A Newell’s Shearwater ashore, photograph by Lindsay Young

André Raine and colleagues (Archipelago Research and Conservation, Hanapepe, Kaua‘i, Hawaii, USA) have published in the journal Bird Conservation International on breeding phenology of the Critically Endangered Newell’s Shearwater Puffinus newelli.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“The ‘a‘o, or Newell’s Shearwater Puffinus newelli, is an endangered shearwater species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, with 90% of the world population found on Kaua‘i. Understanding the breeding phenology of the species is vital for identifying key periods for colony management actions and the timing and exposure frequency to infrastructure threats such as powerline collisions and light attraction. We used a combination of direct burrow monitoring and remote cameras at multiple colonies between 2012 and 2019 for a detailed assessment of the breeding phenology for this species. Breeding adults started arriving at the burrow in mid-April, some (but not all) underwent a two-week exodus in May and returned at the end of May to commence incubation. Incubation continued until mid-July. The chick-rearing period ran until the end of September. Fledging peaked in October with the last birds fledging towards the middle of November. Breeding was not synchronised, with a 59-day gap between the first and last fledging birds. The importance of this information to management actions is discussed, particularly in terms of directing management actions to key periods of vulnerability to introduced predators (such as peak incubation, chick emergence, and exercising prior to fledging), the precise timing of fledgling fallout related to light attraction, and directing colony-monitoring actions and translocation projects. We also consider the utility of the data in assessing species composition of powerline collisions and collision risk. Future work using acoustic monitoring is recommended for assessing the phenology of non-breeders and prospectors at colonies.”

Reference:

Raine, A.F., Driskill, S., Rothe, J. & Travers, M.S. 2022.  Evaluating the breeding phenology of the endangered ‘a‘o (Newell’s Shearwater Puffinus newelli) on Kaua‘i to better focus conservation actions and management decisions.  Bird Conservation International doi.org/10.1017/S0959270922000387.

John Cooper, ACAP News Correspondent, 08 November 2022

The ACAP-listed Black Petrel - a species included in the study linking seabird groundings to light pollution; photograph by Kirk Zufelt

Ariel-Micaiah Heswall (School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand) and colleagues have published open access in the journal PeerJ on the link between light pollution and seabird groundings for seabird species, including the ACAP-listed Black Petrel. 

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a growing conservation concern for seabirds, which can become disoriented and grounded by lights from buildings, bridges and boats. Many fledgling seabirds, especially Procellariiformes such as petrels and shearwaters, are susceptible to light pollution. The Hauraki Gulf, a seabird hotspot located near Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, Aotearoa—New Zealand’s largest urban city, with a considerable amount of light pollution and regularly documented events of seabird groundings. We aim to identify the characteristics of locations especially prone to seabird groundings. We used an online database of seabirds taken to a wildlife rescue facility by the public to map 3 years of seabird groundings and test for correlations between seabird groundings and the natural night sky brightness. We found that areas with lower amounts of natural night sky brightness and greater light pollution often had a higher number of seabirds grounded. Further, we identified important seasonal patterns and species differences in groundings. Such differences may be a by-product of species ecology, visual ecology and breeding locations, all of which may influence attraction to lights. In general, seabird groundings correlate with the brightness of the area and are species-specific. Groundings may not be indicative of human or seabird population abundance considering some areas have a lower human population with high light levels and had high amounts of seabird groundings. These findings can be applied worldwide to mitigate groundings by searching and targeting specific brightly lit anthropogenic structures. Those targeted structures and areas can then be the focus of light mitigation efforts to reduce seabird groundings. Finally, this study illustrates how a combination of community science, and a concern for seabirds grounded from light attraction, in addition to detailed animal welfare data and natural night sky brightness data can be a powerful, collaborative tool to aid global conservation efforts for highly-at-risk animals such as seabirds.”

Reference

Heswall A., Miller L., McNaughton E.J., Brunton-Martin A.L., Cain K.E., Friesen M.R. & Gaskett A.C. 2022. Artificial light at night correlates with seabird groundings: mapping city lights near a seabird breeding hotspot. PeerJ 10:e14237 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14237

7 November 2022

A  Southern Giant Petrel downy chick and adult on Bird Island; photograph by Alex Dodds

Do you have any unpublished counts of Southern Giant Petrels at Antarctic breeding sites that ACAP might not be aware of?

Would you consider becoming a database Site Custodian?

Why are we collating the data? The data are used by ACAP to determine trends, identify globally important sites, carry out gap analyses, help determine priorities for data collection or conservation action.

Most of the sites for ACAP species outside the Antarctic Treaty area have a site custodian, but there are very few for the Antarctic breeding sites.

What does a Site Custodian do? Essentially it involves entering any new data on population size each year, and letting ACAP know if there are any substantive changes to site management or protection. So, if you are involved in monitoring of population trends at any of the Antarctic sites for Southern Giant Petrels please consider getting involved

Note that the count data can be from a whole breeding site (usually an island/peninsula) or from a standardised part-site (e.g. sub-colony or study area) counted annually or every few years.

Any questions? Get in touch with the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

04 November 2022

Word Albatross Day is celebrated each year on 19 June.  Initiated by the Albatross and Petrel Agreement, 2023 will be the fourth year the day has been marked.  Planning necessarily starts early, with the first step being the production of a logo.

As in previous years, the ‘WAD2023’ logo has been produced in the three ACAP languages of English, French and Spanish, as well as in Portuguese.  This last language is spoken in Angola, Brazil and Portugal, all significant range states for ACAP-listed species; Brazil also being a Party to the Agreement.  For the first time, four more versions of the logo, in Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean, are planned to mark the importance of Asian high-seas fishing fleets in working towards the conservation of albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters.

From the new year, ACAP will be releasing posters and species infographics in the three official languages to mark WAD2023 and its chosen theme of “Plastic Pollution”.  We might even have another competition, noting the success of those held in the inaugural year.

Geoffry Tyler is thanked once more for updating the logo he designed.

John Cooper, ACAP News Correspondent, 03 November 2022