The studentships are funded by the John and Pat Warham Scholarship Fund, a legacy left to the British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) by the late John and Pat Warham and aim to provide training to PhD level in research on any aspect of the biology or ecology of Sphenisciformes and Procellariiformes by citizens of Commonwealth countries and who are also members of the BOU.

John Warham

John and Pat Warham in their later years

John Warham (1919-2010) was one of the pioneers in conducting field research on mainly New Zealand albatrosses and petrels as well as on penguins, publishing two important books on the former group at the end of his long career (click here to read his obituary in ACAP Latest News).  His wife Pat helped with field work in their early years together.

“Four fully-funded studentships are available and it is envisaged that one studentship will be awarded per year from 2018, although, if more than one exceptional application is received, two awards may be made in one year.  Successful proposals will combine the development of skills useful for a future career in ornithology with a sound scientific research proposal.”

Proposals must be submitted by 30 June 2017.

Read more on the studentships here.

With thanks to Mark Tasker.

Selected literature:

Warham, J. 1990. The Petrels: their Ecology and Breeding Systems. London & San Diego: Academic Press. 440 pp.

Warham, J. 1996. The Behaviour, Population Ecology and Physiology of the Petrels. London & San Diego: Academic Press. 613 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 April 2017

The United States Air Force will reduce light pollution at its radar-tracking Kōke‘e Air Force Station facility on the Hawaiian island of Kauai to reduce deaths to globally Vulnerable Hawaiian Petrels Pterodroma sandwichensis, Endangered Newell’s Shearwaters Puffinus newelli and Band-rumped Storm Petrels Hydrobates castro.

The Kōke‘e Air Force Station caused the death or downing of more than 130 petrels and shearwaters  in 2015 (click here).

“The new Air Force procedures are expected to reduce the downing or “take” of seabirds to approximately four birds per year. To offset these losses, the Air Force also agreed to fund predator control at existing seabird colonies.”

Hawaiian Petrel

Newell's Shearwater, photograph by Eric Vanderwerf

“The 2015 event at the Kōke‘e Air Force Station was … especially damaging because most of the protected seabirds that were killed or downed were adult Newell’s shearwaters and Hawaiian petrels, birds that take six years to reach reproductive age.  Seabirds in Hawaii are primarily threatened by introduced predators like cats, rats, pigs and barn owls, as well as by fatal collisions with power lines and downing associated with night-time lights.”

Read more here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 31 March 2017

The Antarctic Wildlife Research Fund, which facilitates and promotes research on the Antarctic ecosystem, has made a call for research proposals that will lead to helping  the Southern Ocean fishery for Antarctic Krill Euphasia superba to be managed in a sustainable manner.  A description of one of the proposed studies entitled “The role of flying birds in the krill centric food web” follows:

“Spatial management of krill fisheries by CCAMLR has, to date, largely considered the demands of diving predators, including penguins. Information on the level of krill consumption by flying seabirds, and the potential competition with krill fisheries, have long been recognised as major data gaps by CCAMLR. Tracking and at-sea survey data indicate that in some areas of operation, krill fishing vessels overlap with the preferred foraging localities of flying seabirds. Even in situations of limited spatial overlap, there may be a competitive and therefore functional overlap, as flying seabirds may rely on krill advected from areas where fisheries operate. Improved analyses of both spatial and functional overlap of flying seabirds with krill fisheries and areas of high densities would therefore be informative, particularly as fishing vessels access krill at much deeper depths than flying seabirds, and so may respond differently to krill dynamics.

Black-browed Albatrosses are known to eat Antarctic Krill

“Applicants should give details about the proposed start and end dates of any proposal. Applicants should also provide specific dates by which outputs and products from the research will be produced. Successful proposals should preferably start as soon as possible; desk-based components for any proposals should commence before 1 July 2018, while any fieldwork should commence in the 2017/2018 field season. Total duration for the project should not exceed 24 months.”

Successful proposals might expect to receive in the order of US$ 50 000 - 100 000.  The closing date for applications is 27 June 2017.

Read more here.

With thanks to Mark Tasker.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 30 March 2017

Yves Cherel (Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, Villiers-en-Bois, France) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series comparing diets of Wandering Albatrosses Diomedea exulans at the French Crozets and Kerguelen.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Feeding ecology and isotopic niche of the wandering albatross Diomedea exulans were investigated in the poorly studied population on the Kerguelen Islands and compared to that on the Crozet Islands. Fish (48% by mass) and cephalopods (46%) were similarly important in chick food at Kerguelen, while cephalopods (87%) dominated the diet at Crozet. Fish prey included mainly deep-sea species, with the Patagonian toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides being the main item. Cephalopod beaks were identified, most of which were from adult oceanic squids. Albatrosses preyed upon the same taxa at both localities, but in different proportions. Histioteuthis atlantica (30% by number), Galiteuthis glacialis (13%), and Kondakovia longimana (10%) were the main squid prey at Kerguelen, while K. longimana (35%) and H. eltaninae (23%) dominated at Crozet. Chick feather δ15N values were higher in wandering albatrosses than in other oceanic seabirds of the 2 communities, indicating that the wandering albatross is an apex consumer together with the sperm whale and sleeper shark that have similar δ15N values. Satellite-tracked wandering albatrosses foraged in local subantarctic waters and farther north, with some Crozet birds overlapping with those from the Kerguelen population in western Kerguelen waters. Anthropogenic items (e.g. plastic fragments, hooks) were found in half the food samples. All fishery-related items were from the local toothfish fishery. The high number of hooks from Crozet indicated the presence of a fairly large number of illegal longliners in the area during the Austral winter 1998. A review of the feeding habits of Diomedea spp. highlights the need for more dietary investigations to achieve effective conservation and management of this endangered group of charismatic seabirds.

Wandering Albatrosses display, photograph by Rowan Treblico

Reference:

Cherel, Y., Xavier, J.C., de Grissac, S., Trouvé, C. & Weimerskirch, H. 2017.  Feeding ecology, isotopic niche, and ingestion of fishery-related items of the wandering albatross Diomedea exulans at Kerguelen and Crozet Islands. Marine Ecology Progress Series 565:197-215. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11994.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 March 2017