A breeding Wandering Albatross on Prion Island, photograph by Anton Wolfaardt

Victoria Warwick-Evans (British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Conservation Biology on differences in foraging areas for two South Atlantic Wandering Albatross island populations.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Spatial segregation in at-sea distribution is frequently observed in seabirds and can have important implications for conservation and management.  Globally, many albatross and petrel populations are declining due to bycatch in fisheries.  In South Georgia, the decrease in wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) differs among breeding sites, which could reflect segregation in foraging areas, leading to differing degrees of overlap with particular fishing fleets and hence unequal bycatch risk.  We investigated whether spatial segregation could explain the different rates of population decline of wandering albatrosses at South Georgia.  We tracked wandering albatrosses from 2 breeding sites at South Georgia, Prion Island, and Bird Island, located 50 km apart.  We investigated potential causes of spatial segregation with species distribution models and by comparing wind conditions among sites.  Overlap with fisheries was quantified for each population.  Although overall distributions were from the Antarctic to the subtropics, virtually all wandering albatrosses from Bird Island foraged only to the west of the island group, whereas those from Prion Island foraged to the east and west.  Preferred habitat characteristics were similar at both colonies, and waters to the east and west provided foraging habitat.  Wind conditions when birds departed were also similar at the 2 sites.  Because neither habitat specialization nor wind conditions appeared to be factors in the observed spatial segregation among colonies, this segregation likely reflected a combination of past experience, information exchange, and cultural evolution.  Breeding birds from both sites overlapped most with Chinese squid jiggers, Argentinian trawlers, and South Korean set (demersal) longliners, but the spatial segregation led to a higher overlap with demersal longline, demersal trawl, and pelagic longline fisheries by wandering albatrosses at Bird Island, which could have resulted in the faster population decline.  Ours is one of the first studies to demonstrate how spatial segregation may affect population dynamics, which has important implications for the conservation of this globally threatened species.”

Reference:

Warwick-Evans, V., Pearmain, E.J., Thorne, L. & Phillips, R.A. 2025.  Spatial segregation and bycatch risk as potential drivers of population trends of wandering albatrosses at South Georgia.  Conservation Biology DOI: 10.1111/cobi.70126.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 26 August 2025

Grey-headed Albatross at sea, photograph by Kirk Zufelt

Azwianewi (Newi) Makhado (Oceans and Coasts, Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the open access journal CCAMLR Science on seabird assemblages, abundance, and distribution in the African Sector of the southern Indian Ocean.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Seabird distributions in the Southern Ocean are influenced by the location and accessibility of suitable breeding sites, but also by the environmental factors that influence the distribution and availability of their prey.  For example, oceanic fronts, concentrate prey at their surface and therefore present important foraging areas for many seabirds.  This study investigated the latitudinal distribution and abundance of seabirds in the African sector of the Southern Ocean.  In particular, we investigated the relationship of seabird assemblages and densities to key biophysical environmental parameters (SST, sea surface height, bathymetry) and the main oceanic fronts.  There was a high density of seabirds north of the Subtropical Convergence (STC), which is situated at approximately 39°S, with declining densities farther south.  There was latitudinal segregation between several species, e.g. black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophris) occurred north of the STC, and grey-headed albatross (T. chrysostoma) occurred to south of it.  The Subantarctic Front (SAF) and the Antarctic Polar Front (APF) had less influence on seabird populations than the STC.  Latitude was the greatest predictor of seabird assemblages and densities, reflecting environmental gradients in physical and biological parameters and their influences on prey distributions.  Of the environmental parameters, sea surface temperature and bathymetry were the most important physical features influencing seabird assemblages.  In particular, the density of seabirds north of STC declined with increasing sea surface temperature and had a negative relationship with bathymetry, with most seabirds occurring in shallower waters.  In contrast, seabird density had a positive linear relationship with sea surface height.  Relationships with other environmental parameters, such as wind, salinity and chlorophyll concentration (as a proxy for productivity), were less well-defined.”

Reference:

Makhado, A.B., Dakwa, F.E., Ryan, P.G., Masotla, M,J., Dyer, B.M., Seakamela, S.M., Shabangu, F.W., Somhlaba, S. & Reisinger, R.R. 2025.  Seabird assemblages, abundance, and distribution in the African sector of the southern Indian Ocean.  CCAMLR Science 25: 73-98.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 25 August 2025

Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross near Marion Island, January 2025, photograph by Laurie Smaglick Johnson

Ryan Reisinger (School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, United Kingdom) and colleagues have published in the open access journal CCAMLR Science on data sources for seabird and marine mammal distribution in the southern Indian Ocean.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Numerous seabird and marine mammal species occur, often in high abundance, in the subtropical and subantarctic zones of the southern Indian Ocean.  They breed, moult and rest at French, South African and Australian islands in the region and forage at sea in areas including the Exclusive Economic Zones of these nations, Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction and also the area to which the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources applies.  Information on the at-sea distribution of these species is important for understanding ecosystem patterns and processes in the region, and is a key component of any spatial conservation and management frameworks.  Information on the distribution of marine predators is widely used to define priority areas for conservation and management, with several such initiatives already having been implemented in the extended Southern Ocean.  Seabird and marine mammal distribution has been studied mainly using two methods: animal-borne biotelemetry/biologging and at-sea sighting records.  Here, we give an overview of data on the distribution of marine mammals and seabirds – collected mainly through long-term tracking programmes at French and South African islands – with the aim of identifying data sources that can inform pelagic ecoregionalisation to support spatial conservation and management planning in this region.  We identify priorities for further distribution data collection related to life-history stages, sites and species and we identify broader challenges for understanding marine predator distribution in this region, towards spatial conservation and management planning.”

Reference:

Reisinger, R.R., Makhado, A.B., Delord, K., Bost, C.A., Lea, M.A. & Pistorius, P.A. 2025.  Towards higher predator ecoregionalisation of the pelagic zone in the subantarctic and subtropical Indian Ocean.  CCAMLR Science 25: 117-132.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 22 August 2025

The megaherb Campbell Island Daisy Pleurophyllum speciosum on Campbell Island

Applications are now open for 2025/26 True Young Explorer Scholarships with new Zealan-based Heritage Expeditions.  The scholarships represent a reduction in the listed cost to travel to New Zealand and Australia's sub-Antarctic Islands as well as the remote Ross Sea Region of Antarctica.  Holders of scholarships are expected to contribute 30% of the advertised cost of the expedition, payable on confirmation of the scholarship berth.

“Every year Heritage Expeditions takes small groups of intrepid travellers on voyages to some of the world’s most unique and remote islands, coasts and shorelines aboard our purpose-built expedition ships.  Founded in 1984 by the Russ family in Christchurch, New Zealand, we are still proudly family-owned and operated contributing to conservation through experiential learning, providing funds for research and management, and our ongoing legacy of creating ‘ambassadors’ through our True Young Explorer Scholarships.

True Young Explorer Scholarships provide a limited number of younger people (aged 18 - 30 years) with the opportunity to join expeditions to experience our remarkable Subantarctic Islands at a fraction of what it would otherwise cost.  In doing so, our aim is to create a league of ‘ambassadors' inspired to help raise the profile and protect these precious areas, and the unique flora and fauna inhabiting them, for future generations.

To secure a scholarship, we are looking for individuals who are as passionate as we are about giving a voice to, and protecting, New Zealand and Australia's Subantarctic Islands and the Southern Ocean.  Whether you are studying science, an artist, in media, involved in community organisations, a teacher or ... we want to know how you will share your experience travelling aboard our expeditions on Heritage Adventurer alongside likeminded passengers and an incredibly experienced expedition team of naturalists, biologists and historians on the voyage of a lifetime.”

Read more here, including how to apply.  Applications close on 22 September 2025.

ACAP Latest News has featured a 2024/25 scholarship holder.  See “In the wake of Scott and Shackleton” - a photo and video essay by Mitchell Roberts.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 21 August 2025