The United Nations Environment Programme’s World Environment Day, being celebrated today, has made a call for global solutions to plastic pollution under the campaign Beat Plastic Pollution.

“The world is being inundated by plastic. More than 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year, half of which is designed to be used only once. Of that, less than 10 per cent is recycled. An estimated 19-23 million tonnes end up in lakes, rivers and seas. Today, plastic clogs our landfills, leaches into the ocean and is combusted into toxic smoke, making it one of the gravest threats to the planet. Not only that, what is less known is that microplastics find their way into the food we eat, the water we drink and even the air we breathe. Many plastic products contain hazardous additives, which may pose a threat to our health.”

World Environment Day 2023 is being hosted by Côte d'Ivoire in partnership with the Netherlands. According to the World Environment Day website, Côte d'Ivoire is showing leadership in the campaign against plastic pollution. Since 2014, it has banned the use of plastic bags, supporting a shift to reusable packaging.

At a session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) in February 2022 a resolution was adopted to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The instrument is to be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic and is now being developed by an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee. The Second Session of the committee, held in Paris, France, has very recently concluded.

'Plastic Lament' by Patricia Latas depicts a Back-footed Albatross family surrounded by plastic artefacts; poster design by Bree Forrer

This year’s theme for World Environment Day is mirrored by World Albatross Day (‘WAD2023’) with its own theme of Plastic Pollution. Albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters are affected by a range of pollutants, of which plastics, whether ingested and then fed to chicks or causing entanglements, are certainly the most visible and well known to the general public. ACAP is producing freely downloadable artwork and photo posters, species infographics and logos that may be used to support WAD2023 and the cause of albatross conservation by interested bodies. All are being produced in ACAP’s three official languages of English, French and Spanish; most are also being made available in Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese. A music video featuring artworks on the theme of plastic pollution affecting albatrosses is also available.

With thanks to Artists and Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) for its collaboration with ACAP for WAD2023.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 05 June 2023

1. 
   USFWS Bio-technician Laura Brazier and Supervisory Biologist Jon Plissner band Midway’s latest Short-tailed Albatross chick on 16 April 2023, photograph by USFWS Volunteer Andrew Sullivan-Haskins
   “Wow! What a big chunky fuzzball” – Hob Osterlund, Kaua'i Albatross Network

The 2022/23 Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus chick on the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge was banded last month, with uniquely numbered metal and green plastic bands, the latter for easy recognition at a distance. Noticeably larger than the surrounding Laysan Albatross P. immutabilis chicks, the Short-tail chick is the fourth to be reared to banding age by its parents, the well-known pair George and Geraldine, on Sand Island since 2019.

On goes the green MOO colour band, photograph by USFWS Volunteer Andrew Sullivan-Haskins

The 2022/23 chick has been observed interacting with its four-year-old and thee-year-old siblings who have been returning to the island as pre-breeding juveniles, as recorded on a wildlife field camera.

Close to fledging? Geraldine returns to feed her chick and then settles down to watch it exercise its wings on 6 May 2023, photograph by USFWS Volunteer Scott Wolff

The chick’s parents were originally banded on the Vulnerable species’ stronghold, Torishima and are currently the only Short-tailed Albatrosses breeding east of Japan. Three chicks were banded on Eastern Island in the atoll between 2010/2011 and 2013/2014, reared by a different Short-tailed Albatross pair. An unbanded male in adult plumage was found freshly dead on 13 December 2014 on the island from unexplained causes (click here), and was initially thought to be one of the breeding pair.

Access the many earlier ACAP Latest News articles about George and Geraldine, and other Short-tails on Midway, from here.

UPDATE.  The Short-tailed Albatross chick was videoed successfully fledging on the afternoon of 23 May, flying towards the fringing reef. "Despite the moderately strong winds and rough seas; the bird seemed to be faring well as it continued making its way south of Spit Island and out of sight" (read more details on the Friends of Midway National Wildlife Refuge Facebook page).

Video by by Fish and Wildlife Service  volunteer, Alex Teodorescu

" The chick was still present near the nest on May 20th. The chick’s father [George] was last at the nest site on May 5 and its mother [Geraldine] was present from May 5-May 8. One of the chick's older siblings (either the 2019 or 2020 chick) revisited the site May 16-19." (information from a game camera).

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 30 May 2023, updated 02 June 2023

Manx Shearwater at sea, photograph by Joe Pinder

Martyna Syposz and Oliver Padget (Department of Biology, Oxford University, UK) have published early view in the journal Seabird on the fate of banded Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus grounded by unfavourable weather conditions or exposure to artificial light.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus, like other procellariiform seabirds, spend most of their lives at sea and are encountered on land only when breeding at colonies or if they are grounded due to unfavourable weather conditions or exposure to artificial light. Here, we used historical ringing data to explore the age class structure and spatial patterns of Manx Shearwater groundings and examined ringing and recovery data to identify records of post-grounding survival for first-year and adult birds. We noted 35 cases, out of 6,381 ringed grounded shearwaters, where a bird went on to be recaptured, including two individuals that were later recorded as having successful breeding attempts. While this constitutes only a small number of birds confirmed to have survived following grounding, it is likely to be a considerable underestimate of survival considering the low probability of recapturing a surviving shearwater. Finally, we found that a greater proportion of grounded birds were first-years compared to adult shearwaters, and that adults were found to be grounded further away from colonies than first-year birds. This may be indicative of differential impacts of light pollution at different life stages.”

Reference:

Syposz, M & Padget, O. 2023. The fate of rescued Manx Shearwaters following grounding. Seabird 35 16 pp.

See also:

Syposz, M., Gonçalves, F., Carty, M., Hoppitt, W., & Manco, F. 2018. Factors influencing Manx Shearwater grounding on the west coast of Scotland. Ibis 160: 846-854. [click here for ACAP report]

01 June 2023

Kauai’s sixth Small Indian Mongoose, live trapped on 05 May 2023, photograph from the Hawai’i Department of Health

The Hawaiian island of Kaua’i is home to important breeding populations of Endangered Hawaiian Petrels Pterodroma sandwichensis and Critically Endangered Newell’s Shearwaters Puffinus newelli. On the island both seabird species are at risk to predation by feral cats and domestic pigs, but not as yet to mongooses.

Small Indian Mongooses Urva auropunctata were first introduced in 1883 to the main Hawaiian Islands from Jamaica (although native to Asia) to control rats in sugarcane fields. They are now widespread on the Big Island of Hawaii, Oahu, Maui and Molokai. Kauai so far remains free of an established population. However, at least six mongooses have been definitely recorded on Kauai over the last five decades as listed below (click here for more details). Five of the six have been live-trapped and then euthanized by the Hawai’i Department of Health – Vector Control Branch and the Kaua’i Invasive Species Committee after initial sightings. The most recent mongoose on Kauai was caught after a week from its initial sighting this month by deploying no less than 43 live traps. In addition, there have been hundreds of unconfirmed sightings on the island since 1968, raising concerns there could be a breeding population in existence. However, biological evidence for this is said to be scant, following an island-wide status review that also developed standard response protocols for sightings .

Definite Records

1976. Lactating female found dead along a road near Kalaheo

May 2012. Adult male captured near the Lihue Airport

June 2012. Captured near the Nawiliwili Harbour (click here)

October 2016. Captured at Lihue Airport

December 2021. Captured in Nawiliwili Harbour (click here)

April/May 2023. Captured in Nawiliwili Harbour (click here)

The fifth Small Indian Mongoose recorded on Kauai, 28 December 2012, photograph from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture

Read more here.

Reference:

Duffy, D. C. & Capece, P.I. 2014. Depredation of endangered burrowing seabirds in Hawai’i: management priorities. Marine Ornithology 42: 149-152. (click here)

Phillips, R.B. & Lucey, B.  2015? Kauai Mongoose Standard Operating Procedures to Conduct an Island-wide Status Assessment and Early Detection Rapid Response. [Kapaa: Kaua’i Invasive Species Committee]. 24 pp.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 31 May 2023