This Hawaiian Petrel (with a wing visible) was found entombed in a bee hive in its burrow in the Upper Limahuli Preserve, Kauai, photograph by C. Nagle

André Raine (Archipelago Research & Conservation, Hanapēpē, Kauai, Hawaii, USA) and colleagues have published in the journal Human–Wildlife Interactions on the impacts of feral honey bees on breeding Endangered Hawaiian Petrels Pterodroma sandwichensis and Critically Endangered Newell’s Shearwaters Puffinus newellii.

The paper’s abstract follows

“The ʻaʻo (Puffinus newellii; Newell’s shearwater) and ʻuaʻu (Pterodroma sandwichensis; Hawaiian petrel) are both endangered seabirds endemic to the Hawaiian Archipelago. For the last decade, multiple colonies on the islands of Kauaʻi and Lānaʻi have been the focus of intensive management (particularly predator control) and monitoring programs. Management has been effective at reducing the number of introduced mammalian predators recorded within colonies with a resultant increase in reproductive success rates for both seabird species.  However, in recent years a new threat has emerged—feral honey bees (Apis mellifera; bees)—which were deliberately introduced to the Hawaiian Islands starting in 1857 for beekeeping.  Between 2011 and 2021, 17 bee swarms were recorded at seabird burrows on both islands combined, consisting of 14 Hawaiian petrel burrows and 3 Newell’s shearwater burrows.  Ten (58.8%) of these incidents resulted in the bees taking over the burrow and building a hive inside.  Of the 10 takeovers, all resulted in a failed breeding season in that year, and 6 resulted in a seabird mortality (including 2 instances where both adults of a breeding pair were killed).  Furthermore, for burrows where bee takeovers occurred, only 30.0% of pairs reinitiated breeding in the following year, despite the hive being removed as soon as it was discovered.  An analysis of microhabitat data revealed that bee swarms were more likely at burrows located at the base of cliff walls.  We discuss management strategies that can be implemented, including reactive methods such as bee vacuums and proactive methods such as bee swarm traps using pheromones, to mitigate species conservation threats.  Addressing this issue is critical, as climate change may increase the likelihood of these events occurring in the future”.

Reference:

Raine, A.F., Driskill, S., Rossiter, S., Rothe, J., Pias, K.. Sprague, R. & Dutcher, A. 2023.  The impact of feral honey bees on endangered seabirds in the Hawaiian islands.  Human–Wildlife Interactions 17( 2) doi.org/10.26077/939d-5fe9/.

28 October 2024

The 11th International Symposium on Avian Influenza will take place from 24-26 June 2025 in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.  Abstracts are due by 1 November, 2024.

“We are looking forward to getting everyone together in one room to share experiences and the latest science.  We are striving for global representation, covering avian influenza in poultry, wild birds, mammals, with topics ranging from working on the front lines of outbreaks to conducting virologic research in the lab.”

Topics include:

Global reports on avian influenza

Diagnostics, vaccination, or other mitigation strategies for poultry and wildlife

Notable outbreaks, field and molecular epidemiology, and surveillance in poultry

Notable outbreaks, field and molecular epidemiology, and surveillance in wild birds

Biosecurity, mitigation, control, and post-epidemic considerations in poultry

Mortality estimations, impacts on harvest, conservation considerations, and potential mitigation strategies in wild birds

Avian influenza in mammals, pandemic preparedness, and health

Transmission pathways or pathobiology, immune responses

For more information, see an informational flyer.

25 October 2024

The Mouse-Free Marion Project has released its 11th Quarterly Newsletter for October 2024, now available online on the project’s website.  All the previous newsletters from No. 1 of April 2002 can also be found online.

The latest issue commences with an editorial by Anton Wolfaardt, the MFM Project Manager.  Articles follow by Monique van Bers, the MFM Project Overwintering Research Assistant on Marion Island on her field work underway.  Liezl Pretorius, MFM Research and Reporting Officer then introduces Abuyiselwe Nguna and Yinhla Shihlomule, the two researchers who are tracking Marion Island’s long-term seabird monitoring colonies.  Species followed include ACAP listed Grey-headed and Wandering Albatrosses, Northern Giant Petrels and Grey Petrels, some of which were first monitored way back in the 1980s.

The newsletter ends with the news that the project has formed a cycling team, now with 29 members with its own jersey, to help raise awareness and funds via sponsorships. Membership is open from anywhere in the world.  A running shirt is also in production.  Enquiries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 24 October 2024

Waved Albatross by Shari Williams of ABUN for World Albatross Day 2020, after a photograph by Laurie Smaglick Johnson

Gustavo  Jiménez-Uzcátegui (Charles Darwin Research Station, Puerto Ayora, Galápagos, Ecuador) and colleagues have published in the open access journal Marine Ornithology on the absence of high pathogenicity avian influenza in Critically Endangered Waved Albatrosses Phoebastria irroratae.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is caused by the Alphainfluenzavirus influenzae species (type A, subtype H5N1), which has been detected in mammals (including humans) and marine birds in the Americas, including the Galápagos Islands. The Waved Albatross Phoebastria irrorata is a marine endemic species of Ecuador. Most of its breeding population nests on Española Island in the Galápagos Archipelago, and it forages at sea in the eastern South Pacific. This marine bird shares its feeding areas with the Peruvian Pelican Pelecanus thagus, Peruvian Booby Sula variegata, Guanay Cormorant Leucocarbo bougainvillii, Humboldt Penguin Spheniscus humboldti, Sanderling Calidris alba, Belcher’s Gull Larus belcheri. These six species nest on the mainland of Ecuador and Peru; all have tested positive for HPAI H5N1, which has been particular concern to researchers. Therefore, we used a real-time quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), to test for HPAI H5N1 in choana-tracheal and cloacal samples from Waved Albatross at the Punta Suárez and Punta Cevallos colonies on Española Island, which have been under investigation for more than two decades. None of the birds tested positive for HPAI H5N1. Despite negative results, it is important to implement preventive and precautionary measures to avoid the spread of this viral disease to the Galápagos Archipelago. Avian influenza can have a high impact on the isolated Galápagos Islands and, therefore, we must deeply understand the possible means of entry of this virus.”

Reference:

Jiménez-Uzcátegui, G., Vélez, A., Vega, P., Buendia, V., Montenegro-Benalcázar, V., Sevilla, C. & Cruz, M. 2024.  No evidence for high pathogenicity avian influenza in Waved Albatross Phoebastria irrorata.  Marine Ornithology 52: 349-353.

22 October 2024