Tristan Albatrosses on Gough Island, photograph by Michelle Risi

Over the austral summers of 2006/07 and 2007/08 I, with companions, lived on Gough Island in the South Atlantic, staying in the South African meteorological station just above the sea cliffs in Transvaal Bay. A major activity of our work on the island was to establish a long-term monitoring study of the ACAP-listed and Critically Endangered Tristan Albatross or Gony Diomedea dabbenena.

As has become well known, this albatross, a near endemic to the island, is at risk of extinction from the “double whammy” of longline mortality of juveniles and adults at sea, and poor breeding success due to attacks on downy chicks by the island’s introduced House Mice Mus musculus on land.  Fortunately, the latter problem is soon to be addressed, with the sailing to Gough this week of the New Zealand-registered expedition yacht Evohe, carrying an advance team which will start preparations for the eradication effort intended to take place in June and July this year.

The nearest locality with a suitable population of Tristan Albatrosses to the station is in Gonydale, a valley nestled between hills and mountains on three sides and best accessible by a two-hour or so climb up a path alongside the Gony River that reaches the valley in an undulating area known as the Hummocks.  The lower slopes of Gough are well vegetated with grasses, sedges, bracken and ferns forming an unbroken carpet.  The ground as one climbs to Gonydale has many holes in the peat dug by burrowing petrels, mostly unseen among the verdant vegetation, which tends to make the narrow path worn by passing feet invisible as well - all leading to many tumbles.

We made the climb many times in the two summers, first hauling up camping equipment and marker poles made out of plastic electrical piping, and then visiting to metal and colour band the incubating adults, marking their nests and taking their photographs (along with bill measurements) to aid in assigning gender.  It was necessary to make repeated visits to band and photograph partners as nest changes occurred.  Setting up the study took two summers because the Tristan Albatross is primarily a biennial breeder and we needed to record members of both the ‘A’ and ‘B’ populations.

There was ample time on the climbs to Gonydale to think of the work being undertaken – and of many other things as well.  The poem below, in the loose form of a 14-line sonnet, illustrated by the photographs of biologist Michelle Risi who is currently on the island, was one outcome of my musings while climbing to help conserve the Tristan Albatross.

A Gonydale Companion

The path goes up with little trace
Half hidden by bracken’s green embrace
Bog ferns help us as we pass
Battling through the sedge and grass

Skirting skua and molly chicks as we rise
Our climb is watched by avian eyes
Below us petrels have dug their breeding holes
Traps for unwary boots and hiking poles

There is little talking on the way
Brow sweat our silent language of the day
We stop to drink, but then prevail
For gonies await us in their dale!

 At Hummocks the path opens to the view
We smile – and greet ourselves anew

With thanks to Michelle Risi (who has climbed to Gonydale many times) for her photographs.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 19 February 2020

From left: Jade Peyro, Candelaria Brun, Christine Bogle, ACAP Executive Secretary, Ana Cabaleiro and Juliette Ruytoor in the ACAP offices in Hobart

ACAP’s three official working languages are English, French and Spanish.  Since 2013 the ACAP Secretariat has offered an internship programme for translation students studying at Australian universities in February of each year.  The Master’s students gain practical experience to improve their translation skills, as well as acquiring a better understanding of the contexts in which they are likely to use these skills during their professional careers.

As in previous years, the 2020 cohort of language students came from the School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics, Monash University, Melbourne (Jade Peyro – French and Juliette Ruytoor – French and the School of Humanities and Languages, University of New South Wales, Sydney (Ana Cabaleiro Barciela – French and Candelaria Brun – Spanish)

The four interns spent a working week with the Secretariat in its Hobart office in Tasmania over 3-7 February.  This time they mainly worked on translating one-page summary texts being written for each of the 22 ACAP-listed albatrosses by ACAP’s Information Officer.  Once completed the summaries will be illustrated and placed in a new section on this website especially for World Albatross Day, which will be inaugurated on 19 June this year.  The summaries are aimed at school children and their teachers (but also at the general public) who may be looking for some basic albatross facts to help them with whatever they may decide to do (or make) to mark the day.

With the help of Projeto Albatroz, a Brazilian NGO that has worked with ACAP for many years, it is intended to have the summaries translated into Portuguese.  Although Portuguese is not an official ACAP language it is considered worthwhile for ACAP to attempt to communicate in this language when it can, noting of course that Brazil is a long-standing Party to ACAP.  Additionally, the ACAP-listed and Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus is a victim of fisheries in Portugal's territorial/EEZ waters and the Endangered Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos enters the Benguela Current off the southern part of Portuguese-speaking Angola where it is at risk.

The interns also provided translations of ACAP internal reports from meetings attended in 2019 and updates to ACAP’s eradication guidelines.  ACAP thanks them all!

Read up on previous years’ interns here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 18 February 2020

The Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (FOMA) is a non-profit organization that works to help preserve, protect and restore the biological diversity and historic resources of Midway Atoll, while providing opportunity for wildlife-dependent recreation, education, cultural experiences and scientific research. The NGO is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors that works to support the Refuge.  A 2015 Strategic Plan helps guide FOMA’s activities, which are reported on via Facebook and the Gooney Gazette II newsletter.

ACAP Latest News has been in touch with FOMA about this year’s inaugural World Albatross Day with its theme of “Eradicating Island Pests”.  Wayne Sentman, FOMA President, has written back: “Founded in 1999 the Friends of Midway Atoll has been supporting the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge’s albatross conservation and seabird habitat restoration efforts over the last 20 years.  During that time many field volunteer hours have been supported, and with nearly US$750 000 raised we have been able to aid a variety of research and conservation measures aimed at promoting the annual success of the three species of albatrosses (and other seabirds) that breed on the atoll.  The 2020 World Albatross Day theme of “Eradicating Island Pests”, could not be better timed, as Midway is in the midst of initiating a large scale, multi-million-dollar effort to rid the refuge of the introduced House Mice Mus musculus.  Rats were eliminated in 1997 with great benefits for the island’s birds; in 2021 we hope to be sharing similar news about the elimination of mice, removing yet one more obstacle to the annual breeding success of the albatrosses of Midway Atoll.”

Wayne Sentman holds a Short-tailed Albatross decoy on Midway Atoll

 Wieteke Holthuijzen, FOMA Board Director and an MSc student studying Midway’s House Mice that have taken to attacking the island’s albatrosses also writes in response to ALN:  “For over 20 years, FOMA has supported restoration and conservation efforts on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge - the world's largest albatross colony - and we are proud to celebrate World Albatross Day to increase visibility of the work being done all around the world to protect albatrosses and petrels.  Moreover, given this year's theme of eradicating invasive species on islands, FOMA is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to eradicate invasive House Mice on Midway Atoll NWR in July 2020 via fundraising and purchasing needed equipment and supplies.  Rodent eradications are proven conservation tools and we are thrilled to help restore safe, breeding habitat for Midway Atoll NWR's albatrosses--for generations to come.”

Wieteke Holthuizen bands a Laysan Albatross in Midway Atoll

 Read about FOMA supporting the annual albatross count on Midway here and how some of the volunteer counters marked the coming World Albatross Day while in the field among the albatrosses here.

ACAP Latest News looks forward to reporting on the Midway mouse eradication later this year – and hearing how Friends of Midway Atoll NWR contributed to it.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 20 February 2020

Annette Fayet (Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, UK) and colleagues have published in the journal Ornithological Science on aspects of the breeding biology of the Streaked Shearwater Calonectris leucomelas.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“To identify drivers of local variation in breeding success in colonial seabirds, we studied the role of breeding phenology and parental quality on the breeding performance of two neighbouring subcolonies of Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas, with similar habitat but different success.  Egg dimension and parental quality during incubation, but not phenology, predicted hatching success.  Birds at the low-success colony laid smaller eggs, reared smaller chicks and neglected eggs more frequently, leaving them vulnerable to predation.  Our findings suggest that local variation in breeding performance in this species arises from differences in breeding quality, perhaps driven by age or experience.”

Reference:

Fayet, A.L., Shirai, M., Matsumoto, S., Van Tatenhove, A., Yoda, K. & Shoji, A. 2019.  Differences in breeding success between neighbouring Streaked Shearwater subcolonies correlate with egg size and quality of parental care.  Ornithological Science 218: 189-195.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 15 February 2020