Jose Roscales (Department of Instrumental Analysis and Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry, Madrid, Spain) and colleagues have published in the journal Environmental Research showing that overall Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) burdens in Southern Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus decrease southwards across the Southern Ocean.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Studies on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in Antarctic wildlife are scarce, and usually limited to a single locality.  As a result, wildlife exposure to POPs across the Southern Ocean is poorly understood.  In this study, we report the differential exposure of the major southern ocean scavengers, the giant petrels, to POPs across a wide latitudinal gradient.  Selected POPs (PCBs, HCB, DDTs, PBDEs) and related compounds, such as Dechlorane Plus (DP), were analyzed in plasma of southern giant petrels (Macronectes giganteus) breeding on Livingston (62°S 61°W, Antarctica), Marion (46°S 37°E, sub-Antarctic), and Gough (40°S 10°W, cool temperate) islands.   Northern giant petrels (Macronectes halli) from Marion Island were also studied.  Stable isotope ratios of C and N (δ13C and δ15N) were used as dietary tracers of the marine habitat and trophic level, respectively.  Breeding locality was a major factor explaining petrel exposure to POPs compared with species and sex.  Significant relationships between δ13C values and POP burdens, at both inter- and intra-population levels, support latitudinal variations in feeding grounds as a key factor in explaining petrel pollutant burdens.  Overall, pollutant levels in giant petrels decreased significantly with latitude, but the relative abundance (%) of the more volatile POPs increased towards Antarctica.  DP was found at negligible levels compared with legacy POPs in Antarctic seabirds.  Spatial POP patterns found in giant petrels match those predicted by global distribution models, and reinforce the hypothesis of atmospheric long-range transport as the main source of POPs in Antarctica.  Our results confirm that wildlife movements out of the polar region markedly increase their exposure to POPs.  Therefore, strategies for Antarctic wildlife conservation should consider spatial heterogeneity in exposure to marine pollution.  Of particular relevance is the need to clarify the exposure of Antarctic predators to emerging contaminants that are not yet globally regulated.”

Southern Giant Petrel on Gough Island, photograph by John Cooper

Reference:

Roscales, J.L., González-Solís, J., Zango, L., Ryan, P.G. & Jiménez, B. 2016.  Latitudinal exposure to DDTs, HCB, PCBs, PBDEs and DP in giant petrels (Macronectes spp.) across the Southern Ocean.  Environmental Research 148: 285-294.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 April 2016

Chris Gaskin (Kiwi Wildlife/Natural Lines Consultancy, Auckland, New Zealand) and colleagues have published a short note in the journal Notornis reporting sightings of Black Petrels Procellaria parkinsoni in the waters of the Galápagos in July 2014.

Black Petrel at sea, photograph by Biz Bell

Reference:

Gaskin, C.P., Harrison, P., Baird, K.A., Cunninghame, F., Ismar, S.F.H. & Bell, E.A. 2016.  An opportunistic sighting of a flock of black petrels (Procellaria parkinsoni) at Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.  Notornis 63: 54-56.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 28 April 2016

The Vulnerable Yelkouan Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan that breeds through much of the Mediterranean Sea has been identified as a potential candidate for listing within the Albatross and Petrel Agreement.  News is now in that eight new eight marine Important Bird Areas (mIBAs) in the waters around Malta that had been identified by the LIFE+ Malta Seabird Project as significant for the shearwater have now been confirmed by BirdLife International (click here).

Yelkouan Shearwater at sea, photograph by Jerome Lagrand

The new mIBAs will also lend support to two other Maltese breeding procellariiforms, Scopoli’s Shearwater Calonectris diomedea and Mediterranean Storm Petrel Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis.

The LIFE+ Malta Seabird Project reports:

“The eight mIBAs cover a total of 27% of the Maltese Fishing Management Zone (FMZ) which extends up to 25 nautical miles from Malta’s coastline.  The sites were identified based on scientific research including colony size assessments through seabird monitoring and land based observations, standardised vessel-based seabird counts, GPS and GLS tracking of seabirds, and modelling of expected occurrence using oceanographic data.  The sites are used by the three species for foraging and rafting during the breeding season.  The criteria which are the basis of their designation demonstrate their international importance for the three seabird species and the responsibility for Malta to protect them.

These areas provide an essential basis for the Maltese Government to declare as marine protected areas under national and EU law.  Once these areas are designated they will become Malta’s first Marine Specially Protected Areas (SPAs) under the EU Birds Directive and will become part of the EU-wide Natura 2000 network.  This will provide the necessary primary tool for the Maltese government to manage these sites in order to make them more seabird friendly, and ensure the future of Malta’s internationally important seabird populations.”

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 27 June 2106

The second season of hand-rearing Laysan Albatrosses Phoebastria immutabilis artificially hatched from translocated eggs on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu is going well.  Twenty chicks (from eggs collected on the nearby island of Kauai) are now being hand fed in the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge, where 10 successfully fledged the previous season (click here).  The reserve is not open to the public and a planned predator-proof fence will enhance security.

“In year three we will begin bringing Black-footed Albatrosses [P. nigripes] in hopes of establishing the first main Island colony of this species” (click here).

Feeding a translocated chick in the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge

A translocated chick in the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge among adult decoy models and wooden cloches

Read more in ACAP Latest News about the background and history of this innovative conservation effort by Pacific Rim Conservation, the first to use eggs, rather than chicks, collected in the wild.

Meanwhile, police investigations continue into finding the culprits who killed breeding Laysan Albatrosses in the Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve on Oahu in December last year with no reported arrests as yet (click here).

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 26 April 2016