It is now well known that ACAP-listed albatrosses as well as burrowing petrels face fatal attacks on their chicks by House Mice Mus musculus on Gough Island in the South Atlantic, including on the Critically Endangered and near island-endemic Tristan Albatross Diomedea dabbenena – as regularly reported in ACAP Latest News (click here).  Following more than a decade of research and planning, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB; BirdLife International’s UK partner) is now seeking an experienced person to assist the RSPB's Globally Threatened Species Programme in the development of a mouse eradication project as part of the Gough Island Restoration Programme.

The original proof that Gough's ''killer" mice attack Tristan Albatross chicks, night-time photograph taken in winter 2004 by Ross Wanless 

The following text is taken from the job description for a Restoration Programme Operational Advisor:

“Evidence clearly shows that if mice are not eradicated from Gough Island they will continue to drive two endemic British birds, the Tristan albatross and the Gough bunting, towards extinction.  After many years of investment, all outstanding operational questions relating to the eradication of mice from Gough Island have now been successfully addressed.  Following detailed consideration of the risks and benefits of the programme, a two phased approach to the entire programme has been proposed.

We require a person experienced in the operational preparation and management of complex rodent eradications by aerial baiting.  This person will advise, assist and at times lead on developing the procurement plan along with all other planning documentation necessary to implement the mouse eradication component of the programme.”

Click here to obtain more information on the advertised post.  The closing date for applications is 8 October 2015.

Click here to access RSPB reports on Gough's mice, as well as the island's management plan. 

With thanks to John Kelly, RSPB Globally Threatened Species Programme Manager for information.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 12 September 2015

Ana Lúcia Bezerra ((Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Laboratório de Ornitologia e Animais Marinhos, São Leopoldo, Brazil) and colleagues have published online in the NCT-APA Annual Activity Report 01/2015 on foods of Southern Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus in Antarctica.

The paper’s abstract follows:

This study aims to describe the food resource of Southern Giant Petrel during the chick-rearing period in Antarctica.  The study was conducted in Stinker Point, Elephant Island in the Austral Summer of 2012/2013.  Samples were collected randomly from chicks by flushing methods. In the laboratory all the items were identified and the frequency of occurrence was calculated.  We identified twelve different items in the diet of SGP chicks. The most frequent item was the remains of seabird species, followed by crustaceous and cephalopods. This study presents new ecological data on the species, since studies on Antarctic populations are scarce.”

Breeding Southern Giant Petrel in Antarctica, photograph by Michael Dunn

Reference:

Bezerra, A.L., Petersen, E. & Petry, M.V. 2015.  Diet of Southern Giant Petrel chicks in Antarctica: a description of natural preys.  NCT-APA Annual Activity Report 01/2015.  pp. 31-34.  DOI: 10.4322/apa.2015.003.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 11 September 2015

Elisa de Souza Petersen (Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Laboratório de Ornitologia e Animais Marinhos, São Leopoldo, Brazil) and colleagues have published online in the NCT-APA Annual Activity Report 01/2015 on the presence of Influenza A virus in Southern Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus in Antarctica.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Influenza A virus was detected in different species of birds and migratory aquatic birds. They are the main reservoir of the virus.  In this research we detected the first Influenza A virus in Southern Giant Petrel in an Antarctic region.  The results represent 0.33% of the samples collected in two breeding areas of the species.  Some factors can explain the introduction of these pathogens and diseases in Antarctica, such as bird’s migratory behavior and the remains of the virus in cold waters."

Southern Giant Petrel in Antarctica, photograph by Michael Dunn

Reference:

de Souza Petersen, E., Petry, M,V., Durigon, E. & Araújo, J. 2015.  Influenza detected in Macronectes giganteus in two islands of South Shetlands, Antarctica.  NCT-APA Annual Activity Report 01/2015. pp. 35-38.  DOI: 10.4322/apa.2015.004.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 10 September 2015

A website exists which considers the issue of light pollution affecting nocturnal breeding seabirds, a subject regularly covered in ACAP Latest News (click here).

Newell's Shearwater: at risk to light pollution on Hawaii, photograph by Eric Vanderwerf

“On archipelagos worldwide, high numbers of fledglings of different seabird species are attracted to artificial lights during their first flights to the sea.  Grounded birds are vulnerable to starvation, predation, dehydration and collision with vehicles.  Rescue campaigns are carried out in many places, but only a few have been documented.

This website is dedicated to the study of this phenomenon and to the improvement of conservation actions.  It is intended for seabird researchers and managers involved in rescue campaigns who are willing to share knowledge, skills, experience and literature.”

The website currently requires approval to join and is password protected (click here).

For more information contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 09 September 2015