Pink-footed Shearwaters in the Canadian Pacific associate with oceanographic and geographic factors

 
From Chile to Canada. Transequatorial migration of the Pink-footed Shearwater, artwork by Ilana Nimz of Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN)

Sonya Pastron (Environment and Climate Change Canada, Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada) and colleagues have published in the open access online journal Marine Ornithology on the ACAP-listed Pink-footed Shearwater Ardenna creatopus in Canadian waters, showing the species’ at-sea distribution correlates with latitude and the continental shelf break.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Anthropogenic activities are threatening global marine ecosystems, with seabirds representing a vulnerable group that has experienced pronounced population declines in recent decades.  The ability to identify important marine areas for vulnerable seabirds is fundamental to conservation initiatives.  The Pink-footed Shearwater Ardenna creatopus (listed as Endangered in Canada) breeds only in Chile, but during the non-breeding season, it ranges northward to waters off Canada's Pacific coast and the northern Gulf of Alaska.  Using at-sea survey data spanning from 1992 to 2019, we examined the relationship between the species' distribution and environmental variables using a two-step generalized additive model approach.  Cross-validation with out-of-sample testing showed high predictive accuracy for shearwater occurrence (area under receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] = 0.94) and moderate performance for relative abundance predictions (Spearman's rank correlation = 0.32, root mean square error = 3.92, mean absolute error = 0.45) at a 4-km² resolution. The results give us confidence in the model's ability to identify areas suitable for Pink-footed Shearwaters.  Distribution was strongly associated with several oceanographic and geographic factors, particularly latitude and distance to the continental shelfbreak.  The findings of this study may help inform marine conservation efforts within Canada's Pacific exclusive economic zone and beyond.”

Reference:

Pastran, S.A., O’Hara, P.D., Morgan, K.H., Fox, C.H., & Gross, W.E. 2026.  Predicting suitable marine habitat for Pink-footed Shearwaters Ardenna creatopus in the waters along the Pacific coast of Canada.  Marine Ornithology 54: 109-123.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 22 April 2026