The non-profit Associação R3 Animal (R3 Animal), based in the State of Santa Caterina in southern Brazil, through the Beach-monitoring Project of the Santos Basin (Projeto de Monitoramento de Praias da Bacia de Santos, PMP-BS) has recently rehabilitated two ACAP-listed species.  Details follow.

Southern Giant Petrel

A Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus (Least Concern), perhaps a sub-adult by its rather dark and uniform plumage, was found by a fisher on a beach in Florianópolis on the Brazian island of Santa Catarina on 7 September 2018 and delivered to R3 Animal via the Environmental Military Police of Santa Catarina.

“According to Veterinary Doctor Marzia Antonelli the petrel was apathetic, with respiratory problems associated with dehydration, pelvic limb laceration and gastrointestinal disorders, and a large amount of ectoparasites (lice)” [in translation].

Due to its poor condition it was kept in an isolated and heated place on arrival, later being moved to an outer enclosure where it was fed fish and could use a swimming pool to improve waterproofing of its feathers.  After passing through clinical and blood and parasitological examinations, the giant petrel was released on the beach at Barra do Lagoa on 27 September.

Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross

A globally Endangered Atlantic Yellow-Nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos was rescued from the waves where it appeared unable to take flight by an PMP-BS team near the Universidade do Vale do Itajaí, north of Florianópolis on 27 October 2018.  It was taken to the PMP-BS stabilisation unit in Penha, Santa Caterina, being very apathetic on arrival.  “There were many ticks around the eyes, lice spread throughout the body and inflammation in the members” [in translation].

On 6 November the albatross was transferred to R3 Animal in Florianópolis where it received medication, went through blood and faeces tests and started on a rehabilitation process which included physiotherapy and waterproofing of feathers.  The albatross, an adult by its appearance in photographs, was released at sea on 14 November; and can be seen to fly off strongly in a video clip.

The mission of R3 Animal is to Rescue, Rehabilitate and Reintegrate wild animals into their natural habitat.  (see R3 Animal’s website in English and its Facebook page).  PMP-BS aims to assess the possible impacts of oil production and disposal activities on birds, turtles and marine mammals by monitoring beaches, providing veterinary care to live animals and undertaking necropsies of dead animals.

With thanks to Associação R3 Animal for information and photographs.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 30 November 2018

The United Kingdom’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is seeking an experienced Programme Manager for the Gough Island Restoration Programme.

Gough Island in the South Atlantic, part of the UK Overseas Territory of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, forms part of a World Heritage Site, and is considered one of the most important seabird islands in the world, inter alia supporting five species of ACAP-listed  albatrosses and petrels, including the near-endemic and Critically Endangered Tristan Albatross Diomedea  dabbenena.

A female Tristan Albatross incubates on Gough Island, photograph by Marienne de Villiers

The major threat to Gough’s biodiversity is the presence of introduced House Mice Mus musculus that prey upon the chicks of threatened species, including the island’s three albatross species.  All of Gough's seabirds, and especially those breeding in the winter, are vulnerable to mouse predation, and low breeding success means that most breeding seabird populations are declining, which has a negative impact on the site's importance and value.

Working in partnership with the Tristan da Cunha Island Council, BirdLife South Africa, Island Conservation, and the Department of Environmental Affairs in South Africa, the RSPB is now planning for the implementation of a mouse eradication operation on Gough Island in the Southern Hemisphere winter of 2020.

About the role

“This is an exciting opportunity for a person experienced in the management of large-scale, complex projects. The Programme Manager will work closely with others in the team to ensure work across the many strands of this complex project stays on track. This will involve managing and developing partnerships with our many stakeholders, from the remote community on Tristan da Cunha, to key organisations and individuals in South Africa and the UK. He/she will build on the planning work already carried out and will work with suppliers and operators from New Zealand, South Africa, the UK and the USA as well as our partners on Tristan da Cunha. He/she will implement and refine the Gough Island Programme Plan, in agreement with the programme team”.

The closing date for applications is 7 December 2018 for this full-time three-year contract position.

Read more here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 November 2018

Stefan Schoombie and colleagues (FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, South Africa) have published in the journal Polar Biology on at-sea travels of Great Shearwaters Ardenna gravis (Least Concern) breeding on Gough Island in the South Atlantic.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Ardenna shearwaters have among the most extreme foraging trips of any central place forager, yet little is known about the foraging range of the largest member of the genus, the Great Shearwater (Ardenna gravis). GPS loggers were deployed on 20 Great Shearwaters (10 males and 10 females) nesting on Gough Island in the South Atlantic Ocean during the incubation and chick-rearing periods, recording a total of 25 foraging trips. Foraging trip characteristics were similar between sexes during incubation, but males tended to forage farther west than females. During chick-rearing, all tracked birds alternated long and short foraging trips. Long trips (20.2 ± 2.3 days) were similar in duration to incubation trips (22.2 ± 5.3 days), but the birds travelled greater distances during chick-rearing (9257 ± 3249 km) than during incubation (6863 ± 2521 km). Some commuting birds sustained speeds > 100 km/h, with one bird covering almost 1000 km in 10 h. During incubation, birds mainly travelled southeast towards the Antarctic Polar Front, whereas chick-rearing birds travelled more widely. Our study provides new information on the distribution of Great Shearwaters while breeding.”

Great Shearwater in flight

Reference:

Schoombie.S., Dilley, B.J., Davies, D. & Ryan, P.G. 2018.  The foraging range of Great Shearwaters (Ardenna gravis) breeding on Gough Island.  Polar Biology  41: 2451-2458.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 28 November 2018

Lindsay Young (Pacific Rim Conservation, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA) and colleagues have published a technical report that describes the details of a project that has been translocating globally threatened Newell’s Shearwater Puffinus newelli and Hawaiian Petrel Pterodroma sandwichensis chicks on the Hawaiian island of Kauai to within a predator-proof fenced site.

The report’s Executive Summary follows:

Newell’s Shearwater (Puffinus auricularis newelli; NESH) and Hawaiian Petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis; HAPE) are both listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and are declining due to collisions with power lines and structures, light attraction, predation by feral cats, pigs, rats, and introduced Barn Owls, habitat degradation by feral ungulates (pigs, goats) and invasive exotic plants. Protection of NESH and HAPE on their nesting grounds and reduction of collision and lighting hazards are high priority recovery actions for these species. Given the challenges in protecting nesting birds in their rugged montane habitats, it has long been desirable to also create breeding colonies of both species in more accessible locations that offer a higher level of protection. Translocation of birds to breeding sites within predator exclusion fences was ranked as priority 1 in the interagency 5‐year Action Plan for Newell’s Shearwater and Hawaiian Petrel. In 2012, funding became available through several programs to undertake this action at Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge (KPNWR), which is home to one of the largest seabird colonies in the main Hawaiian Islands. The project was named the “Nihoku Ecosystem Restoration Project” after the area on the Refuge where the placement of the future colony was planned. The Nihoku Ecosystem Restoration Project is a result of a large partnership between multiple government agencies and non‐profit groups who have come together to help preserve the native species of Hawaiʻi. There were four stages to this multi‐faceted project: permitting and biological monitoring, fence construction, restoration and predator eradication, followed by translocation of the birds to the newly secured habitat. The translocation component is expected to last five years and involve up to 90 individuals each of NESH and HAPE. Prior to fence construction, baseline monitoring data were collected in order to provide a record of initial site conditions and species diversity. Surveys were conducted quarterly from 2012‐2014, investigating diversity and richness of plant, invertebrate, mammalian, and avian species. A 650 m (2130 ft) long predator proof fence was completed at Nihoku in September 2014, enclosing 2.5 ha (6.2 ac), and all mammalian predators were eradicated by March 2015. From 2015‐2017, approximately 40% of the fenced area (~1 ha) was cleared of non‐native vegetation using heavy machinery and herbicide application. A water catchment and irrigation system was installed, and over 18,000 native plants representing 37 native species were out‐planted in the restoration area. The plant species selected are low‐in‐stature, making burrow excavation easier for seabirds while simultaneously providing forage for Nēnē (Branta sandvicensis). Habitat restoration was done in phases (10‐15% of the project per year) and will be continued until the majority of the area has been restored. In addition to habitat restoration, 50 artificial burrows were installed in the restoration to facilitate translocation activities. From 2012‐2017 potential source colonies of NESH and HAPE were located by the Kauaʻi Endangered Seabird Recovery Project (KESRP) with visual, auditory, and ground searching methods at locations around Kauaʻi. The sites that were selected as source colonies for both species were Upper Limahuli Preserve (owned by the National Tropical Botanical Garden; NTBG) and several sites within the Hono o Nā Pali Natural Area Reserve system. These sites had high call rates, high burrow densities to provide an adequate source of chicks for the translocation, and had active predator control operations in place to offset any potential impacts of the monitoring. Translocation protocols were developed based on previous methods developed in New Zealand; on the ground training was done by the translocation team by visiting active projects in New Zealand. In year one, 10 HAPE and eight NESH were translocated, and the goal is to translocate up to 20 in subsequent years for a cohort size of 90 birds of each species over a five year period. Post‐translocation monitoring has been initiated to gauge the level of success, and social attraction has been implemented in an attempt to attract adults to the area. It is anticipated that the chicks raised during this project will return to breed at Nihoku when they are 65‐6 [sic] years old; for the first cohort released in 2015 this would be starting in 2020. Once this occurs, Nihoku will be the first predator‐free breeding area of both species in Hawaiʻi.”

Hawaiian Petrel in its burrow, photograph by André Raine

Reference:

Young, L.C., Behnke, J.H., Vanderwerf, E.A., Raine, A.F., Mitchell, C., Kohley, C.R., Dalton, M., Mitchell, M., Tonneson, H., DeMotta, M., Wallace, G., Nevins, H., Hall, C.S. & Uyehara, K. 2018.  The Nihoku Ecosystem Restoration Project: a Case Study in Predator Exclusion Fencing, Ecosystem Restoration, and Seabird Translocation.  Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit Technical Report No. 198.  Honolulu: Department of Botany, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.  83 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 27 November 2018