The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) is an inter-governmental Agreement that seeks to achieve and maintain a favourable conservation status for species listed under its Annex 1.

Applications are sought to undertake a secondment under the ACAP Secondment Programme for the purpose of building capacity within Parties, and as a means of achieving tasks within the current work programmes of the Advisory Committee (see Annex 4 AC11 Report) and Secretariat (see Annex 5 AC11 Report).

Funding is available for travel and living costs associated with secondees undertaking a placement at a host organisation, including the Agreement’s Secretariat in Hobart.

Entrance to the ACAP Secretariat's offices in Hobart, Australia, photograph by John Cooper

It is expected that the proposed secondment will meet the following criteria:

1. The work to be undertaken addresses a task identified in the Advisory Committee’s or Secretariat’s Work Programme, and/or is deemed to be of high importance to achievement of the Agreement’s objective.
2. The task proposed is international in nature (e.g. the outcomes will be of relevance to more than one country).
3. The task to be undertaken has a capacity-building focus.
4. The funds allocated will be primarily used for travel, accommodation and per diem costs. Funds will not be used for the purpose of paying salaries. It is expected that the applicant’s institution will continue to pay the applicant’s salary.
5. The applicant has received in-principle agreement from the host organisation to host this work.

Applicants are encouraged to contact the relevant Working Group Convenor, the Advisory Committee Chair, Vice-chair, or the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to discuss their proposal.  Secondment Application Forms are available in all three Agreement languages from this website (click here).

Applications will only be accepted from ACAP Parties.  Proposals are to be submitted by the relevant ACAP National Contact Points to the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Applications must be received by the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by close of business on Friday, 1 November 2019.  Applicants will be advised of the outcome of their applications by Friday, 20 December 2019.

ACAP Secretariat, 26 August 2019

Lucas Krüger (Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, University of Coimbra, Portugal) and colleagues have published in the journal Antarctic Science on gender differences in distribution of non-breeding Southern Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus tracked from the South Shetland Islands.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Literature reports that body size can be associated with latitudinal distribution, for instance larger animals inhabit higher latitudes and colder habitats.  This rule can be applied for species and populations within a species.  The potential influence of body size on non-breeding distribution and habitat use at the intra-population level was investigated for southern giant petrels Macronectes giganteus (Gmelin) from Elephant Island, South Shetland Islands.  The non-breeding distribution of 23 individuals was tracked, and total body length, culmen length, wing length, wing load and body mass were measured.  Positions of core areas were used to estimate the latitudinal distribution of each individual.  Smaller individuals were found to be associated more with lower latitudes, where warmer conditions and more coastal and productive waters prevail, whereas large males were associated more with higher latitudes, with colder conditions near sea ice caps, presumably feeding on carrion or preying on penguins.  This association reflects a latitudinal gradient, with smaller individuals positioning themselves towards the north, and larger individuals towards the south.  In this case, body size, individual distribution and habitat use were found to be associated, highlighting the importance of studying potential effects of individual body size on the ecology of seabirds.”

White-phase Southern Giant Petrel on the snow, photograph by Michael Dunn

Reference:

Krüger, L., Paiva, V.H., Finger, J,V.G. & Petersen, E. 2018.  Intra-population variability of the non-breeding distribution of southern giant petrels Macronectes giganteus is mediated by individual body size.  Antarctic Science 30: 271-277.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 23 August 2019

“Restoring bird populations: scaling from species to ecosystems” is a conference that will be held in Nottingham, UK over 7-9 April 2020, organized by the British Ornithologists' Union.

“This landmark international conference will bring together the latest science underpinning the restoration of bird species and their ecosystems, focusing on successes, challenges and future directions.  This 2020 event coincides with a milestone year for assessing Aichi targets for biodiversity conservation, and comes on the eve of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration that will run from 2021-2030.  It will be of broad interest to conservation-, population- and community-ecologists, practitioners and policy makers.”

Read more here on submitting abstracts (deadlines in September) and keynote speakers.

Restoring island seabird populations by eradicating invasive rodents: a helicopter moves poison bait from ship to shore

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 22 August 2019

The North Shore Community Land Trust has reported the successful fledging of three Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis chicks from Kahuku Point (Kalaeokaunaʻoa) on the northern shore of the Hawaiian island of Oahu.  The first chick fledged on 16 July, followed by the final chick which left on 03 August.  Six eggs were laid at the locality in the 2018/19 season, all of which hatched.  However, two chicks did not survive long, the remaining four being metal and colour banded in May.  One of these banded chicks died from as yet unknown causes, resulting in an overall breeding success of 50%.  A necropsy is awaited on this last chick to die according to Sheldon Plentovich of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

One of the Kahuku Point Laysan Albatross chicks get watched from behind a roped-off section, photograph by Laurie Flores

These are the first Laysan Albatrosses to fledge from Kahuku Point, following successful efforts to protect the breeding birds from introduced predators and human disturbance (click here).  The first chick to fledge was named “Manupe'ia,” or “Soaring Bird” in Hawaiian, the second chick “Manulani,” translated to “Heavenly Bird and the final chick named “Hopena,” or “Destiny”, all by Hauʻula Elementary School students, who had previously visited the birds on a school outing.

Laysan Albatross chick Manupeʻia, still with some down around its neck, practices take-offs on 14 July, two days before it fledged; photograph by Sue Cortes

“This marks an important milestone in the establishment of an emerging colony of the ground-nesting seabirds, whose primary habitat in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is increasingly threatened by sea level rise.  Laysan albatrosses, a near threatened species called mōlī in Hawaiian, have used the Kahuku Point area since at least 1978.  Over the years, the species sporadically attempted to breed in the area, but was not successful due to invasive mammalian predators like mongooses, cats, rats and dogs, which killed a chick and at least five adults in 1996.”

Read more about the North Shore Community Land Trust's work with Kahuku's albatrosses in its August 2019 Newsletter.

With thanks to Sheldon Plentovich, Pacific Islands Coastal Program Coordinator, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Office, 21 August 2019