“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

André F Raine, Jason Gregg, Scott Driskill & Helen Raine of Archipelago Research and Conservation, have released a report on selecting the most appropriate sites for seabird colony restoration projects in the U.S. Pacific Islands. The report, “Assessment of Seabird Restoration Priorities for the U.S. Pacific Islands” was prepared for the USFWS Migratory Bird Office and drew on data collected from interviews with 74 seabird experts and land managers. 

The Executive Summary as follows, 

“This report presents an assessment of conservation priorities for non-federally listed seabirds breeding within the U.S. Pacific Islands (USPI), with a focus on seabird colony restoration using social attraction and translocation. It covers five distinct geographic regions: the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) including Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRI). The document consists of two main sections. The first identifies which non-federally listed species are the most imperiled within the USPI through an independent species risk assessment process, including a component on climate change impacts. The second section utilizes data collected on potential colony restoration sites identified during interviews with 74 seabird experts undertaking seabird conservation work throughout the region. This wide-ranging collaborative approach presents a unique opportunity to gain a collective insight into the most appropriate sites for colony restoration projects in the USPI. “

Reference:

Raine, A.F., Gregg, J., Driskill, S. and Raine, H. (2022). Assessment of Seabird Restoration Priorities for the U.S. Pacific Islands. Archipelago Research and Conservation, Hawaiʻi, USA.  

10 April 2023

The Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) are seeking applicants to the 2023 round of fellowship and scholarship opportunities launched on Monday 3 April. 

The awards aim to attract talented early-career researchers, scientists, engineers, environmental managers, and other professionals with the purpose to strengthen international capacity and cooperation in fields such as climate, biodiversity, conservation, ecology, humanities and astrophysics research.  

In 2023, COMNAP and IAATO, which celebrates five years of Antarctic Fellowships this year, will each offer one fellowship with funding of up to USD $15,000. The fellowships enable early-career persons to join a project team from another country, opening up new opportunities and often creating partnerships that last for many years. The application processes for the COMNAP and IAATO fellowships are separate from those for the SCAR Fellowships or CCAMLR Scholarships and the eligibility criteria differ. The deadline for the COMNAP and IAATO fellowship applications is 31 July 2023.

Following the launch of the Polar Initiative in 2022, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation has funded an additional SCAR fellowship. SCAR will therefore offer four to five fellowships of up to USD $15,000 each for 2023. The details for the SCAR scheme will be similar to previous years but with the opportunity for applicants to propose partly or entirely remote Fellowships. The deadline for the SCAR fellowship applications is 31 July 2023.

The Antarctic Fellowships are launched in conjunction with the Scientific Scholarship Scheme of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). The CCAMLR Scientific Scholarship provides funding of up to AUD $30,000 to assist early-career scientists to participate in the work of the CCAMLR Scientific Committee and its working groups over a period of two years. The objective of the scheme is to build capacity within the CCAMLR scientific community to help generate and sustain the scientific expertise needed to support the work of CCAMLR in the long-term. The deadline for CCAMLR scientific scholarship applications is 31 August 2023.

All opportunities are being jointly promoted by the organisations involved.

For more information, please visit the websites of SCAR, COMNAP, IAATO and CCAMLR.

7 April 2023

A Laysan Albatross pair on Kauai, photograph by Hob Osterlund

The Albatross and Petrel Agreement has chosen “Plastic Pollution” as its theme to mark the fourth World Albatross Day, to be celebrated on 19 June 2023.  Four albatross species have been chosen to mark ’WAD2023’, to be supported by posters, infographics, artworks and a music video over the next three months.  They are the globally Endangered Northern Royal D. sanfordi endemic to New Zealand and the abundant and widespread Black-browed Thalassarche melanophris, as well as the northern hemisphere Black-footed Phoebastria nigripes and Laysan P. immutabilis, which ingest more plastic than do the other species from the southern hemisphere.

Click here to access the 12 high-resolution photo posters that mark ‘WAD2023’ in the three ACAP official languages of English, French and Spanish.  All the posters for WAD2023 have been designed by Bree Forrer, ACAP’s Communications Advisor.  ACAP requests it be acknowledged in their use for conservation purposes.  They should not be used for financial gain.

A Northern Royal Albatross guards its downy chick at New Zealand's Taiaroa Head, photograph by Oscar Thomas

Previous themes for World Albatross Day have been “Eradicating Island Pests” in 2020, “Ensuring Albatross-friendly Fisheries” in 2021 and “Climate Change” in 2022.

With grateful thanks to photographers Sharyn Broni, Wieteke Holthuijzen, Caren Loebel-Fried, Hob Osterlund, Georgina Strange, Erin Taylor, Oscar Thomas, Michelle Thompson and Eric vanderWerf, for their support of albatross conservation.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 06 April 2023