"The Golden Hour" (pastel on pastel mat, 12" x 16") by Marion Schön for ABUN, from a photograph of a Black-browed Albatross and chick by Dimas Gianuca

Caitlin Frankish (British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Movement Ecology on senescence in two mollymawk albatrosses.

“Background.  Foraging performance is widely hypothesized to play a key role in shaping age-specific demographic rates in wild populations, yet the underlying behavioral changes are poorly understood.  Seabirds are among the longest-lived vertebrates, and demonstrate extensive age-related variation in survival, breeding frequency and success.  The breeding season is a particularly critical phase during the annual cycle, but it remains unclear whether differences in experience or physiological condition related to age interact with the changing degree of the central-place constraint in shaping foraging patterns in time and space.

Methods.  Here we analyze tracking data collected over two decades from congeneric black-browed (BBA) and grey-headed (GHA) albatrosses, Thalassarche melanophris and T. chrysostoma, breeding at South Georgia.  We compare the foraging trip parameters, at-sea activity (flights and landings) and habitat preferences of individuals aged 10–45 years and contrast these patterns between the incubation and early chick-rearing stages.

Results.  Young breeders of both species showed improvements in foraging competency with age, reducing foraging trip duration until age 26.  Thereafter, there were signs of foraging senescence; older adults took gradually longer trips, narrowed their habitat preference (foraging within a smaller range of sea surface temperatures) (GHA), made fewer landings and rested on the water for longer (BBA). Some age-specific effects were apparent for each species only in certain breeding stages, highlighting the complex interaction between intrinsic drivers in determining individual foraging strategies.

Conclusions.  Using cross-sectional data, this study highlighted clear age-related patterns in foraging behavior at the population-level for two species of albatrosses. These trends are likely to have important consequences for the population dynamics of these threatened seabirds, as young or old individuals may be more vulnerable to worsening environmental conditions.”

With thanks to Dimas Gianuca, Kitty Harvill, Richard Phillips and Marion Schön.

Reference

Frankish, C.K., Manica, A. & Phillips, R.A. 2020.  Effects of age on foraging behavior in two closely related albatross species.  Movement Ecology doi.org/10.1186/s40462-020-0194-0.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 14 February 2020

Attendees at the Common Oceans ABNJ Program meetings in Rome, January 2020; ACAP's Executive Secretary, Christine Bogle is sixth from the right in the front row

A meeting of the Global Steering Committee of the Common Oceans ABNJ Program, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was held in Rome, Italy over 29-30 January this year.  It was preceded over 27-28 January by the seventh meeting of the Project Steering Committee for the ABNJ Tuna project which is a key part of the overall ABNJ programme .  The meetings were held to mark completion of Phase 1 of the programme and to finalise proposals to be put forward to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for a second phase. The GEF had provided funding for Phase 1 of the programme and it is hoped that they will also provide funding assistance to Phase 2.  Co-financing came from a range of entities, some of it in kind.

The Common Oceans ABNJ Program aims to achieve efficient and sustainable management of fisheries resources and biodiversity conservation in marine areas that do not fall under the responsibility of any one country.  It is focused on those areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) - also known as international waters or the High Seas - that cover 40% of the earth’s surface and comprise nearly 95% of the oceans' volume. Phase 1 of the programme comprised several projects, the two main ones being the Tuna project and the Deep Sea project.  ACAP has been a participant in the ABNJ Tuna project since its inception almost six years ago. The Tuna project  had the aim of continuing to strengthen governance in international waters; reinforcing measures to combat Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing; making further progress in protecting international waters' biodiversity by rendering fishing in these waters less harmful to several marine species, including sea turtles, tuna and seabirds; and improving coordination among those with an interest in the sustainable use of international waters.

The Agreement was represented at the Rome meetings by its Executive Secretary, Christine Bogle.  She writes: “ACAP is pleased to have participated in the first phase of the FAO/GEF Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna project, which concluded at the end of 2019.  We contributed ACAP expertise to the first global assessment of seabird bycatch in pelagic longline fishing in the Southern Hemisphere.  In this assessment, a wide range of modelling approaches was used, producing very similar estimates of approximately 30 000 - 40 000 birds killed a year, highlighting the continued threat faced by ACAP-listed species.”

Through the Common Oceans Tuna project, ACAP in the second half of 2019 received support from the FAO for the updating, translation and printing of several of its mitigation fact sheets and best-practice guidelines.  In addition, an update of the Seabird Identification Guide (currently available in six languages) will be completed soon and made available.  In the preparation of these and other products, ACAP cooperates closely with BirdLife International.”

Read FAO posts on the programme and the meeting.

Earlier postings to ACAP Latest News on the Common Oceans Program can be accessed here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 13 February 2020

Grey-headed Albatross and chick on Bird Island, painting (acrylic on canvas, 16” x 20”) by Grisselle Chock, from a photograph by Stephanie Prince

William Mills (British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK) and colleagues have published in the journal Marine Biology on diets of two mollymawk albatrosses breeding on Bird Island in the South Atlantic.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Diet analyses can reveal important changes in seabird foraging ecology and, by inference, resource availability and predator–prey dynamics within the wider marine ecosystem.  Here, we analysed stomach contents of 1544 grey-headed albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma (GHA) and black-browed albatross T. melanophris (BBA) chicks from Bird Island, South Georgia.  We describe dietary shifts (1996–2017), and link those to annual prey availability indices and breeding success.  Annual variability in diet was high, and long-term trends in the main components were broadly similar in both albatrosses.  Fish consumption (by mass) generally increased over time.  Mackerel icefish Champsocephalus gunnari occurrence increased in GHA diets, but was unrelated to local densities derived from fisheries/research cruises.  Cephalopod consumption declined until the early 2000s, then plateaued, and the occurrence of the ommastrephid squid Martialia hyadesi declined over time in both albatrosses.  In BBAs, Antarctic krill Euphausia superba consumption decreased over time. Conversely, Antarctic krill consumption by GHAs increased until the early 2000s, decreased until the mid-2010s, and increased again in 2017.  Antarctic krill consumption was unrelated to local densities based on acoustic surveys, and did not correlate with breeding success.  Remotely sensed chlorophyll-a within core foraging areas showed a positive relationship with Antarctic krill in GHA diets, but a negative relationship with M. hyadesi occurrence in both albatross diets.  Dietary shifts had consequences for GHA breeding success, which was negatively related to the importance of the cranchiid Galiteuthis glacialis and positively related to M. hyadesi importance.  These results highlight the complex mechanisms linking prey availability, diet and breeding success in albatrosses.”

With thanks to Griselle Chock, Kitty Harvill, Richard Phillips and Stephanie Prince.

Reference:

Mills, F., Xavier, J.C., Bearhop, S., Cherel, Y., Votier, S.C., Waluda, C.M. & Phillips, R.A. 2020.  Long‑term trends in albatross diets in relation to prey availability and breeding success.  Marine Biology doi.org/10.1007/s00227-019-3630-1.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 12 February 2020

Patricia Zurita, Chief Executive, BirdLife International

BirdLife International is a global partnership of 121 conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.  As the world’s largest nature conservation partnership, BirdLife has more than 10 million members and supporters, with a global staff of nearly 8000, supported by 5000 volunteers.

 In response to an approach by ACAP Latest News BirdLife’s Chief Executive, Patricia Zurita has replied, offering the support of the partnership for this year’s inauguration of a World Albatross Day.  She writes to ACAP Latest News, fittingly on the United Nations’ International Day of Women and Girls in Science: “Besides being a stark reminder of the beauty of the natural world, albatrosses act as indicators of ocean health.  Only by united action will we accomplish the change needed to secure a future for these birds and the habitats they depend on.  As a global partnership of conservation organisations, BirdLife International therefore fully supports the inauguration of World Albatross Day”.

Cleo Small

Cleo Small, Head of the BirdLife International Marine Programme (and who is a member of ACAP’s Seabird Bycatch Working Group) has also written in support: “Albatrosses face multiple threats both on land and out at sea.  World Albatross Day represents an excellent opportunity to draw attention to the issues we must address to protect these extraordinary birds, as well as the opportunities and challenges associated with each of these threats”.

Maria Dias on Bugio Island, Ilhas Desertas, Portugal

Maria Dias, Marine Science Coordinator at BirdLife International adds: “Albatrosses are one of the most threatened groups of animals.  Two thirds of the species suffer from predation by invasive alien species at their colonies, and almost all species are affected by fisheries bycatch while at sea.  World Albatross Day provides an excellent opportunity to raise awareness on the conservation problems faced by these fascinating birds”.

Six national BirdLife partners, all in countries which are Parties to the Albatross and Petrel Agreement, have already offered their support for ‘WAD2020’.  They are Australia, France, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and the United Kingdom.  ACAP will keep close contact with the BirdLife partnership over marking the very first World Albatross Day come 19 June.

With thanks to Nina da Rocha, Project Officer, Albatross Task Force, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 11 February 2020