Alice Pereira (Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Marine Ornithology on distinguishing skeletal specimens of Black-browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris from those of Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses T. chlororhynchos.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Identifying albatross species in the wild involves recognizing plumage pattern and bill coloration. However, skeletal specimens in museums or deteriorated beached carcasses may lack the external characters needed for identification. Although it is possible to distinguish Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris from Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross T. chlororhynchos based on skull morphology, the specimen remains unidentified if the skull is not available. We measured 96 specimens of Black-browed and 55 Atlantic Yellow-nosed albatross, performing 64 measurements for the entire skeleton. Fifty-nine measurements were based on the literature and five new measurements were established specifically for this work. To search for morphometric differences, we first carried out t-tests and principal component analysis (PCA). Then, we performed discriminant function analysis on PCA results and on six selected postcranial measurements to generate a discriminant function. Sixty-one means (93.85 %) of Black-browed Albatross measurements were significantly larger than those of Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross. The discriminant function containing the six selected postcranial measurements correctly identified 97.35 % of the specimens through reclassification. This is the first work on osteological morphometric analysis of the entire skeleton for Black-browed and Atlantic Yellow-nosed albatross that is based on a large sample of specimens.”

Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, photograph by Peter Ryan

Reference:

Pereira, A., Tavares, M. & Moreno, I.B. 2019.  Separating Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris and Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross T. chlororhynchos by osteological morphometric analysis.  Marine Ornithology 47: 139-148.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 April 2019

Karine Delord (Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé, Villiers-en-Bois, France) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Marine Ornithology on aspects of foraging behaviour of the globally Near Threatened Grey Petrel Procellaria cinerea.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“There is growing interest in the consistency of individual differences in animal behavior as it relates to life history traits and fitness. Despite the relatively large number of studies investigating repeatable behaviors, studies have only recently investigated repeatability in foraging or migratory behaviors, and this has seldom been explored between years. We examined the individual consistency in foraging behavior of the Grey Petrel Procellaria cinerea, a pelagic long-distance migrant. We analyzed how foraging, activity, and migratory patterns were repeatable across different seasons. We used tracking data to monitor the migratory movements and behavior of individuals during the non-breeding period over five years. Despite the small sample size, we found that there was a relatively high individual consistency in wintering strategies across years, with birds displaying high fidelity to their non-breeding destinations during consecutive years. Activity parameters, date of departure of inward migration, duration of migration, and duration spent in non-breeding areas were repeatable as well. The duration of the non-breeding period was the most repeatable, reflecting consistent departure times and, to a lesser extent, consistent arrival times. A high overall repeatability was seen in the timing of the return migration. With respect to sex, males tended to be more consistent in their migration strategy (i.e., timing of migration, time spent in non-breeding areas) than females. Although conditions during the Holocene have generally been stable in the Southern Ocean, species lacking variability in migratory traits are probably at a considerable disadvantage in terms of their capacity to respond to the rapid environment changes currently underway.

Grey Petrel at sea, photograph by Peter Ryan

Reference:

Delord, K., Barbraud, C., Pinaud, P., Ruault, S., Patrick, S.C. & Weimerskirch, H. 2019.  Individual consistency in the non-breeding behavior of a long-distance migrant seabird, the Grey Petrel Procellaria cinerea. Marine Ornithology 47: 93-103.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 26 April 2019

The BOU John & Pat Warham Studentship is now open for the third year for a 3.5 year studentship starting between 1 January 2020 and 31 March 2021.  The studentship is funded by the John and Pat Warham Scholarship Fund, a legacy left to the British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) by the late John and Pat Warham and aims to provide training to PhD level in research on any aspect of the biology or ecology of Sphenisciformes (penguins )and Procellariiformes (tubenoses) by citizens of Commonwealth countries who are also members of the BOU.

John Warham (1919-2010) was one of the pioneers in conducting field research on mainly New Zealand albatrosses and petrels as well as on penguins, publishing two important books on the former group at the end of his long career (click here to read his obituary in ACAP Latest News). His wife Pat helped with field work in their early years together.

The late John Warham

Kirsty Franklin was the first BOU John & Pat Warham Student, awarded in 2018 to study towards her PhD the ‘Round Island petrel’, a hybrid Pterodroma gadfly petrel that breeds only on Round Island in the Indian Ocean (click here).  The second studentship went this year to the University of Tasmania to study crested penguins Eudyptes spp.

Proposals must be submitted by 30 June 2019. Read more on the studentship and how to apply here.

Selected literature:

Warham, J. 1990.  The Petrels: their Ecology and Breeding Systems.  London & San Diego: Academic Press.  440 pp.

Warham, J. 1996.  The Behaviour, Population Ecology and Physiology of the Petrels.  London & San Diego: Academic Press.  613 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 25 April 2019

The Eleventh Meeting of ACAP’s Advisory Committee (AC11) will be held over 13-17 May 2019 in Florianópolis, Brazil.  Documents and Information Papers, including a draft agenda (AC11 Doc 01) for the four-day meeting are now available on this web site from where they may be downloaded and consulted.  Note, however, that some documents are password-protected so only their abstracts are publicly available.  For convenience a meeting document (AC11 Doc 05) lists all the papers to be tabled by title and author(s). The meeting will be chaired by Nathan Walker from New Zealand, with Brazil’s Tatiana Neves assisting as Vice-chair.

AC11 will follow the Ninth Meeting of the Seabird Bycatch Working Group (SBWG), and Fifth Meeting of the Population and Conservation Status Working Group (PaCSWG) in the previous week at the same venue, the Jurerê Internacional Il Campanario Hotel.  AC11 will hear summary reports of both these working groups.

The Jurerê Internacional Il Campanario Hotel in in Florianópolis: venue for the Advisory Committee's Eleventh Meeting

On Thursday 16 May AC11 delegates will be given the opportunity to go on all-day boat-based excursion to the Anhatomirim Environmental Protection Area (AEPA).  The 4400-ha area, created in 1992, falls within the IUCN Protected Area Category V (protected landscape/seascape).  It aims to protect biological diversity and ensure the sustainable use of natural resources.  Specific goals include protecting the feeding and breeding areas of the resident population of the globally Endangered Tucuxi Sotalia fluviatilis, a freshwater dolphin, and protecting remnants of Atlantic Rain Forest and survival of local fishing communities.  Globally Vulnerable La Plata River Dolphins or Franciscana Pontoporia blainvillei, Common Bottlenose Dolphins Tursiops truncatus and Southern Right Whales Eubalaena australis,also occur within the AEPA.  Also falling within the AEPA and to be visited on the outing is the 18th-Century Santa Cruz de Anhatomirim Fortress on Anhatomirim Island which forms a part of a suite of 19 coastal fortresses (“Brazilian Fortresses Ensemble”) which was placed on Brazil's Tentative list for World Heritage status in 2015.

Tucuxi breaching

AC11 Delegates will visit Santa Cruz de Anhatomirim Fortress on Anhatomirim Island

Brazil has previously hosted the Agreement; the Second Meeting of the Advisory Committee (AC2) was held in Brasilia in June 2006.  This year’s Advisory Committee and working group meetings follow on from AC10, held in Wellington, New Zealand in September 2017 and the Sixth Session of the Meeting of Parties (MoP6) held in South Africa’s Kruger National Park last year in May.  The Seventh Session (MoP7) is due to be held in 2021 in Australia – when ACAP will be 20 years old.

Florianópolis is the capital and second largest city of the State of Santa Catarina in the southern region of Brazil.  It is served by an international airport.  A coastal city situated on Santa Caterina Island with a humid subtropical climate, it has a population of roughly half a million.  The island is connected to the Brazilian mainland by bridges and is known for its many tourist beaches.

With thanks to Patricia Pereira Serafini, Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação das Aves Silvestres, Brazil for information and photographs.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 23 April 2019