{"title":"Re-establishment of an extinct breeding colony of Brünnich’s Guillemot Uria lomvia in West Greenland","authors":"David Boertmann","doi":"10.61350/sbj.35.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61350/sbj.35.4","url":null,"abstract":"The breeding population of Brünnich’s Guillemot Uria lomvia in South and West Greenland has been decreasing for decades and some colonies have even disappeared (Merkel et al. 2014). Among these was one of the largest colonies, Salleq in Uummannaq Fjord (70°96’N 52°25’W; Figure 1), which was estimated at half a million birds in c. 1920 (Bertelsen 1921) and 150,000 birds in 1949 (Salomonsen 1950). These figures are most likely overestimations (Falk & Kampp 1997), but there is no doubt that the colony was among the largest in West Greenland. The colony then drastically decreased in size until 1975, when only 4,500 birds were counted (Falk & Kampp 1997). In 1984, there were only 150 individuals present and all were observed on the water below the cliff. In 1987, 50 birds were observed on the cliff without evidence of breeding, and the site was completely deserted by 1990 (Evans & Kampp 1991).\u0000\u0000The same fate was recorded for Black-legged Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla (hereafter ‘Kittiwakes’) and Razorbills Alca torda. The former declined from around 10,000 pairs in 1949, to 800 nests in 1975 and to zero in 1994 (F. Salomonsen unpublished; Boertmann et al. 1996). Razorbills declined from a few pairs in 1949 and 1975 to zero in 1994 (Boertmann et al. 1996). However, no population changes have been recorded for the Northern Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis which breed in huge numbers on the cliff.\u0000 \u0000The decline and extinction of the Salleq Brünnich’s Guillemot colony in the decades after the Second World War was primarily caused by excessive hunting during spring. Fleischer (1994), the former editor of a Greenlandic newspaper, described how in the 1930s it was common in spring, when sea ice still covered the waters, to camp below the Salleq cliff and hunt hundreds of Brünnich’s Guillemots in a day. This occurred every spring, and people would travel from afar to participate in this hunt. This high hunting pressure was reflected in a higher recovery rate of ringed birds from Salleq in comparison to colonies in other parts of West Greenland (Kampp 1991). Naturally, the colony could not sustain such hunting pressure across multiple decades, and eventually disappeared. Another factor impacting the Brünnich’s Guillemot populations in West Greenland was bycatch by an extensive offshore drift net fishery for Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar, which peaked around 1970 and stopped in 1976 (Falk & Durinck 1991).","PeriodicalId":309759,"journal":{"name":"Seabird Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135400640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Inter-colony variation in the foraging behaviour and resource selection of breeding Herring Gulls Larus argentatus","authors":"Nina O'Hanlon, Ruedi Nager","doi":"10.61350/sbj.35.6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61350/sbj.35.6","url":null,"abstract":"The resources available to breeding seabirds within their foraging ranges can influence productivity, either directly through the quality and quantity of food consumed by chicks, or indirectly by affecting the foraging behaviour and efficiency of parent birds. Where local resource availability is low, or the quality of resources are poor, species with flexible time-energy budgets can increase their foraging effort to provide adequate energy and nutrients to their chicks, although this may come at the expense of nest attendance. We investigated provisioning rates and nest attendance in European Herring Gulls Larus argentatus from seven colonies across southwest Scotland and Northern Ireland during two chick-rearing periods (2013 and 2014) in relation to the food resources used by these colonies. We observed variation in provisioning rates and nest attendance between colonies, and variation between years in nest attendance. We found no significant relationships between these behaviours and the proportion of intertidal prey consumed, suggesting that provisioning rate and nest attendance did not differ between resource types at the colony level. We also found no evidence that variation in behaviours was related to breeding success. Our results suggest that, within this region, the type of resources consumed had a greater influence on Herring Gull breeding success than differences in two proxies of foraging efficiency (provisioning rate and nest attendance), although other factors may also have influenced breeding success. Our work highlights the benefit of determining what food resources are provided to chicks, in addition to measuring foraging behaviours, to fully understand the consequences of consuming different resources on the breeding success of generalist foragers.","PeriodicalId":309759,"journal":{"name":"Seabird Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135401345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Historic evidence of the use of storm-petrels Hydrobates sp. as candles","authors":"Alexander Bond, Jógvan Hammer, Sjúrður Hammer","doi":"10.61350/sbj.35.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61350/sbj.35.1","url":null,"abstract":"Many recent accounts of storm-petrel biology and conservation, particularly in the North Atlantic Ocean, refer to chicks of Leach’s Storm-petrels Hydrobates leucorhous and European Storm-petrels H. pelagicus being used as candles, particularly in Ireland, Scotland, and the Faroe Islands. Here, we examine the historical, ethnographical, and museum evidence for this practice. Most accounts are second-hand, and only a handful of examples exist and can be verified either as photographs, first- person accounts, or museum specimens. We conclude that the practice was not likely to be widespread, and its perception was perpetuated by reproductions and exaggerations by visiting naturalists in the eighteenth to twentieth centuries.","PeriodicalId":309759,"journal":{"name":"Seabird Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135402166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xabier Remírez, Francisco del Campo, Javier del Campo, Juan Arizaga
{"title":"Movement patterns of immature Yellow-legged Gulls Larus michahellis from Gran Canaria, Canary Islands","authors":"Xabier Remírez, Francisco del Campo, Javier del Campo, Juan Arizaga","doi":"10.61350/sbj.35.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61350/sbj.35.2","url":null,"abstract":"The Yellow-legged Gull subspecies Larus michahellis atlantis is thought to be resident in the Macaronesia islands, however, the movement patterns of the population remain largely unknown. We conducted an eight-year (2010–19) ringing and re-sighting program on the island of Gran Canaria (GC), Canary Islands, with an aim of estimating the movement patterns of its gull populations. Re-sighting data revealed that most gulls were observed within 50 km of their natal sites; the farthest locality where studied gulls were seen was Dakhla (500 km from GC) in northwestern Africa. Our findings are compatible with the Yellow-legged Gulls adopting either a GC residency with some dispersal to other islands within the Canary Islands archipelago or to northern Africa, or a true partial migration strategy. Return to GC by some of the gulls that were observed outside GC suggests that philopatry to their natal site could be high, though this should be the focus of further investigation.","PeriodicalId":309759,"journal":{"name":"Seabird Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135402183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Snæþór Aðalsteinsson, Aïda López, Thomas Bregnballe
{"title":"Timing of spring migration of Norwegian Great Cormorants: long-term trends and effects of winter severity","authors":"Snæþór Aðalsteinsson, Aïda López, Thomas Bregnballe","doi":"10.61350/sbj.35.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61350/sbj.35.5","url":null,"abstract":"Migratory birds are showing species-specific responses to climate change through changes in phenology, distribution and abundance. While many bird observatories collect standardised data on migratory passerines to provide invaluable information on changes in their abundances and migratory phenology, some bird observatories also undertake visual observations of passing migratory waterbirds and seabirds. In this study, we use two such long-term datasets of Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) compiled during their spring migration. We explore the extent to which winter severity has affected their migration phenology and whether there have been long-term trends in migration timing. Observations were conducted at Lista Bird Observatory in southwest Norway (1992–2020) and at Skagen in north Jutland, Denmark (1974–98). At Skagen, there were no detectable long-term trends in Great Cormorant migratory timing. However, the median date (marking the passage of 50% of birds) was significantly advanced following warm winters. Changes in the date of passage of the first 10% of birds was close to doing so as well, but the late phase (the passage of 90% of birds) showed no relation to temperature. At Lista, winter temperatures in the southern part of the wintering area had no significant effect on the overall timing of the spring passage, but the first 10% of the Cormorants migrated significantly earlier in years with mild late March temperatures at Lista. The early phase of passage at Lista showed a significant long-term trend towards an advancement of migration, leading to an extended migration period. The findings of this study indicate that the timing of Great Cormorant spring migration does in some cases respond to late winter temperatures or show long-term trends, but that the responses and trends differ between sites and between the beginning, middle and late phases of the migration, with the early and middle phases generally showing stronger responses and trends than the late phase.","PeriodicalId":309759,"journal":{"name":"Seabird Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135400488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Clare Alley, Shanice Arkless, Ellie Ames, Mark Abrahams, Louise Gentle, M. Wood
{"title":"Plastic ingestion in adult and fledgling Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus on Skomer Island, Wales","authors":"Clare Alley, Shanice Arkless, Ellie Ames, Mark Abrahams, Louise Gentle, M. Wood","doi":"10.61350/sbj.34.33","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61350/sbj.34.33","url":null,"abstract":"Plastic debris is ubiquitous in the marine environment, and seabirds are among the most impacted marine vertebrates. Plastic ingestion was investigated in an internationally-important breeding population of Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus on Skomer Island, Wales in 2018–19. Opportunistic necropsies were carried out on a total of 34 birds to collect contents of the gastrointestinal tract: 13 adults from April to July 2019 and 12 fledglings during September 2019, and a further nine opportunistic necropsies carried out from adults from July to September 2018. The presence, quantity, size and colour of plastic in the gastrointestinal tract was investigated. Plastic was found in 71% of Manx Shearwater stomachs (68% of adults, 75% of fledglings). Adults were found to have larger plastic pieces in their gastrointestinal tract than fledglings, and lighter birds had larger pieces of plastic in their tracts than heavier birds. This study shows that Manx Shearwaters on Skomer Island are vulnerable to plastic ingestion, and that adults are likely to pass plastic to their chicks.","PeriodicalId":309759,"journal":{"name":"Seabird Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132157161","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Natassia Bacco-Mannina, Heidi Acampora, Ian O'Connor, Stephen Newton, Katie O'Dwyer
{"title":"An investigation into factors contributing to mortality of young terns at a managed colony","authors":"Natassia Bacco-Mannina, Heidi Acampora, Ian O'Connor, Stephen Newton, Katie O'Dwyer","doi":"10.61350/sbj.34.45","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61350/sbj.34.45","url":null,"abstract":"Terns are a highly migratory group of seabirds that are found worldwide. In Ireland, there are five species of commonly breeding tern: Little Tern Sternula albifrons, Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii, Arctic Tern S. paradisaea, Common Tern S. hirundo and Sandwich Tern S. sandvicensis. Prior work has demonstrated that whilst many Irish tern species, including Common and Roseate Terns, are increasing in abundance, the productivity of these species can be low. Multiple factors may influence the ability of adult terns to successfully raise chicks, including food availability, provisioning rates, colony density, dependence effects, and/or disease. Here, we investigated factors contributing to the mortality of young terns from Rockabill Island in the Republic of Ireland, which supports the largest breeding population of Roseate Terns in Europe. To better understand the factors contributing to the deaths of young birds, we analysed the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of necropsies of 60 young Common, Arctic and Roseate Terns. Of the carcasses that we examined, 41 showed congested blood circulation in the lungs and head simultaneously, and of the remaining 19 birds, only five presented a clear cause of death. Here, we outline descriptions of these carcasses in addition to recommendations of further investigations that might help to confirm the causal factors leading to young tern mortality.","PeriodicalId":309759,"journal":{"name":"Seabird Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125432365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Emma Cunningham, Amandine Gamble, Tom Hart, E. Humphreys, Emma Philip, Glen Tyler, M. Wood
{"title":"The incursion of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) into North Atlantic seabird populations: an interim report from the 15th International Seabird Group conference","authors":"Emma Cunningham, Amandine Gamble, Tom Hart, E. Humphreys, Emma Philip, Glen Tyler, M. Wood","doi":"10.61350/sbj.34.67","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.61350/sbj.34.67","url":null,"abstract":"The H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak devastated populations of North Atlantic seabirds in the 2022 breeding season. Positive cases of HPAI in seabirds were previously reported in Great Skuas Stercorarius skua colonies in the 2021 breeding season (Banyard et al. 2022). During the 2022 breeding season, major outbreaks were sequentially reported in an increasing number of species and spread generally north to south across the UK and beyond. To date 15 breeding seabird species have tested positive in Scotland and over 20,500 birds have been reported dead (NatureScot, unpublished data). By September 2022, more than 2,600 Great Skuas had died: 13% of the UK population and 8% of the world population (NatureScot, unpublished data), 1,400 on Foula, Shetland alone (Camphuysen & Gear 2022; Camphuysen et al. 2022). These figures are derived mostly from colony counts and will be a substantial underestimate of total mortality, not accounting for birds lost at sea or remote locations with limited reporting. In response to this unfolding situation, a workshop was convened in August 2022, at the 15th International Seabird Group Conference in Cork, to bring together the seabird community (researchers, ringers, volunteers, site managers, non- government organisations and policymakers) and infectious disease experts to share knowledge and experiences and recommend positive future actions. This report focuses on three key considerations addressed by the workshop, and will be followed by a full open-access report on the EcoEvoRxiv repository. All six presen- tations can be viewed online (Gamble et al. 2022). The workshop’s key points were shared at the JNCC-BTO 'UK Workshop on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Wild Birds' on 10 November 2022 and are being fed into ongoing policy discussions around future surveillance needs and requirements. The views expressed here reflect the wider discussion expressed by the seabird community in the workshop that followed the presentations and should not be associated with any individual author.","PeriodicalId":309759,"journal":{"name":"Seabird Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127379468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}