As every year for the last 12 years, a study plot of 280 nests of Black-Browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris has been monitored on New Island, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)*.  This season the “Albatross Dream Team” consisted of Letizia Campioni, Deborah Pardo and Paulo Catry.

A study colony on the south-western cliffs of New Island

Undertaking attendance checks, photograph by Gunnar Scholtz

Individual presence, breeding success and laying dates were recorded to construct a solid demographic data set.  At the same time, the main goals for this season were to deploy GPS and GLS trackers on breeding birds so as to record movements and activity during both incubation and chick-rearing.  This tracking information will be used in conjunction with isotopic analyses of blood and feathers.

A pair of marked albatrosses during a shift changeover

In addition, a large part of the project was to improve knowledge of the at-sea movements of pre-breeding immature birds.  Seventy-five GPS trackers were deployed on three- to seven year-old birds previously banded as chicks that had returned as non-breeding “loafers” within the colony.  These immatures were marked with TESA tape on their metal bands to aid in their identification for recapture.  Again blood samples were taken for isotopic analyses as well as for genetic sexing.  GLS loggers were then deployed for studying their wintering areas and we hope to recover them in the following years.

An immature Black-browed Albatross flies overhead wearing a leg-mounted GLS tracker

Photographs by Deborah Pardo unless noted.

Selected Literature:

Catry, P., Forcada, J. & Almeida, A. 2011.  Demographic parameters of Black-browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris from the Falkland Islands.  Polar Biology 34: 1221-1229.

Strange, I.J. 2007.  New Island, Falkland Islands: a South Atlantic Wildlife Sanctuary for Conservation Management.  Stanley: Design in Nature.  152 pp.

Deborah Pardo, British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK and ACAP European News Correspondent, 09 March 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.

UPDATE:  The petition now aims to collect 5000 signatures and to date has reached a total of 2804 (07 February 2014) and 4188 (08 March 2014).

The National Audubon Society, an NGO based in the USA, has initiated an on-line petition that requests US Congress members to support the ratification of ACAP.  The petition aims to collect 2500 signatures and to date has collected 2439 (click here).

Three ACAP-listed species, the Black-footed Phoebastria nigripes, Laysan P. immutabilis and Short-tailed P. albatrus Albatrosses, breed within the USA, all on islands in the Hawaiian chain in the North Pacific.

The USA has been an active participant in the work of ACAP since its inception, sending observers to all the Sessions of the Meeting of Parties and of its Advisory Committee and working group meetings held to date.  The USA also attended the second and final negotiation meetings for ACAP held in 2000 and 2001. However, it has yet to ratify the Agreement and become a Party to ACAP.

In September 2008 then USA President George W. Bush transmitted the Agreement to the United States Senate for approval (click here).  In January 2009, the United States Departments of Commerce and of the Interior jointly forwarded to the U.S. Congress proposed legislation to implement the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels in the USA, entitled the Albatross and Petrel Conservation Act of 2009 (click here).

Short-tailed Albatross breeding on Midway Atoll, photograph by Sarah Gutowsky

The mission of the National Audubon Society is to “conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity.”

ACAP came into force in February 2004 and currently has 13 member countries and covers 30 species of albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 January 2014, updated 08 March 2014

A full-time postdoctoral position is available in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of South Florida (USF), USA.

The postdoc will work as part of a multinational, multi-institutional NSF Polar Program-funded project to study the bioenergetics and foraging strategies of endangered Antarctic [sic] albatrosses.  The postdoc will primarily be located in the lab of Dr Leah Johnson at USF, jointly mentored by Dr Sadie J. Ryan (SUNY-ESF), and will have significant opportunities to interact with scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). This project entails international collaboration and travel.

The goal of this project is to answer the question: what are the population consequences of albatross bioenergetics and foraging strategies?

This work will further a general understanding of how bioenergetics shapes behaviour and drives population level processes, while providing an approach that can be used to guide conservation strategies for endangered populations.  This position will focus on building individual-based models of albatross bioenergetics and foraging strategies, and will incorporate dynamic energy budget modelling and state dependent foraging theory.  Further, a large amount of data is available for model validation and fitting, which will be approached using Bayesian methods.

Qualifications:

The candidate must have a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in mathematical biology or a related field by the start date.

Candidates with a background in dynamic energy budget or other bioenergetic modelling, statistics, population biology, sea bird ecology, applied mathematics, or similar will be given preference.

Strong organizational, programming, and quantitative analysis skills are necessary.

Preferred:

Programming skills in R or C; knowledge of Bayesian statistics;

experience in quantitative ecological modelling, geographical analysis, bioinformatics, or spatial modelling.

Desired:

Excellent oral/written communication; leadership and interpersonal skills;

demonstrated ability to work in teams. GIS skills a plus.

The position is available beginning 1 May 2014, although the start date is flexible. Funding is available for three years.  An initial appointment will be for one year with extension contingent on performance.  Salary is US$40 000-45 000/year, commensurate with experience, and includes full benefits.

To apply send a cover letter, CV, statement of research and career interests, and contact information for 3-5 references, as a single PDF, to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  Review of applications will begin immediately, and continue until the position is filled.

Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses: the only species that breeds within Antarctica

Photograph by John Chardine

Above text taken from a World Seabird Union post (click here).

Click here for more information.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 08 March 2013

Meeting Location and Dates

The Eighth Meeting of ACAP’s Advisory Committee (AC8) will be held from Monday, 15 September to Friday, 19 September 2014, at the Barradas Hotel, Punta del Este, Uruguay (click here for the meeting's first circular).

Meetings of the Advisory Committee’s Population and Conservation Status Working Group (PaCSWG) and Seabird Bycatch Working Group (SBWG) will precede AC8.  These meetings will also be held at the Barradas Hotel, from Monday 8 to Tuesday 9 September (PaCSWG), and Wednesday 10 to Friday 12 September (SBWG).

A Heads of Delegation meeting will be convened on Sunday, 14 September 2014 in the evening. The time and venue for this meeting will be advised closer to the meeting date.

Meeting Documents

Meeting documents requiring translation are to be submitted to the Secretariat no later than 15 July 2014 in order that they may be distributed in the three official languages 30 days in advance of the meeting. It would assist the operation of the meeting if papers were submitted as early as possible in advance of this date. All AC8 information papers must be submitted by 1 August 2014. Meeting documents for Working Group meetings must also be submitted by 1 August 2014. Meeting documents will not be accepted after this date.

It would be appreciated if participants could advise the Secretariat of any papers that they intend submitting to the meeting as soon as possible.

Applications for Observer Status

International bodies wishing to participate in the Advisory Committee meeting must

submit a written application to the Secretariat by 17 June 2014. Applications from other bodies wishing to attend this meeting must submit a written application by 15 July 2014.

Reservation of Accommodation

A block booking of 45 rooms has been made for the meetings at a substantial discount to normal rates: 26 x standard rooms @ USD90, 10 x deluxe rooms @ USD117, and 9 x classic suites @ USD147.00.  Delegates are encouraged to make their reservations as early as possible to ensure access to rooms at these prices.  Note that alternative accommodation may be difficult to find, particularly during AC8, due to public holidays falling in this period.  When making a reservation please quote a promotional code (to be available shortly) to access the ACAP booking.

Information on registration and other meeting arrangements will be provided in Meeting Circular No 2.

A Tristan Albatross flies by in waters off Uruguay, photograph by Martin Abreu

Warren Papworth, ACAP Executive Secretary & Marco Favero, Chair, ACAP Advisory Committee, 07 March 2014