Locations of reported mortalities associated with high-pathogenicity avian influenza virus of the subtype H5 in wild birds and wild mammals in Central America, South America, and neighbouring island groups (from the publication)

World Albatross Day 2025 with its theme of “Effects of Disease” falls on 19 June.  From today until the 19th ACAP Latest News intends to post daily articles during “WADWEEK” that address or refer to the theme.

Thijs Kuiken (Department of Viroscience, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands) and colleagues have reviewed the occurrence and spread of high-pathogenicity avian influenza in South America and in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean open access in the journal Conservation Biology.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“The currently circulating high-pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) virus of the subtype H5 causes variable illness and death in wild and domestic birds and mammals, as well as in humans. This virus evolved from the Goose/Guangdong lineage of the HPAI H5 virus, which emerged in commercial poultry in China in 1996, spilled over into wild birds, and spread through Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America by 2021. Our objective was to summarize the spread and impact of the HPAI H5 virus in wild birds and mammals in South America, evaluate the risk of its spread and potential impact on Antarctic wildlife, and consider actions to manage the current and future HPAI outbreaks in wildlife. We obtained data on HPAI H5 virus detection and reported wildlife deaths from websites, newspaper articles, and scientific publications. The virus arrived in South America in October 2022. Thereafter, it spread widely and rapidly throughout the continent, where it infected at least 83 wild bird species and 11 wild mammal species and is estimated to have killed at least 667,000 wild birds and 52,000 wild mammals. The HPAI H5 virus spread to the Antarctic region by October 2023 and to mainland Antarctica by December 2023. This spread was associated with multiple mortality events in seabirds and marine mammals. The high spatial density of colonies of various Antarctic species of birds and mammals provides conditions for potentially devastating outbreaks with severe conservation implications. Ecosystem-level impacts may follow, and affected populations may take decades to recover. Although little can be done to stop the virus spread in wildlife, it is important to continue targeted surveillance of wildlife populations for HPAI H5 virus incursion and assessment of the spread and impact of disease to inform adaptation of conservation plans and to help policy makers mitigate and prevent future HPAI outbreaks.”

With thanks to Patricia Serafin, ACAP Intersessional Group on Avian Influenza and Diseases.

Reference:

Kuiken, T., Vanstreels, R.E.T., Banyard, A., Begeman, L., Breed, A., Dewar, M., Fijn, R., Serafini, P.P., Uhart, M. & Wille, M. 2025.  Emergence, spread, and impact of high pathogenicity avian influenza H5 in wild birds and mammals of South America and Antarctica, October 2022 to March 2024.  Conservation Biology doi.org/10.1111/cobi.70052.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels. 13 June 2025

MoP8 delegates on the lawn of the Dunedin Leisure Lodge

The 91-page Report of the Eighth Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MoP8), held at Dunedin, New Zealand, from 19 to 23 May 2025, is now available in English.

The French and Spanish translations of the MoP8 report will be published by mid-July.

All 13 Parties to the Agreement were represented at the Session: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, France, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) and Uruguay.

Documents and Information Papers tabled at the meeting are available from here.

ACAP Secretariat, 12 June 2025

A. Frame from amotion-activated infrared camera of a House Mouse attacking an adult male Wandering Albatross, inset close-up of the scalp wound.  B. An adult male Wandering Albatross brooding its chick with a severe wound to the elbow joint of its wing.  C. An adult male brooding its chick, with a wound on its right tibiotarsal joint, bleeding onto the bird’s rump.  D. A minor wound was detected on the right elbow of an adult male Wandering Albatross (from the publication)

Michelle Risi (Marine Apex Predator Research Unit, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa) and colleagues have published in the journal Biological Conservation on their observations of introduced House Mice attacking and killing adult Wandering Albatrosses Diomedea exulans (Vulnerable) on South Africa’s sub-Antarctic Marion Island.  The publication includes three short videos as electronic supplementary material depicting mouse attacks.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Invasive rodents severely impact native species, especially on oceanic islands.  House mice Mus musculus are known predators of seabird chicks, and there is growing concern about their attacks on adult birds.  On sub-Antarctic Marion Island, the single largest breeding site for wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans, invasive mice, the sole introduced mammal, pose an escalating threat to this Vulnerable species.  We report the first direct evidence of mice attacking adult wandering albatrosses, and record mouse attacks on adult wandering albatrosses beyond the localised incidents reported in 2023.  Of 2,979 wandering albatross nests counted island-wide in January 2024, 2,295 remained active in April, with 1,102 attended by adults brooding or guarding chicks.  Of these, 11 adults (1%) exhibited mouse-inflicted wounds (including a scalp injury, as well as the more common wing joint wounds), and two fresh adult carcasses were discovered.  Injured adults and carcasses were distributed across all wandering albatross breeding colonies.  Wounds predominantly affected males (10 of 11); one adult succumbed to its injuries within six weeks.  The 11 nests with injured adults had a 45% breeding success rate, below the island-wide average of 61%.  At Cape Davis, where mice were first recorded attacking adults in 2023, breeding success was just 28%.  This expansion in attack range and severity underscores the urgent need to eradicate mice from Marion Island to conserve wandering albatrosses and other threatened biota.”

Reference:

Risi, M.M., Jones, C.W., Connan, M., Gill, R., Stephen, V., Cunningham, S.J. &·Ryan, P.G. 2025.  Escalating threats: house mouse attacks on adult wandering albatrosses spread across Marion Island.  Biological Invasions 27. 149.  doi.org/10.1007/s10530-025-03610-8.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 11 June 2025

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Life Science Group Fellowship Programme is designed to encourage the active involvement of early and mid-career researchers in the work of the Life Sciences Group to mentor potential future SCAR leaders and promote professional development.  This fellowship programme is funded for two years.

Details of the Award

The award is for US$10 000 per year.  Funds can be used as a stipend; to cover the costs of travel to attend workshops, symposia and/or business meetings; or for other purposes as determined in consultation with the Chief Officer of the SG.  Initial appointments are for one year.  First-year fellows can apply for the second year, but a second year is not guaranteed.

It is expected that the time commitment of the fellows will average ~3 hours/week.  However, activities and time will vary from week to week.  For example, preparations for meetings will likely require a longer weekly effort and some weeks may not have any work.

Eligibility

The programme is for researchers from SCAR member countries (full or associate). PhD students or those within t10 years of having completed a PhD on the day of the deadline for applications.

Prior work with SCAR is not a requirement to apply, but any involvement with SCAR should be included in the application.  Researchers from countries with developing Antarctic programmes (e.g., SCAR Associate Member countries) are encouraged to apply.

Description of Fellowship

The role of the fellow will be to:

• Support the administrative work of Chief Officers and improve communication between Science Groups, their subsidiary groups, the SCAR Secretariat and the SCAR Executive Committee.
• Participate in Science Group activities and assist Chief Officers in report and meeting preparations.
• Solicit, gather, and provide news items and other outreach material about Science Group activities for the SCAR Newsletter and website.
• Work with the Chief Officers to develop strategies that will further promote SCAR activities within the international science community.

The role of the Life Sciences Group leadership will be to:

• Mentor fellows in the work of SCAR, especially the activities of the SG and its subsidiary Expert Groups and Action Groups.
• Train potential future leaders of SCAR groups (e.g., Science Groups, Action Groups, Expert groups, etc.).

Application review will begin 8 July 2025; for full consideration please submit your application by this date.

Read more, including how to apply, here.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels. 10 June 2025