Buller's Albatross, artwork by Shary Page Weckwerth for ACAP; from a photograph by Paul Sagar

Jana Wold (School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand) and colleagues report in the journal Emu - Austral Ornithology on genetic differences between Northern Thalassarche bulleri platei and Southern T. b. bulleri Buller’s Albatrosses.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“The Buller’s albatross species complex is composed of two asynchronously breeding subspecies, the Northern Buller’s albatross (Thalassarche bulleri platei) and Southern Buller’s albatross (Thalassarche bulleri bulleri). The aim of this study was to test for genetic differentiation between Northern and Southern Buller’s albatross and to reassess genetic connectivity between these populations. Genotyping-by-Sequencing (GBS) was used to estimate gene flow and genome-wide divergence using 13 T. b. platei and 40 T. b. bulleri samples. The STACKS de novo and reference guided pipelines were used to call single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for three data sets: one each for Northern and Southern Buller’s and a third for both taxa together. The number of SNPs in each de novo data set was relatively consistent from 12,148 to 11,898 for Northern and Southern Buller’s albatross collections, respectively. A random subsample of 1000 SNPs from each of the two groups indicated that mean per-site nucleotide diversity and heterozygosity were slightly higher for Northern Buller’s albatross (π = 0.335; H_E = 0.322) than for either of the two Southern Buller’s albatross breeding colonies (π = 0.286 and 0.294; H_E = 0.275 and 0.288). Both STRUCTURE and discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) consistently showed differentiated clusters corresponding to Northern and Southern Buller’s but did not resolve population structure among Southern Buller’s breeding populations. These results indicate that an asynchronous breeding season likely limits gene flow between Northern and Southern Buller’s albatross and have important implications for the taxonomic status of Buller’s albatrosses.”

Reference:

Wold, J.R., Robertson, C.J.R., Chambers, G.K., Van Stijn, T. & Ritchie, P.A. 2021.  Genetic connectivity in allopatric seabirds: lack of inferred gene flow between Northern and Southern Buller’s albatross populations (Thalassarche bulleri ssp.).  Emu - Austral Ornithology 121: 113-123.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 25 August 2021

A Northern Giant Petrel  broods its chick, watercolour by Shary Page Weckwerth for ACAP; after a photograph by Laurie Smaglick Johnson

 As for nearly all international meetings affected by COVID-19, the Twelfth Meeting of ACAP’s Advisory Committee (AC12) and of two of its working groups are being held virtually; a first for ACAP.  This year’s meetings - delayed from last year by the pandemic - are now being held from 16/17 August to 1/2 September (depending on where you are in the world).  Meetings of the Seabird Bycatch Working Group and the Population and Conservation Status Working Group are preceding AC12; SBWG10 (which has already met) from 16/17 to 18/19 August, and PaCSWG6 from 23/24 to 24/25 August.  AC12 will meet from 30/31 August to 1/2 September.

PaCSWG6 is being chaired by its Co-convenors, Marco Favero from Argentina and Patricia Serafini from Brazil, with the support of Vice- Convenor Richard Phillips (UK).  The working group’s full membership and Terms  of Reference may be viewed by scrolling down from here.  Four Documents (including a Draft Meeting Agenda, PaCSWG 6 Doc 01 Rev. 1) and 22 Information Papers have been tabled for consideration, leading to an expected busy meeting over the two days allotted.  All these documents can be downloaded from this website but note that some are password protected and so only their abstracts are available to be read.

Further information is available in AC12 Circular 5 in the three official ACAP languages of English, French and Spanish on timing at different localities and lengths of the three meetings.  Congress Rental has been chosen to manage the technical aspects of the meeting, using the Interprefy platform.  Interprefy enables “relay interpretation” (involving multiple languages – three in the case of ACAP).  Congress Rental is providing technical advice to Chairs, Convenors, Secretariat, interpreters and to other participants.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 24 August 2021

Campbell Albatross at sea; artwork by Annie Shoemaker-Magdaleno, after a photograph by Kirk Zufelt 

David Thompson (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd., Wellington, New Zealand) and colleagues have published in the journal Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems on the at-sea distribution of New Zealand’s endemic and globally Vulnerable Campbell Albatross Thalassarche impavida.

The paper’s abstract follows:

1. The use of miniaturized electronic tracking devices has illuminated our understanding of seabird distributions and habitat use, and how anthropogenic threats interact with seabirds in both space and time. To determine the year-round distribution of adult Campbell albatross (Thalassarche impavida), a single-island endemic, breeding only at Campbell Island in New Zealand's subantarctic, a total of 68 year-long location data sets were acquired from light-based geolocation data-logging tags deployed on breeding birds in 2009 and 2010.
2. During the incubation and chick-guard phases of the breeding season, birds used cool (<10°C) waters over the Campbell Plateau, but also ranged over deeper, shelf-break and oceanic waters (4,000–5,500 m) beyond the Plateau. Later in the breeding season, during post-guard chick-rearing, Campbell albatrosses exploited generally deep waters (4,000–5,000 m) beyond the Campbell Plateau.
3. During the non-breeding period, adults tended to move northwards into warmer (approximately 15°C) waters and occupied areas beyond western Australia in the west to offshore from Chile in the east. Overall, about 30% of adults spent some of their non-breeding period in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, substantially expanding the previously reported range for this species.
4. One bird, that failed in its breeding attempt in October 2009, departed Campbell Island and circumnavigated the southern oceans before being recaptured back at Campbell Island in October 2010. This is the first example of an annually-breeding albatross species completing a circumnavigation between breeding attempts.
5. Overlap with fishing effort, using data from the Global Fishing Watch database, was assessed on a monthly and seasonal basis. Generally, levels of overlap between Campbell albatross and fishing effort were relatively low during the breeding season but were approximately 60% higher during the non-breeding period, underlining the need for international initiatives to safeguard this species.”

With thanks to Richard Phillips, British Antarctic Survey.

Reference:

Thompson, D.R., Goetz, K.T., Sagar, P.M., Torres, L.G., Kroeger, C.E., Sztukowski, L.A., Orben, R.A., Hoskins, A.J. & Phillips, R.A. 2021.  The year-round distribution and habitat preferences of Campbell albatross (Thalassarche impavida).  Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3685.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 23 August 2021

Black-footed Albatross, artwork by Colleen Laird‎ for ACAP

Caroline Fox (Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series on spatial overlaps of Black-footed Phoebastria nigripes, Laysan P. immutabilis and Short-tailed P. albatrus Albatrosses with Canadian longline fisheries.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Fisheries bycatch mortality poses a primary threat to the majority of the world’s 22 albatross species, 15 of which are at risk of extinction. Although quantitative estimates of albatross bycatch are often unavailable due to a relative or total absence of monitoring, spatial overlap between fisheries and albatrosses is often used to estimate the extent of interaction, a proxy for exposure to bycatch, and to inform avoidance and mitigation actions. Using comprehensive records of commercial demersal longline and trap fishing and survey information for albatrosses (black-footed albatross Phoebastria nigripes, Laysan albatross P. immutabilis, short-tailed albatross P. albatrus), the extent of spatial potential interaction was estimated in Canada’s Pacific coast waters and examined across breeding and non-breeding seasons. The distributions of albatrosses and longline and trap fisheries were found to substantially overlap, with potential interaction hotspots concentrated along the continental shelf break. Trap fisheries reported 1 albatross bycatch incident, suggesting that these fisheries are responsible for negligible albatross mortalities. In contrast, >80% of recorded albatross bycatch incidents occurred within 10 km of albatross-longline fisheries hotspot locations, providing evidence that longline-albatross potential interaction hotspots represent actual areas of elevated bycatch mortality risk. Indicative of potential conservation concern, 60% of short-tailed albatross sightings occurred within 10 km, and 93% within 30 km, of longline-albatross potential interaction hotspots. By contributing knowledge regarding albatross-fisheries interactions, in addition to undertaking the first evaluation of albatross-fisheries hotspots with recorded bycatch incidents on Canada’s Pacific coast, this study represents a step towards enhancing albatross conservation through bycatch avoidance and mitigation.”

With thanks to Ken Morgan.

Reference:

Fox, C.H., Robertson, C., O'Hara, P.D., Tadey, R. & Morgan, K.H. 2021.  Spatial assessment of albatrosses, commercial fisheries, and bycatch incidents on Canada's Pacific coast.  Marine Ecology Progress Series 672: 205-222.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 20 August 2021