Fledgling Flesh-footed Shearwaters on Lord Howe Island in May 2022: (left) a healthy chick collected in the colony (hit by a motor vehicle) and (right) a similar age bird found washed up on the beach with substantially lower body mass, shorter wing length, and downy feathers

Jenn Lavers and Alex Bond (Bird Group, The Natural History Museum, Tring, UK) have published open access in the journal ICES Journal of Marine Science on the deterioration in fledging body condition of Flesh-footed Shearwaters Ardenna carneipes over the long-term.

Proportion of fledgling Flesh-footed Shearwaters encountered on Lord Howe Island with a body mass >400 g during 2010–2022

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Marine systems are under increasing pressure from anthropogenic activities. In recent decades, the deteriorating condition of the world’s seabird populations suggests these pressures have reached a tipping point. For young birds, body mass can significantly influence survival in the critical period between nest departure and recruitment to the breeding population. On Lord Howe Island, we measured Flesh-footed Shearwater (Ardenna carneipes) fledglings in the colony and adjacent beaches to determine how body condition changed during 2010–2022. Overall, we found chick body mass as well as wing, culmen, and head + bill length declined over time with larger declines observed in beach-washed birds. Culmen and head + bill length declined by 0.17 and 0.23 mm/year, respectively, and body mass by 16.1 g/year. The number of chicks fledging at <400 g has increased sharply in recent years, meaning significant numbers of birds are unlikely to survive after departing the island. Our results point to a deepening of the division in the shearwater population: adult birds who can successfully provision sufficient nutrient reserves so their chick fledges successfully, and those who cannot. In this latter group, failure at the fledging stage (beached birds) is resulting in birds in increasingly poor condition, the likes of which were seldom documented 13 years ago.”

Reference:

Lavers, J.L. & Bond, A.L. 2023. Long-term decline in fledging body condition of Flesh-footed Shearwaters (Ardenna carneipes). ICES Journal of Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsad048

10 April 2023

ABUN Project #43 has produced 75 artworks on the theme of “Plastic Pollution”, poster design by Kitty Harvill

Artists and Biologists for Nature (ABUN) has contributed to the conservation of ACAP-listed species every year since 2020 by running an annual project where contributing artists produce artworks to mark World Albatross Day on 19 June. In the first three years some 500 artworks illustrating all 31 ACAP-listed albatrosses and petrels have been created, using photographs made available by ACAP supporters to act as inspiration. This year’s project, ABUN’s 43rd, which ran from January to March, has been in support of the World Albatross Day theme for 2023 of “Plastic Pollution”. It has resulted in 75 stunning artworks by 31 artists, including several who produced more than one work. They will be used by ACAP to support ‘WAD2023’ until the actual day on 19 June.

The Rock Stars Challenge, collage by Kitty Harvill

The three-month collaboration with ABUN ended with a “weekend challenge” that used Hob Osterlund’s evocative photographs of close-to-fledging Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis chicks losing the last of their down, adding 13 paintings to the total (click here).

Music by John Nicolosi, design by Kitty Harvill

To round off the project, ABUN Co-founder Kitty Harvill has produced a collage poster depicting all 75 artworks (see above) and musician John Nicolosi of Niko Records Studio has created pro bono a sombre score entitled "Fidelity" for the music video put together by Kitty.

“Plastic Pollution” by Grisselle Chock, after a photograph by Cynthia Vanderlip

With grateful thanks to ABUN Co-founder Kitty Harvill, ABUN Administrator Marion Schön, musician John Nicolosi, and all the contributing ABUN artists, especially Andress Silva, Apple Resonance, Flávia Barreto, Grisselle Chock, Inge Eisenhauer, Shary Weckwerth and Snah, who each produced three or more artworks for Project #43.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 13 April 2023

The Regional Action Plan-Seabirds has been approved by the Joint Technical Commission for the Maritime Front (JTCMF) with the aim of reducing seabird mortality through fishing operations. ACAP Parties Argentina and Uruguay are joint Members of the JTCMF. 

The Joint Technical Commission for the Maritime Front (JTCMF) has approved a plan, known as the Regional Action Plan-Seabirds, to reduce the interaction of seabirds with fisheries in common waters of Argentina and Uruguay. The plan was developed by a group of experts convened by the JTCMF in December 2019 and reviewed at a Seabird Workshop held at the National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP) in April 2022.

The Regional Action Plan-Seabirds aims to identify good fishing practices and mitigation measures to reduce the incidental mortality of seabirds attending these fisheries. The plan was developed by specialists from different Uruguayan and Argentine organizations, including the National Directorate of Aquatic Resources (DINARA), the National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, Aves Argentinas, the Institute of Marine and Coastal Research, the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), the Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, and the National University of Mar del Plata.

The main goal of the plan is to preserve biological diversity and ensure the conservation of seabird species that inhabit the Argentine-Uruguayan Common Fishing Zone and adjacent waters. The plan also aims to deepen the knowledge about devices and operations that allow the mitigation of different negative impacts of the interaction of these species with fisheries under an ecosystem approach management.

Resolution 44/22 of the JTCMF is the culmination of this process and sets out the plan's implementation. The resolution underscores the importance of promoting education, training, and dissemination of the issues related to reducing the interaction of seabirds with fisheries. 

The plan's implementation will be a significant step towards preserving the marine ecosystem and the seabird species in the region.

The Regional Action Plan-Seabirds is available (in Spanish) here, https://ctmfm.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/par-am_ctmfm_web-2022-final-165730576769.pdf

En español:

La Comisión Técnica Mixta del Frente Marítimo (CTMFM) aprobó un plan, conocido como Plan de Acción Regional-Aves Marinas, para reducir la interacción de las aves marinas con las pesquerías en aguas comunes de Argentina y Uruguay. El plan fue desarrollado por un grupo de expertos convocado por la CTMFM en diciembre de 2019 y revisado en un Taller de Aves Marinas realizado en el Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP) en abril de 2022.

El Plan de Acción Regional-Aves Marinas tiene como objetivo identificar buenas prácticas de pesca y medidas de mitigación para reducir la mortalidad incidental de aves marinas asociadas a estas pesquerías. El plan fue desarrollado por especialistas de diferentes organismos uruguayos y argentinos, entre ellos la Dirección Nacional de Recursos Acuáticos (DINARA), el Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero, el Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable, Aves Argentinas, el Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeros, el Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), la Subsecretaría de Pesca y Acuicultura, el Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible y la Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata.

El objetivo principal del plan es preservar la diversidad biológica y asegurar la conservación de las especies de aves marinas que habitan en la Zona Común de Pesca Argentino-Uruguaya y aguas adyacentes. El plan también pretende profundizar en el conocimiento sobre dispositivos y operaciones que permitan mitigar diferentes impactos negativos de la interacción de estas especies con las pesquerías bajo una gestión con enfoque ecosistémico.

La Resolución 44/22 de la CTMFM es la culminación de este proceso y establece la implementación del plan. La resolución destaca la importancia de promover la educación, capacitación y difusión de los temas relacionados con la reducción de la interacción de las aves marinas con las pesquerías.

La implementación del plan será un paso significativo hacia la preservación del ecosistema marino y las especies de aves marinas en la región.

El Plan de Acción Regional-Aves Marinas está disponible (en español) aquí, https://ctmfm.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/par-am_ctmfm_web-2022-final-165730576769.pdf

12 April 2023

“Trojan Horse”, acrylic on canvas board by ABUN artist Holly Parsons, after a photograph by Theo Thompson

Holly Parsons, who lives in Boulder, Colorado, USA, has written to ACAP Latest News about her painting of a Northern Royal Albatross Diomedea sanfordi chick (globally Endangered and nationally Naturally Uncommon) with a plastic toy on its nest that she has entitled "Trojan Horse".  She says " A friend of mine came up with the title and I liked it for its depth of meaning, with the horse looking so innocent, yet it’s deadly to the birds".  She goes on to write that “I haven’t been painting very long. I had a brain injury while snowboarding a decade ago and the urge to create art began only then. I lost the ability to do some things, but gained in other areas, so it’s all good!”  Her welcome painting is a consequence of the fourth collaboration between ACAP and ABUN (Artists and Biologists Unite for Nature) in support of this year’s World Albatross Day with its theme of “Plastic Pollution” on 19 June.

“Growing Tiaki: Slideshow of the 2021 Royal Albatross Cam Chick” by Holly Parsons

Holly also writes that she makes Youtube videos about birds, such as the one above, learning video editing "just to keep my brain sharp.  I just noticed it has 12K views now, that’s great!"  Holly is a friend of albatrosses in other ways as well. She administers Albatross Lovers on Facebook, a private group with over 1500 members. The group is “dedicated to all species of the iconic albatross seabird, as well as the related conservation efforts. We encourage the sharing of albatross depicted in both art and science to celebrate their beauty and learn about their plight.” Indeed, posts to ACAP’s Facebook Page are regularly shared by Holly to Albatross Lovers, thereby helping enhance awareness of the need for albatross and petrel conservation.

The inspiration for Holly Parson’s painting. A Northern Royal Albatross chick with the plastic toy on its nest, photograph by Theo Thompson, a Department of Conservation Ranger, who works part time with the albatrosses at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head

You can read about the original observation (entitled by ACAP Latest News "Not My Little Pony", referring to the popular child's toy of the 1980s) made at the mainland colony at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head on New Zealand’s South Island here. Previous plastic items found associated with Taiaroa’s royal albatrosses have included bottle caps, squid lures, fishing floats, a container tab and the handle of an infant formula scoop.

We do not often get to see a work in progress. Holly Parsons’ "Trojan Horse" started as a pencil sketch

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels,11 April 2023