating albatrosses

“Since 1992 (33 years and counting), volunteers sign up every year, hoping to be selected to count albatross nests on Pihemanu (Hawaiian name for Midway Atoll meaning "loud din of birds"). These hardy souls work eight hours a day, six days a week, counting more than half a million nests by hand, on foot, one at a time, with two eyeballs and a clicker.  Their commitment contributes to one of the longest-running data sets for Mōlī (Laysan Albatross) and Ka‘upu (Black-footed Albatross) populations.”

To prevent caving in Nunulu (Bonin Petrel Pterodroma hypoleuca) nesting burrows, counters carefully tread the ground wearing burrow shoes. A bird counter helped pioneer the so-called "clown shoe" design.  The burrow shoes distribute their weight to a wider surface that prevent burrows from collapsing.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 12 September 2024

 The next SCAR (Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research) Open Science Conference (the 12th) will be held in the Oslo Congress Centre, Oslo, Norway over 10-14 August 2026.  The conference will be hosted by the Norwegian Polar Institute.  The SCAR Open Science Conference 2026 will comprise a diverse programme featuring plenary lectures, mini-symposia, parallel sessions, panel discussions, posters and various social and excursion opportunities in Oslo and its surroundings.  The SCAR Delegates Meeting takes place over 17 and 18 August 2026 |

The 2024 SCAR Open Science Conference with the theme “Antarctic Science: Crossroads for a New Hope” was held in Pucón, Chile, from 19-23 August 2024.  The conference featured an extensive programme, attracted over 1200 participants and received 1617 abstract submissions.  The meeting was hosted by the Instituto Antártico Chileno (INACH).  The livestreamed sessions are available to watch on the INACH YouTube channel.

The SCAR Open Science Conferences offer scientists from various disciplines and countries the opportunity to present their work, network and participate more actively in SCAR’s scientific activities.

11 September 2024