Georg Steller, 18th Century German botanist, zoologist, physician and explorer.  Artwork courtesy of the Center of Russian-German Cooperation of Georg Wilhelm Steller, University of Tyumen

The Vulnerable Short-tailed or Steller's Albatross Phoebastria albatrus is one of the two albatrosses (along with Buller’s Albatross Thalassarche bulleri) chosen to be featured for this year’s World Albatross Day (WAD2024) to be marked on 19 June.  The species was first described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas FRS from skins obtained by Georg Wilhelm Steller.

Georg Steller (10 March 1709 – 14 November 1746) was a German-born naturalist and physician who accompanied the Great Northern Expedition of 1733 to 1743 to the waters between Siberia and North America.  The expedition, conceived and authorised by Tsar Peter the Great of Russia, was led to Vitus Jonassen Bering (a Dane), after whom the Bering Sea is named.

A 10-year-old sub-adult Short-tailed Albatross on Sand Island, Midway Atoll, photograph by Jonathan Plissner, USFWS

Steller’s Albatross is now a little-used common name, “Short-tailed” being much preferred.  Of relatively recent handbooks and field guides its seems only the late Lance Tickell, in his 2000 book Albatrosses, used the eponymous name.  He argued that the other three Phoebastria albatrosses of the Pacific also had short tails, so it was not a good descriptor.

As well as “his” albatross, Georg Steller has Steller's Sea Eagle Haliaeetus pelagicus, Steller's Eider Polysticta stelleri, Steller’s Jay Cyanocitta stelleri and the then soon to be extinct Steller’s Sea Cow Hydrodamalis gigas, as well as the Steller (or Northern) Sea Lion Eumetopias jubatus, all named after him.  However, the three birds could be renamed by the American Ornithological Society, which is suggesting doing away with all eponymous names (click here).

Reference:

Steller, G.W. 1988.  Journal of a Voyage with Bering, 1741-1742.  Stanford University Press.  260 pp.

Tickell, W.L.N. 2000.  Albatrosses.  Mountfield: Pica Press.  448 pp.

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

The Conservation Services Programme (CSP) of New Zealand’s Department of Conservation is preparing for its upcoming annual Research Advisory Group (RAG) meeting where key research projects for the CSP Annual Plan 2024/25 will be deliberated upon. 

In preparation for the meeting on 1 March 2024, the CSP has made a number of resources available for stakeholder reference including, the CSP Strategic Statement, DRAFT CSP Annual Research Summary 2022-23, CSP Medium Term Research Plans, and the Bycatch Project Longlist 2024/25. 

To access the resources and for further information regarding timelines and processes, stakeholders are directed to consult the CSP website, here.

19 February 2024

Cory’s Shearwater exhibiting primary moult, photograph by Mike Bridgeford

Letizia Campioni (Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Instituto Universitário de Ciências Psicológicas, Sociais e da Vida, Lisboa, Portugal) and colleagues have published in Ibis International Journal of Avian Science on relationships between moult and breeding in  Cory's Shearwaters Calonectris borealis.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Migratory birds must fit three costly life-history events within the annual cycle, reproduction, moult and migration, to minimize their overlap and maximize survival and breeding success. However, some seabirds, such as Cory's Shearwater Calonectris borealis, overlap body moult and breeding, with flight feather renewal occurring in late chick-rearing. In contrast, the moult patterns of non-breeding adult (sabbatical) and immature Cory's Shearwaters, which also attend the colony during the breeding season, remain poorly understood. Furthermore, the potential implications of life-stage and breeding status trade-offs on moult status and colony attendance in non-breeders has rarely been investigated. Surveying different areas within one colony between June and September 2013 and 2014, we studied the age and breeding status composition of birds attending the breeding colony and scored moult of their body (breast and upper-neck), wing and tail feathers. We found that in addition to breeders (n = 165), 57.6% of the birds (n = 389) attending the colony were 4- to 10-year-old immatures (n = 132) and adult sabbatical shearwaters (n = 92). Sabbaticals and 8- to 10-year-old immatures (n = 28) were present at the colony during incubation, whereas only three sabbatical birds and no 8- to 10-year-old immatures were captured in late chick-rearing. Conversely, 4- to 7-year-old immatures arrived later in the season but were still present in late chick-rearing. Sabbatical and 8- to 10-year-old immatures were moulting body feathers at the same time as adult breeders, whereas, among 4- to 7-year-old immatures, older birds moulted earlier than younger birds. A larger proportion of sabbatical birds were replacing tail feathers compared with adult breeders. However, there was no evidence that sabbaticals or 8- to 10-year-old immatures differed in wing moult from adult breeders until August. Overall, our study shows that colony attendance by non-breeding adults and immatures is widespread in this population. The synchronous moult schedule of flight and body feathers across age groups at different life-history stages may suggest that this aspect of moult is controlled by environmental conditions."

Reference:

Campioni, L., Roda, S.B., Alonso, H., Catry, P. &  Granadeiro, J.P. 2023.  Colony attendance and moult pattern of Cory's Shearwaters (Calonectris borealis) differing in breeding status and age.  Ibis International Journal of Avian Science doi.org/10.1111/ibi.13291.

15 February 2024

Linda Elliot (L) washing a Laysan Albatross; photo courtesy of PSG, and Dr Stephen Kress (R) holding a puffin at Eastern Egg Rock; photo by Bill Scholtz

Dr. Stephen Kress and Linda Elliott have been recognised by the Pacific Seabird Group (PSG) for their lifelong dedication to conservation with the announcement of the PSG 2024 Awards.  

Dr. Kress received the PSG 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award, “in recognition of significant and distinguished contributions to seabird conservation and restoration, mentoring, and the Pacific Seabird Group”. Over five decades, he has been at the forefront of the development of seabird colony restoration and management techniques, including chick translocation and social attraction. 

Linda Elliott was recognised with the Special Achievement Award, “in recognition of innovation and dedication to seabird conservation, rehabilitation, and education through the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Center”. Linda Elliott is the founder and director of the Hawaii Wildlife Centre and has over two decades of experience in wildlife rehabilitation. Linda is a leading figure in international rescue efforts, including the successful rehabilitation of thousands of oiled birds and mammals. 

More information about the awards given to Dr Stephen Kress and Linda Elliot can be found at the Pacific Seabird Group’s website here, https://pacificseabirdgroup.org/category/psg-news-stream/ .

14 February 2024