Population monitoring of Flesh-footed Shearwaters is one of the projects to be delivered by the Conservation Services Programme; photograph by Ian Hutton

New Zealand’s Conservation Services Programme (CSP) has published its 2023/2024 Annual Plan. The CSP operates under the Department of Conservation, “with the aim of avoiding, remedying, or mitigating the adverse effects of commercial fisheries on protected species.” 

The Annual Plan provides a summary of upcoming and ongoing research projects to be delivered by the CSP and is divided into three areas: 

• Interaction Projects (section 2): including the Observer Programme and seabird identification programmes.
• Population Projects (section 3): a number of population and demographic studies of albatrosses endemic to New Zealand, monitoring of the Black Petrel and White-chinned Petrel, and research into the survival and dispersal of juvenile Flesh-footed Shearwaters.
• Mitigation Projects (section 4): the Protected Species Liaison Project, the use and effectiveness of various mitigation measures and a project focussed on understanding the relationship between fishhook size and bait type with seabird and turtle captures.

The 2023/2024 Conservation Services Programme Annual Plan is available to download at the Department of Conservation website, or here.

21 July 2023

Hutton’s Shearwater at a mountain breeding site, photograph by Richard Cuthbert

Chloe Cargill (Puhi Peaks Station, Kaikōura, New Zealand) and colleagues have published in the journal Notornis on a mountain colony of the Endangered Hutton’s Shearwater Puffinus huttoni.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Hutton’s shearwater (Puffinus huttoni) is a burrowing petrel endemic to the alpine zone of the Seaward Kaikōura Ranges, New Zealand. In November 2019, we accessed an understudied breeding colony at Shearwater Stream in the Puhi Peaks Nature Reserve for the first time since a Mw 7.8 earthquake struck the region in 2016. We measured population parameters and carried out a geomorphological assessment. We estimate that the Shearwater Stream colony supports approximately 3,000 breeding pairs. Ground deformation attributed to the 2016 earthquake did not explain the discrepancy between this estimate and the commonly cited (pre-quake) population estimate of ~8,000 pairs. We highlight the limitations of extrapolated population parameters and of using vegetation cover as a coarse proxy for colony area. We discuss how low burrow occupancy and long-term reductions in the availability of suitable habitat indicate a population at risk of decline. We highlight how stable long-term data for burrow density and breeding success may not be reliable indicators of population health at Shearwater Stream.”

Reference:

Cargill, C.P., Townsend, D., McArthur, N.R., Morgenstern, R., Morrissey, M., Sherley, G. & Bell, M. 2023. The conservation status of Hutton’s shearwater (Puffinus huttoni) at Shearwater Stream, Kaikōura, New Zealand: a small population at risk? Notornis 70: 1-13.

20 July 2023

The Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus has been identified in the study as at high risk of exposure to plastics; photograph by Pep Arcos

A comprehensive new study, led by Bethany L. Clark (BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK) in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, the British Antarctic Survey, Fauna & Flora, and the 5 Gyres Institute, has been published open access in the journal, Nature Communications. The study focuses on the world's most endangered seabirds and their potential encounters with plastics in the ocean. By analysing tracking data from 7,137 birds representing 77 petrel species and overlaying it with global plastic distribution maps, the researchers identified the areas where seabirds are most at risk of plastic exposure.

Figure 4 from the paper which depicts the risk of plastic exposure to petrels across different global zones

The abstract follows: 

“Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world’s oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation. Oceanic seabirds, particularly petrels, frequently ingest plastic, are highly threatened, and cover vast distances during foraging and migration. However, the spatial overlap between petrels and plastics is poorly understood. Here we combine marine plastic density estimates with individual movement data for 7137 birds of 77 petrel species to estimate relative exposure risk. We identify high exposure risk areas in the Mediterranean and Black seas, and the northeast Pacific, northwest Pacific, South Atlantic and southwest Indian oceans. Plastic exposure risk varies greatly among species and populations, and between breeding and non-breeding seasons. Exposure risk is disproportionately high for Threatened species. Outside the Mediterranean and Black seas, exposure risk is highest in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of the USA, Japan, and the UK. Birds generally had higher plastic exposure risk outside the EEZ of the country where they breed. We identify conservation and research priorities, and highlight that international collaboration is key to addressing the impacts of marine plastic on wide-ranging species.”

Articles about the research can be found at the websites of BirdLife and the British Antarctic Survey.

Reference:

Clark, B.L., Carneiro, A.P.B., Pearmain, E.J. et al. 2023. Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds. Nature Communication. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38900-z

19 July 2023

A Northern Buller’s Albatross off Peru, photograph by Javier Quiñones

Javier Quiñones (Instituto del Mar del Peru) and colleagues have published in the journal Notornis on the occurrence of both subspecies of the Near Threatened Buller’s Albatross Thalassarche bulleri off southern Peru.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“The current Buller’s albatross taxa (Thalassarche bulleri bulleri [southern] and T. b. platei [northern]) engage in transpacific migrations from breeding sites on New Zealand offshore islands to non-breeding areas in the south-eastern Pacific Ocean. Both taxa are identifiable from a combination of plumage colour features in the head and bill that are easy to detect at short distance (<15 m). There is also breeding allopatry between the taxa, with the onset of breeding 2.5 months earlier in the ‘northern taxon’. In this study, close-range sightings and captures of lured Buller ́s albatross individuals off southern Perú were carried out during two pelagic trips in May–July 2021 onboard a small- scale longline fishery wooden boat (12 m long), during their normal operations when targeting sharks. We report on the presence of 41 Buller ́s albatross, of which 40 were recognized as ‘northern taxon’ and one as ‘southern taxon’. The great majority of the ‘northern taxon’ were adults (92.5%), with the remaining identified as sub-adults (7.5%). Birds were sighted between 126 and 223 km offshore west-south-west from the port of Ilo, Perú (17°38.64 ́S, 71°20.77 ́W). Birds sighted were preferentially in oceanic areas above the abyssal plain (68% of sightings), with a mean depth of 4,537 m, demonstrating that the ‘northern taxon’ is a truly oceanic species. No birds were observed by us over the continental shelf. Discrimination of ‘northern taxon’ from ‘southern taxon’ is possible from a combination of the plumage colour features in the head and bill. However, identification and comparison of photographs for both taxa taken at sea can be problematic, due to varying light conditions, unless the birds can be drawn close to the photographer using attractants, such as offal discards.”

From the publication: differences between Northern and Southern Buller’s Albatrosses

His publication reported here is an outcome of his ACAP Small Grants project in 2021 entitled “Integrating an onboard observer program and remote tracking data to evaluate the interactions between the small-scale longline fisheries and adult Chatham albatrosses in their wintering grounds off Peru.”

Read about Javier’s -funded secondment in 2022 with New Zealand’s Department of Conservation that included addressing distribution data gaps of Buller’s Albatrosses and other ACAP-listed species and their overlap with the artisanal fishing effort of Peruvian longline, drift gillnet and coastal gillnet fisheries here. Access Javier’s publication on albatrosses and other seabirds in Peruvian waters from here.

A Northern Buller’s Albatross off Peru, photograph by Javier Quiñones

With thanks to Javier Quiñones.

Reference:

Quiñones, J., Zavalaga, C. & Robertson, C.J.R. 2023. Identifying northern Buller ́s albatross (Thalassarche bulleri subsp.) in offshore waters of southern Perú. Notornis 70: 49-59.

18 July 2023