A Black-footed Albatross chick sits near a decoy bird on Mexico's Guadalupe Island; photo courtesy of Pacific Rim Conservation. According to the research, active restoration programmes targeting albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters which involve the use of social attraction or a combination of social attraction and translocation are seeing positive outcomes from the interventions.

Dena Spatz (Pacific Rim Conservation, Honolulu, Hawaii) and colleagues have published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences (PNAS) on the efficacy of seabird restoration projects around the world.

The paper’s abstract follows, 

“The global loss of biodiversity has inspired actions to restore nature across the planet. Translocation and social attraction actions deliberately move or lure a target species to a restoration site to reintroduce or augment populations and enhance biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Given limited conservation funding and rapidly accelerating extinction trajectories, tracking progress of these interventions can inform best practices and advance management outcomes. Seabirds are globally threatened and commonly targeted for translocation and social attraction (“active seabird restoration”), yet no framework exists for tracking these efforts nor informing best practices. This study addresses this gap for conservation decision makers responsible for seabirds and coastal management. We systematically reviewed active seabird restoration projects worldwide and collated results into a publicly accessible Seabird Restoration Database. We describe global restoration trends, apply a systematic process to measure success rates and response times since implementation, and examine global factors influencing outcomes. The database contains 851 active restoration events in 551 locations targeting 138 seabird species; 16% of events targeted globally threatened taxa. Visitation occurred in 80% of events and breeding occurred in 76%, on average 2 y after implementation began (SD = 3.2 y). Outcomes varied by taxonomy, with the highest and quickest breeding response rates for Charadriiformes (terns, gulls, and auks), primarily with social attraction. Given delayed and variable response times to active restoration, 5 y is appropriate before evaluating outcomes. The database and results serve as a model for tracking and evaluating restoration outcomes, and is applicable to measuring conservation interventions for additional threatened taxa.”

Reference:

Spatz, D. R., Young, L. C., Holmes, N. D., Jones, H. P., VanderWerf, E. A., Lyons, D. E., Kress, S., Miskelly, C. M., & Taylor, G. A. (2023). Tracking the global application of conservation translocation and social attraction to reverse seabird declines. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(16). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2214574120

8 May 2023

The focus of the study; a Cory's Shearwater grounded by lights; photograph by Beneharo Rodríguez

Elizabeth Atchoi (Institute of Marine Sciences - OKEANOS, University of the Azores, Portugal) and colleagues have published in the Journal of Experimental Biology a behavioural analysis of light exposure on Cory’s Shearwater chicks to determine factors influencing vulnerability to light pollution in seabirds.  

The paper’s abstract follows,

“Light pollution critically affects fledglings of burrow-nesting seabirds, leading to massive mortality events. The successful management of this pollutant depends upon a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing visual sensitivity and corresponding behaviours towards light. Factors shaping the development of the visual system could account for variation in seabirds' vulnerability to light pollution. We investigated how Cory's shearwater chicks respond to selected contrasting artificial light stimuli. Chicks were subjected to blue and red light treatments, and repeatedly tested throughout the nestling period. We analysed behavioural responses (number, timing and orientation of reactions) to determine how age, exposure to experimental light stimuli and spectra influenced the onset of visually guided behaviours, thus inferring drivers of vulnerability to light pollution. Repetitive exposure to light significantly increased the number of reactions, and chicks predominantly displayed light avoidance behaviour. We did not find differences in the number of reactions, timing and orientation between blue and red light treatments. The responses did not differ across different age groups. These results provide empirical evidence for the contribution of the light available in the rearing environment to seabird visual development. They support the hypothesis that differential exposure to light during the growth period influences responses to artificial light, and that the state of visual development at fledging could be a main driver of the age bias observed during seabird fallout events. It is thus important to evaluate lighting schemes in both urban and natural areas, and determine the as yet unknown consequences that may be affecting the populations.”

Reference:

Atchoi, E., Mitkus, M., Vitta, P., Machado, B., Rocha, M., Juliano, M., Bried, J. & Rodríguez, A. 2023. Ontogenetic exposure to light influences seabird vulnerability to light pollution. J Exp Biol. 226 (7): jeb245126. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.245126

5 May 2023

Two Black-browed Albatrosses interact on New Island, South Atlantic; photograph by Georgina Strange, poster design by Bree Forrer

The Albatross and Petrel Agreement is once again pleased to release a set of 12 freely downloadable photo posters for this year’s World Albatross Day with its theme of “Plastic Pollution” in a new language – this time in Japanese.   Previously, the poster set has been made available in ACAP’s three official languages – English, French and Spanish, and most recently in Portuguese. The ‘WAD2023’ logo is also available in Japanese.

Although not a Party to the Agreement, Japan has attended and contributed to ACAP meetings as a Range State*. The larger part of the global population of the Vulnerable Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus breeds on Japan’s Torishima. Japan is also an ACAP range state by way of undertaking fishing that interacts with ACAP-listed species, notably through its high-seas pelagic longline fisheries for tuna in the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific and Southern Oceans.

ACAP has previously made its Seabird Bycatch Mitigation Fact Sheets available in Japanese.

It is hoped the photo posters can be used within Japan to increase awareness of the conservation plight being faced by albatrosses and petrels and aid the country in celebrating World Albatross Day come 19 June.

A Northern Royal Albatross in flight off New Zealand; photograph by Oscar Thomas, poster design by Bree Forrer

With grateful thanks for translations provided by Yasuko Suzuki, BirdLife International Marine Programme, Tokyo, Japan.

* “Range State” means any State that exercises jurisdiction over any part of the range of albatrosses or petrels, or a State, flag vessels of which are engaged outside its national jurisdictional limits in taking, or which have the potential to take, albatrosses and petrels [from the Agreement text].

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 04 May 2023

Clockwise from left; offshore windfarm and transfer vessel, by Charlie Chesvick; an Argentinian Side Trawler by Leo Tamini; a Black-footed Albatross amongst plastic debris by Matthew Chauvin, "The Ocean Cleanup". The three photos represent items on the agenda for the suite of ACAP meetings taking place in Edinburgh 14 - 26 May

ACAP is in full swing with its preparations for the upcoming meetings to be held in Edinburgh 14 – 26 May which are being hosted for the first time by ACAP Party, the United Kingdom. It is only the fourth time ACAP’s meetings have been held in the northern hemisphere after those held in France (AC7), Norway (MoP3) and Spain (MoP5).

The Thirteenth Meeting of the Advisory Committee (AC13), the Eleventh Meeting of the Seabird Bycatch Working Group (SBWG11), and the Seventh Meeting of the Population and Conservation Status Working Group (PaCSWG7) will all take place over the two-week period. A Heads of Delegation meeting will also be held on Sunday evening on 21 May. 

Draft agendas, Meeting Documents and Information Papers for each of the meetings are now accessible at the ACAP website under the menu item, Documents, and subsequent meeting type (Advisory Committee or Working Group). Note, however, that some documents are password-protected so only their abstracts are publicly available. Specific documents have been translated into ACAP’s three official languages of English, French and Spanish.

Delegates will have the opportunity to take part in a field trip to the Scottish Seabird Centre which will include a boat trip around the islands of Craigleith and Bass Rock which are home to Northern Gannets and Atlantic Puffins, respectively. From left to right; a Northern Gannet by D_H Photo; an Atlantic Puffin by Arend Trent

Meeting delegates will also have the opportunity to engage in a number of social activities throughout the busy schedule of meetings. A highlight for most will no doubt be the field trip to the Scottish Seabird Centre and accompanying boat trip around the islands of Craigleith and Bass Rock. Whilst both sites are abundant in a variety of seabirds, Craigleith is known particularly for its colony of puffins, whilst Bass Rock is home to the largest colony of Northern Gannets in the world, approximately 150 000 in total.

3 May 2023