Peter Pyle (The Institute for Bird Populations, Point Reyes Station, California, USA) and colleagues write in the open-access journal Marine Ornithology on the little-known Bryan’s Shearwater Puffinus bryani.

The paper’s summary follows:

“Little is known about the conservation requirements of Bryan’s Shearwater Puffinus bryani, first described in 2011 based on a specimen collected in February 1963 near an area containing concrete rubble at Midway Atoll.  Here we document a second Bryan’s Shearwater observed on Midway during the winters of 1990/91 and 1991/92.  It was vocalizing from a 0.5–0.7 m crevice within an accumulation of artificial concrete and coral rubble.  Recent winter specimens of Bryan’s Shearwaters from the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands, Japan, were also collected in areas with rocky crevices, possibly burrows they co-utilize with summer-breeding Bulwer’s Petrels Bulweria bulwerii.  This habitat is not found naturally on low-lying atolls in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands; however, it does occur on Nihoa and Necker Islands, where Bulwer’s Petrels breed abundantly.  Digitized video and vocalization recordings from 1991 on Midway, detailed here and available at http://www.birdpop.net/index.php/en/brys, are currently being used to locate breeding Bryan’s Shearwaters in the Bonin Islands.  Similar monitoring should be considered for Nihoa and Necker Islands.  None of five at-sea records of small shearwaters in the central and eastern North Pacific Ocean can be confirmed as Bryan’s Shearwater; thus, nothing is currently know of its life history or requirements at-sea.”

The Midway Bryan's Shearwater, photograph by Reginald David

Click here to access three previous ACAP Latest News postings on Bryan's Shearwater.

Reference:

Pyle, P., David, R., Eilerts, B.D., Amerson, A.B., Borker, A. & Mckown, M. 2014.  Second record of Bryan’s Shearwater Puffinus bryani from Midway Atoll, with notes on habitat selection, vocalizations and at-sea distribution.  Marine Ornithology 42: 5-8.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 18 May 2014

An aerial photographic survey of breeding Wandering Albatrosses Diomedea exulans and King Penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus was undertaken last month on South Africa’s uninhabited Prince Edward Island in the southern Indian Ocean.

Flying with the passenger door open to allow for photography, a Bell 212 helicopter of Starlite Aviation Operations flew Peter Ryan, Director of the University of Cape Town’s Percy FitzPatrick Institute around the island on 27 April this year.  Using two cameras with 17-40-mm and 70-200-mm lenses all the localities where Wanderers were breeding were adequately photographed from a height of about 200 m.  A lower altitude may have caused disturbance to the island's three breeding colonies of King Penguins. Wandering Albatross chicks visible on the photographs will now be counted to yield an island total.

Cave Bay, Prince Edward Island from the air, photograph by Peter Ryan

The survey was flown from South Africa’s new Antarctic supply and research ship the S.A. Agulhas II while it was visiting nearby Marion Island to support the annual relief of the meteorological and research teams who have been on the island for 13 months (click here).

The survey was undertaken at the end of the albatrosses' brood/guard stage.  Breeding success information collected in study colonies on Marion Island will now be used to calculate a correction factor so that the likely number of incubating Wanderers can be estimated for the 2014 season.

Albatross Valley, Prince Edward Island from the air in 2014...

... and from the ground in an earlier season.  Photograph by Bruce Dyer

This was the second aerial survey of Prince Edward’s Wanderers aimed to gather data to support the activities of the Albatross and Petrel Agreement.  The first survey was undertaken last year.  Because of its pristine nature with no introduced mammals, ground visits to Prince Edward Island only occur in terms of the island group’s management plan at four-year intervals, hence the need to undertake aerial photography to obtain yearly data.

With thanks to Peter Ryan for information and aerial photographs.

Selected Literature:

Cooper, J. (Ed.). 2003.  Seabirds and seals at the Prince Edward Islands.  African Journal of Marine Science 25: 415-562.

Ryan, P.G., Cooper, J., Dyer, B.M., Underhill, L.G., Crawford, R.J.M. & Bester, M.N. 2003.  Counts of surface-nesting seabirds breeding at Prince Edward Island, summer 2001/02.  African Journal of Marine Science 25: 441-451.

Ryan, P.G., Jones, M.G.W., Dyer, B.M., Upfold, L. & Crawford, R.J.M. 2009.  Recent population estimates and trends in numbers of albatrosses and giant petrels breeding at the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Islands. African Journal of Marine Science 31: 409-417.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 17 May 2014

ACAP Latest News has received an update of French activities to rid its sub-Antarctic island of Kerguelen of introduced mammals from Fabrice Le Bouard of Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises (TAAF).   These activities, which follow earlier efforts to eradicate European Rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus, are expected to contribute to a recovery of the island group’s natural vegetation - which should help the its burrowing seabirds, including the ACAP-listed White-chinned Procellaria aequinoctialis and Grey P. cinerea Petrels.

Domestic Sheep Ovis aries

“There are still sheep on Ile Longue.  The last count in March [2014] is about 150 males left.  There are no females and so no reproduction.  We'll maybe try to shoot some of them next summer or winter to accelerate their natural death.”  Domestic Sheep were first introduced to Kerguelen in 1909.

Shaggy sheep face the camera on Ile Longue, photograph by Thomas Biteau

Mouflon Ovis orientalis musimon

Following a shooting campaign on Ile Haute in the Golfe du Morbihan a single male Mouflon remains since winter 2012 when four of the five last animals were removed.  “We'll maybe try to shoot the last one next summer or winter if it's still alive.”  Mouflon (from which domestic sheep have descended) were first introduced to Kerguelen in 1957.

A Mouflon on Ile Haute, Kerguelen, photograph by Thomas  Biteau

Reindeer Rangifer tarandus

The programme RENKER (Reindeer on Kerguelen Islands: distribution, dynamics and impacts on ecosystems) is operated by the Institut polaire Paul Emil Victor (IPEV) in collaboration with the National Nature Reserve and TAAF.  The project aims to estimate the size of the Reindeer population, originally introduced in 1956, as well as its distribution on the mainland.

Reindeer on the Courbet Peninsula, photograph by Fabrice le Bouard

“Our project aims to assess ecosystem effects of reindeer on Kerguelen in order to evaluate different management policies.  We will 1) estimate the distribution and habitat use of reindeer on Ile Kerguelen using a combination of faeces counts and helicopter transects, 2) collect simple demographic indices such as calves/females ratio and age of carcasses to compare this predator-free population to e.g. South Georgia, 3) assess if these indices can be validated using marked individuals, 4) estimate plant composition and biomass and relate it to reindeer habitat use and presence of other herbivores using an approach developed in subarctic-alpine ecosystems, 5) establish exclosures in different habitats to assess short-term responses of vegetation to reindeer grazing.”

The next summer will be the last field season.  Fabrice reports to ACAP that depending on the results of the study a decision will be made whether or not to proceed to a Reindeer eradication exercise when the island’s current (2011-2015) management plan is revised.

Click here for an earlier ACAP Latest News report of France’s ongoing efforts to rid its sub-Antarctic islands of introduced mammals.

With thanks to Fabrice Le Bouard (Technicien de recherche des inventaires et suivis ornithologiques et mammalogiques de la réserve naturelle des Terres australes Françaises) for information and photographs.

Selected Literature:

Chapuis, J.-L., Boussès, P. & Barnaud, G. 1994.  Alien mammals, impact and management in the French subantarctic islands.  Biological Conservation 64: 97-104.

Headland, R.K. 2012.  History of exotic terrestrial mammals in Antarctic regions.  Polar Record 48: 123-144.

Kaeuffer, R., Bonenfant, C., Chapuis, J.-L. & Devillard, S. 2010.  Dynamics of an introduced population of Mouflon Ovis aries on the sub-Antarctic archipelago of Kerguelen.  Ecography 33: 435-442.

TAAF 2010.  Plan de gestion 2011 - 2015 Réserve naturelle des Terres australes françaises.  Saint Pierre, La Réunion: Terres australes et antarctiques françaises.  35 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 16 May 2014

Marijke de Boer (Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands) and colleagues have published in the e-journal Academic Journal of Suriname on pelagic seabirds observed in Suriname waters off the north-eastern Atlantic coast of South America, including the ACAP-listed Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“The pelagic seabird fauna inhabiting the waters offshore Suriname has hardly been described.  Here we provide records for the occurrence of 18 pelagic seabird species.  At least three of the observed seabird species represent new state records: Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos, Band-rumped Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma castro and Red-footed Booby Sula sula.  Another previously undocumented seabird in Suriname observed during this survey was Bulwer’s Petrel Bulweria bulwerii, although this species was not verified by photographic evidence.  An additional four seabird species represent the first verified at-sea photographic records for Suriname: Audubon’s Shearwater Puffinus lherminieri, Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus, Masked Booby Sula dactylatra and Pomarine Jaeger Stercorarius pomarinus.  The seabird temporal distribution and foraging concentrations of seabirds are presented for the period 20 May – 24 July 2012.  Strip-transect seabird counts 13 June to 24 July 2012 revealed that the offshore seabird community in Suriname is best described as primarily a surface-feeding community, dominated by plunge-diving shearwaters.  The overall seabird abundance was low 0.59 birds/km which is consistent for tropical equatorial offshore waters.  The results highlight an increase both in the relative abundance and diversity of seabirds and the mortality amongst shearwaters in late June/early July.  We recommend that more monitoring be carried out in order to gain a better understanding of the status of the different seabird species that occur in this tropical equatorial offshore region.”

Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses on stamps from Tristan da Cunha

Reference:

de Boer, M. Williams, A. & Saulino, J. 2014.  Observations of pelagic seabirds in the waters offshore Suriname.  Academic Journal of Suriname 5: 474-491.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 15 May 2014