No need to band this bird?  Co-author Yuna Kim holds a Gould’s Petrel chick

“Some seabirds can live for over 70 years, but measuring demographic change isn't easy when juveniles look the same as geriatrics”

Lauren Roman (Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Molecular Ecology Resources on ageing unbanded Vulnerable White-winged or Gould's Petrels Pterodroma leucoptera via a genetic test.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Understanding the demography of wildlife populations is a key component for ecological research, and where necessary, supporting the conservation and management of long-lived animals. However, many animals lack phenological changes with which to determine individual age; therefore, gathering this fundamental information presents difficulties. More so for species that are rare, highly mobile, migratory and those that reside in inaccessible habitats. Until recently, the primary method to measure demography is through labour intensive mark-recapture approaches, necessitating decades of effort for long-lived species. Gadfly petrels (genus: Pterodroma) are one such taxa that are overrepresented with threatened and declining species, and for which numerous aspects of their ecology present challenges for research, monitoring and recovery efforts. To overcome some of these challenges, we developed the first DNA methylation (DNAm) demography technique to estimate the age of petrels, using the epigenetic clock of Gould's petrels (Pterodroma leucoptera). We collected reference blood samples from known-aged Gould's petrels at a long-term monitored population on Cabbage Tree Island, Australia. Epigenetic ages were successfully estimated for 121 individuals ranging in age from zero (fledgling) to 30 years of age, showing a mean error of 2.24 ± 0.17 years between the estimated and real age across the population. This is the first development of an epigenetic clock using multiplex PCR sequencing in a bird. This method enables demography to be measured with relative accuracy in a single sampling trip. This technique can provide information for emerging demographic risks that can mask declines in long-lived seabird populations and be applied to other Pterodroma populations.”

Read a popular article on the study here.

Reference:

Roman, L., Mayne, B., Anderson, C., Kim, Y., Dwyer, T. & Carlile, N. 2024.  A novel technique for estimating age and demography of long-lived seabirds (genus Pterodroma) using an epigenetic clock for Gould's petrel (Pterodroma leucoptera).  Molecular Ecology Resources DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.14003.

21 August 2024

Fatally attacked by Marion Island’s introduced House Mice, this Wandering Albatross chick soon died of its injuries, photograph by Vanessa Stephen, 06 July 2024

NOTE: The following article is prepublished from the website of the Mouse-Free Marion Project with permission.

The Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project has released its 10th Quarterly Newsletter.  Dated July 2024 with 20 well-illustrated pages, it has been compiled, edited and laid out by the project’s Communications Officer and Project Assistant, Robyn Adams.  The plan to eradicate the introduced House Mice on Marion Island is progressing well.  The MFM Project team is continuing its hard work to secure the necessary funding and approvals and conduct the detailed research and planning to ensure a successful eradication operation.

The Editorial summarizes activities undertaken by the project over the last three months.  In May, Anton Wolfaardt (MFM Project Manager) and Camilla Smyth (MFM Project Overwintering Research Assistant for 2023/24) returned to South Africa after Anton participated in the 2024 annual relief voyage to Marion Island.  Anton travelled to the island with Monique van Bers, who has taken over from Camilla as the MFM Project Research Assistant for 2024/25.

Back home from the island, Anton made his second running of a mountain marathon trail run, raising over R 103 000 for the project via a highly successful online appeal.  With this success, the MFM Project is planning several more appeals over the rest of the year and into the next that aim to target runners, hikers, walkers and cyclists.

Anton at the start of the 34th Rhodes Trail Run, holding the official buff of Marion Island’s 80th Overwintering Team of 2023/24 that depicts displaying Wandering Albatrosses, photograph by Leigh Wolfaardt

In the following article “Thirteen Months without a Banana” Camilla describes her 13 months on the island as a “once-in-a-lifetime adventure”, conducting essential field research required to help develop the project’s Operational Plan.

Camilla Smyth on the cliff top above a Grey-headed Albatross breeding colony, Rook’s Bay, Marion Island, photograph by herself

Information is then given on BirdLife South Africa’s second Flock to Marion Island voyage in the Southern Ocean, to take place between 24-31 January 2025.  With berths still available, although selling well, you can still join an epic seven-night birding voyage in support of the MFM Project aboard the MSC Musica on an adventure into the surrounding waters of South Africa’s Southern Ocean territory, Marion and Prince Edward Islands.

The next article recounts a recent attack by House Mice on a globally Vulnerable Wandering Albatross chick in a Marion Island study colony first set up in the early 1980s.  This sad news, along with accompanying gruesome photographs, formed a press release in late July.  With the help of the London-based Culture Communications Collective (CCC) the story has been taken up by over 125 media outlets in South Africa, the United Kingdom and beyond.

An introduction to Beate Hölscher and Liezl Pretorius, the MFM Project’s new Research and Reporting Officers wraps up the latest newsletter.  Beate and Liezl have joined the existing MFM Development Officer, Tarryn Havemann in focusing on specific aspects of fundraising, while collaborating with the rest of the MFM Project team on various related tasks.

Download our latest newsletter, read it, pass it on - and please consider supporting the project with a sponsorship or a donation.  All nine previous Quarterly Newsletters are available for downloading from here.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 20 August 2024, updated 22 August 2024

The 11th SCAR Open Science Conference 2024 with the theme “Antarctic Science: Crossroads for a New Hope” commenced in Pucón, Chile today and runs until Friday 23 August 2024. "The SCAR Open Science Conferences are the world's premier Antarctic science meetings and are held every two years to draw attention to Antarctic issues. They offer scientists from various disciplines and countries the opportunity to present their work, network and participate more actively in SCAR's scientific activities."

The timetable of presentations by author and title and abstracts are now available on line.

An oral presentation by Danielle Keys in Session 19 entitled "Life History and Foraging Efficiency: Implications for Breeding Success in Wandering Albatrosses on  Marion Island" will be of interest to followers of ACAP Latest News.

The conference will be followed by the XXXVIII SCAR Delegates’ Meeting in Punta Arenas, Chile over 26-28 August 2024.

19 August 2024

Minister Julio Reinoso Calderón (front left) stands at the bottom of the grand internal staircase of Torre Tagle Palace with delegates of the Fourteenth Meeting of ACAP's Advisory Committee.

Delegates of the 14th Meeting of ACAP’s Advisory Committee (AC14) enjoyed a day out in the historical centre of Peru’s capital, Lima yesterday. 

AC14 hosts, Peru, organised the excursion for the Thursday, the traditional rest day for delegates, as the draft report for the meeting is compiled by ACAP’s Secretariat.

The excursion began with Minister Julio Reinoso Calderón, General Director of Maritime Affairs, welcoming delegates to Restaurante Casa Tambo for lunch and a display of traditional Peruvian dances. 

AC14 delegates enjoyed performances of three Peruvian dances over lunch at Restaurante Casa Rambo in the histoical centre of Lima

The performance was not contained to the professionals, with delegates from South Africa, Spain, Peru, and Chinese Taipei invited by the dancers to take to the floor and join in the revelry.

Afterward, Minister Calderón led the delegation through the historical city centre to Torre Tagle Palace, a colonial-era mansion built for the 1st Marquis of Torre Tagle, Jose Bernado de Tagle Bracho. The group were taken on a guided tour of the impressive building which now houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru and the National Directorate of State Ceremonial and Protocol.

The delegation expressed gratitude for the memorable day before returning to Miraflores to review and comment on the draft meeting report. The adoption of the meeting report will occur at the close of the meeting today.

16 August 2024