Heavy rainfall causes failure of breeding Short-tailed and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters in Australia

Cameron Tiller (Johnstone Centre, Charles Sturt University, Albury, Australia) and colleagues writing in the open-access journal Marine Ornithology report on the effects of heavy rain on Short-tailed Puffinus tenuirostris and Wedge-tailed P. pacificus Shearwaters breeding on Montague Island, New South Wales, Australia.

“This paper highlights the value of long-term studies in revealing rare or irregular events in ecology, although more intensive short-term studies may be required to analyse the effect of specific factors.”

Short-tailed Shearwater, photographed by Mark Carey

Reference:

Tiller, C.J., Klomp, N.I., Fullagar, P.J. & Heyligers, P.C.  2013.  Catastrophic breeding failure caused by heavy rainfall in a shearwater colony.  Marine Ornithology 41: 97-99.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 28 July 2013

The Agreement on the
Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels

ACAP is a multilateral agreement which seeks to conserve listed albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters by coordinating international activity to mitigate known threats to their populations.

About ACAP

ACAP Secretariat

119 Macquarie St
Hobart TAS 7000
Australia

Email: secretariat@acap.aq
Tel: +61 3 6165 6674