Three volunteer field technicians are needed from mid-October 2016 to late January 2017 for work on the breeding biology of the Critically Endangered and ACAP-listed Waved Albatross Phoebastria irrorata and on the Nazca Booby Sula granti on Isla Española, Galápagos, Ecuador.

A colour-banded Waved Albatross incubates its hatchng egg, photograph by Kate Huyvaert

The assistants will complete a group totalling five continuing a 33-year study of these species.  The majority of the work will be identifying banded parents at nests, marking nests and conducting daily nest monitoring, 7-9 hours per day (sometimes more) of physically taxing and fascinating work in an incredible place.  The group will live in tents at a primitive field camp on this uninhabited island, a day's boat ride from the nearest civilization.

Requirements include physical fitness, tolerance of heat and sun, cheerful can-do attitude and attention to detail.  Previous field experience required, Spanish desirable.  All expenses paid, including travel from your home base. No salary.

To apply e-mail a one-page cover letter and contact information for three references, with c.v. attached, to David Anderson and Jenny Howard of the Department of Biology, Wake Forest University at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Review of applications will begin in mid-June, although the closing date for applications is 5 July 2016 (click here).

The Waved Albatross population of Isla Española was given a high priority status for study at this month’s Ninth Meeting of ACAP’s Advisory Committee in La Serena, Chile following the recommendation of its Population and Conservation Status Working Group.

With thanks to Dave Anderson for information.

Reference:

Huyvaert, K.P., Uzcátegui, G.J. & Favero, M. 2016.  Priority Population Assessment – Waved Albatross at Española Island, Galápagos, Ecuador.  Third Meeting of the Population and Conservation Status Working Group La Serena, Chile, 5 – 6 May 2016.  PaCSWG3 Doc 04. [two-page summary and recommendations].

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 24 May 2016 

A mounted Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans from Bird Island, and tracking devices, including geolocator-immersion loggers developed by British Antarctic Survey, set against the backdrop of a large map with tracks of albatrosses from Bird Island in the South Atlantic, have been included in a new exhibition at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, Scotland.  These feature in a set of displays that the museum has developed in collaboration with the Royal Society for Bird Protection, Scotland, which are devoted to the research that supports important conservation initiatives, including work to reduce the impacts of fisheries on seabirds.

Photographs by Stephen Phillips

 With over 1.25 million visitors in 2015, this is one of the most visited museums in the United Kingdom outside of London.

Richard Phillips, Convenor, ACAP Population and Conservation Status Working Group, 23 May 2016

Kirk Hart (Korea Institute of Ornithology & Department of Biology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea) and colleagues have published in the journal Forktail on the status and conservation of the Streaked Shearwater Calonectris leucomelas on the Korean Peninsula.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“About 90% of the global population of Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas breed on islands in the seas around Japan.  The species’s [sic] status and distribution in Japan is fairly well documented, but for the Korean part of the breeding range, only limited information in Korean language sources exists.  The species was first described in Korea in the 1880s and first studied on the breeding grounds by Japanese researchers in 1923.  Our objectives were to compare and update information on the distribution of Streaked Shearwaters around the Korean Peninsula and discuss threats and conservation.  An extensive literature review was undertaken and we made field visits to Chilbal Island, Ulleung Island, Gwan-eum Island and Juk Island to assess the presence and status of the species at these locations.  In total, we collated data from 27 Korean islands of which 19 had confirmed Streaked Shearwater colonies, four possibly had colonies, one had no colony and the species had probably been extirpated from the other three.  The biggest threat to the Korean colonies is from introduced predatory mammals such as rats Rattus sp. and domestic cats and dogs. Introduced predators are present on at least 10 of the 24 islands where Streaked Shearwaters currently breed, have bred or are evidently present. Introduced species severely reduce reproductive success on Sasu Island and have caused or contributed to extirpation on three other islands.  Other threats include fisheries bycatch, oil spillage and military activity.”

Streaked Shearwater

Reference:

Hart, K.A., Choi, C.-Y., Bond, A.L., Humphries, G.R.W., Yoo, J.-C. & Nam, K.-B. 2015.  Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas of the Korean Peninsula: distribution, status and potential threats.  Forktail 31: 55–63.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 20 May 2016

Susan Waugh (Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa) and colleagues have an in-press paper with the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series that considers the overlap between foraging areas of the Flesh-footed Shearwater Puffinus carneipes, previously identified as a potential candidate for ACAP listing, and New Zealand fisheries.

Flesh-footed Shearwater at sea, photograph by Tim Reid

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Although the flesh-footed shearwater Puffinus carneipes is a species with large population sizes (10s of 1000s of breeding pairs) and widespread sub-tropical distribution across Australasian water masses, it is amongst the species most threatened by longline fisheries mortality in this region.  While bycatch mitigation measures have been very successful in reducing mortality in some species, bycatch of flesh-footed shearwaters is still high with captures estimated to exceed the sustainable take of 514 birds per year by nearly 200 birds for New Zealand fisheries alone.  Management agencies aiming to reduce the impact of fisheries mortality on the populations need to understand which marine areas are being used by flesh-footed shearwaters, to better target fishery monitoring and mitigation efforts.  Foraging studies of seabirds tell us about their use of resources, the way species segregate the available habitat and help to identify threats that may affect population viability.  Breeding shearwaters were tracked from 2 New Zealand colonies using GPS loggers.  Individuals foraged over shelf and deep oceanic waters up to 1200 km from their nesting sites during incubation, but were mainly within 370 km during early chick-rearing.  The intensity of potential interactions increased for trawl and surface longline fishing between the January and February study periods, but remained at a similar level for bottom longline fishing.  Following the field data collection, changes to fishery monitoring were implemented in the areas where shearwaters foraged.” 

References:

Cooper, J. & Baker, G.B. 2008.  Identifying candidate species for inclusion within the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels. Marine Ornithology 36: 1-8.

Waugh, S.M., Patrick, S.C., Filippi, D.P., Taylor, G.A. & Arnould, J.P.Y. 2016.  Overlap between flesh-footed shearwater Puffinus carneipes foraging areas and commercial fisheries in New Zealand waters.  Marine Ecology Progress Series  doi: 10.3354/meps11741.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 19 May 2016