Previously it was reported in ACAP Latest News that all the introduced Reindeer Rangifer tarandus had been removed from South Georgia (Isla Georgias del Sur)* in a two-phase operation over the last two austral summers (click here).  Removal of Reindeer is expected to result in a return to a more natural vegetation cover on the island to the advantage of burrowing petrels, including the ACAP-listed White-chinned Petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis.

Reindeer in the Southern Ocean, photograph by Fabrice Le Bouard

A report on Phase Two of the eradication exercise published last month now reveals that at least eight animals (seen as a group of females and calves) remained in the vicinity of Barff Point (click here).

The report states “[s]ome additional searches and shooting of remaining animals will be needed in 2015 to ensure all reindeer are removed before the start of the final phase of the … rat eradication project.  Based on estimates of the number of animals that remain, a decision will be made as to whether Norwegian marksmen will return or whether local personnel will be used instead.”

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 22 June 2014

*A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (Islas Georgias del Sur y Islas Sandwich del Sur) and the surrounding maritime areas.

Stephen Garnett and Donald Franklin (Charles Darwin University) have edited a newly-published book that considers the likely effects of climate change on Australian birds.  The book includes adaptation profiles for those Australian species that are considered both highly sensitive and highly exposed to climate change.

Seven species of procellariiforms are included as highly sensitive and exposed (click here).  They are Wedge-tailed Shearwater Puffinus pacificus, Little Shearwater P. assimilis, Kermadec Petrel Pterodroma neglecta, Herald Petrel P. heraldica, Gould’s Petrel P. leucoptera, White-necked Petrel P. cervicalis and White-bellied Storm-Petrel Fregetta grallaria.

Wedge-tailed |Shearwaters, photograph by the Pacific Islands Avian Health Program

“This is the first climate change adaptation plan produced for a national faunal group anywhere in the world.  It outlines the nature of threats related to climate change for the Australian bird taxa most likely to be affected by climate change, and provides recommendations on what might be done to assist them and approximate costs of doing so.  It also features an analysis of how climate change will affect all Australian birds, explains why some species are likely to be more exposed or sensitive to it than others, and explores the theory and practice of conservation management under the realities of a changing climate.

Species profiles include maps showing current core habitat and modelled climatic suitability based on historical records, as well as maps showing projected climatic suitability in 2085 in relation to current core habitat.

Climate Change Adaptation Plan for Australian Birds is an important reference for policy makers, conservation scientists, land managers, climate change adaptation biologists, as well as bird watchers and advocacy groups”

Reference:

 Garnett, S & Franklin, D. (Eds) 2014.  Climate Change Adaptation Plan for Australian Birds.  Collingwood: CSIRO Publishing.  272 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 21 June 2014

Meagan Dewar (School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia) and colleagues have looked at gut microbiota in procellariiform seabirds, publishing in the journal FEMS Microbiology Ecology.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Despite the enormous amount of data available on the importance of gut microbiota in vertebrates (especially mammals), there is no information available on the microbiota of seabirds.  Procellariiformes are long-lived seabirds that consume a diet high in lipids and are characterised by their ability to produce and store large amount of stomach oils through the partial digestion of prey (with the exception of the Pelecanoididae).  Examining the faecal microbiota of three Procellariiform species (short-tailed shearwater, common diving petrel and fairy prion) provided a unique opportunity to not only characterise the gastrointestinal (GI) microbial composition of seabirds but to also examine the influence of stomach oils on the microbial community.  The results indicated that Procellariiform seabirds host a highly diverse community of faecal microorganisms, dominated by three phyla (Firmicutes, Proteobacteriaand Bacteroidetes) and that each species has its own species-specific GI microbiota.  In addition, significant differences were observed in the microbial communities of oil-producing and non-oil-producing seabirds. This study is the first whole-community examination and classification of the faecal microbiota of Procellariiform seabirds.”

Short-tailed Shearwater, photograph by Kirk Zufelt

Reference:

Dewar^, M.L., Arnould, J.P.Y., Krause, L., Dann, P. & Smith, S .C. 204.  Interspecific variations in the faecal microbiota of Procellariiform seabirds.  FEMS Microbiology Ecology  DOI: 10.1111/1574-6941.12332.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 20 June 2014

Dominic Rollinson and colleagues at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, South Africa have published in the journal Polar Biology on diving behaviour of the White-chinned Petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“The white-chinned petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis) is the seabird species most commonly killed by Southern Hemisphere longline fisheries.  Despite the importance of diving ability for mitigating longline bycatch, little is known of this species’ diving behaviour.  We obtained data from temperature–depth recorders from nine white-chinned petrels breeding on Marion Island, southwestern Indian Ocean, during the late incubation and chick-rearing period.  Maximum dive depth (16 m) was slightly deeper than the previous estimate (13 m), but varied considerably among individuals (range 2–16 m).  Males dived deeper than females, and birds feeding chicks dived deeper than incubating birds, but dive rate did not differ between the sexes.  Time of day had no significant effect on dive depth or rate.  Our findings will help to improve the design and performance of mitigation measures aimed at reducing seabird bycatch in longline fisheries, such as the calculation of minimum line sink rates and optimum aerial coverage of bird-scaring line.”

White-chinned Petrels, photograph by Ben Phalan

Reference:

Rollinson, D.P., Dilley, B.J. & Ryan, P.G. 2014.  Diving behaviour of white-chinned petrels and its relevance for mitigating longline bycatch.  Polar Biology  DOI 10.1007/s00300-014-1521-y.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 19 June 2014