Antipodean Albatross, artwork by Kitty Harvill from a photograph by Kirk Zufelt

A video directed by Brendan Donovan and presented by Live Ocean, a “marine conservation charity with a mission to amplify and accelerate positive ocean action in New Zealand”, has been selected as a 2021 Sylvia Earle Ocean Conservation Award finalist as part of the MY HERO International Film Festival.

 ‘Sentinel of the Ocean’ a story of the plight of the Antipodean Albatross

The short (4 min 12 sec) Live Ocean video was released last year to mark the inaugural World Albatross Day on 19 June to draw attention to the conservation crisis facing New Zealand’s endemic Antipodean Albatross Diomedea antipodensis (globally Endangered and Nationally Critical).   Winners will be announced on World Ocean Day on 8 June, just 11 days before this year’s World Albatross Day with its theme “Ensuring Albatross-friendly Fisheries”.  See details of all the seven finalists here.  Read about Live Ocean and its work for the Antipodean Albatross here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 16 May 2021

Black-browed Albatrosses, photograph by Letizia Campioni 

Natasha Gillies (Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, UK) and colleagues have published open access in the ornithological journal Ibis on allopreening by Black‐browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“The functions of display between breeding pairs of animals have been given little attention outside of sexual selection. Yet evidence suggests that display between partners is in fact most commonly observed following mate choice, and is often just as elaborate. In many bird species, allopreening, when one member of a pair preens the other, is a major component of display both pre‐ and post‐pair formation. Despite this, there has been little investigation into its functions. Explanations that have been put forward tend to focus on its role in feather hygiene, which has limited phylogenetic support, or its function in the maintenance of the pair bond, though how this might occur or indeed what this actually represents has not been adequately explained. Phylogenetic evidence reveals that allopreening is most commonly observed in those species exhibiting high levels of partner retention and biparental care, and it appears to be functional in maintaining cooperation in parental behaviour in at least one species. In our observational study, we explored the patterns and putative functions of allopreening during the nest‐relief displays of breeding pairs of Black‐browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris during incubation and chick‐provisioning. Allopreening was an important feature of displays, constituting 30% of display time. We found that the bird returning from its foraging trip usually initiated allopreening, and preened more than its partner prior to change‐over of nesting duties. We further found a positive relationship between the amount of time the pair spent in display and the duration of the subsequent foraging trip, providing tentative support for a function in maintaining cooperative parental behaviour between the parents. Although we cannot be conclusive as to its exact functions, we add to a limited literature the first exploration of functions for this conspicuous behaviour in albatrosses.”

With thanks to Barry Baker.

Reference:

Gillies, N., Guilford, T. & Catry, P. 2021.  Allopreening in the Black‐browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophris): an exploration of patterns and possible functions.  Ibis  doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12960.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 16 May 2021

 The Brenda and Tony Gibbs Award of UK£20 000 is funded by a legacy left to the British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) to specifically fund research on tracking and migration studies including the use of new technologies.  The award is aimed at funding discovery science, technological advances, high-profile conservation and research with societal impact that delivers a step change in the understanding of the movements and migrations of birds.  Research can be undertaken on the movements and migrations of any bird species.  It is noted that all 31 ACAP-listed species of albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters are considered to be migratory.

Impacts may be demonstrated through scientific papers, public engagement, technological advancement and/or gaining evidence to further the conservation of birds.  The award is not designed to provide long-term funding for a detailed and comprehensive research programme, but to provide the opportunity for discovery science and a springboard for larger research funding.  The award is open to BOU members, as well as to non-members residing and working in low or middle income countries, which include five ACAP Parties.

Applicants and their students should check the BOU Small Grants Scheme where smaller-scale tracking/migration projects up to a maximum of UK 2000 will be considered under funding from the Brenda and Tony Gibbs legacy.

The deadline for submission is 30 June 2021.  Read more about the award here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 15 May 2021

Hookpod creators, Ben and Pete Kibel

British brothers Ben and Pete Kibel, an engineer and a fisheries biologist respectively, are the creators of Hookpod, a reusable and low-cost device that prevents the deaths of seabirds during longline fishing.  The Hookpod encapsulates baited hooks until they sink to a depth inaccessible to seabirds.  It has been recommended by ACAP as a best-practice mitigation measure.

“The Hookpod is a clear, polycarbonate capsule that is clipped over the points and barbs of longline fishing hooks. On the surface, this prevents scavenging seabirds from getting caught on the hooks by physically blocking their access to them. The core of the device is a pressure-operated mechanism that consists of a watertight tube containing a piston and a small quantity of trapped air. Once the encapsulated hook sinks to 20 metres below the surface – out of range for most seabirds – the force generated by the water pressure on the end of the piston becomes greater than the force acting in the opposite direction, driving the piston inwards. The piston continues to move until it releases a latch, which opens the device and releases the baited hook.  When the fishing session is complete, fishermen can clip the Hookpod shut for subsequent use.”

An introduction to the Hookpod; produced by When It Rains Creative

The Kibel brothers have now been named finalists – along with five others - in the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) category of the European Inventor Award 2021, which will take place digitally on 17 June 2021 (during 'WADWEEK2021').   The award is administered by the European Patent Office (EPO).  EPO President António Campino says “the Kibel brothers have combined ingenuity with their commitment to the environment to develop a solution that protects vulnerable marine life.”

Read more here and here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 14 May 2021