abstracts of oral and poster presentations - Pacific Seabird Group

JAPAN; 3 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, OR USA; 4 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Honolulu, HI
USA
All North Pacific albatrosses are listed as threatened by the IUCN; therefore, detection of changes in
their populations is critical. We analyzed colony surveys of these species across their range for the period of
1976 to the present. The population of Short-tailed Albatrosses (Phoebastria albatrus) currently consists of
2,000 birds, is distributed between the Senkaku and Torishima breeding colonies, and is growing at 7.5%/year.
The Black-footed Albatross (P. nigripes) population contains 290,000 birds, with 95% of the pairs nesting in
Hawaii and the remainder on Japanese islands. In Hawaii, Black-footed Albatross populations appear to be
declining slightly, while, on Torishima, the population is growing at 8.5%/year. The Laysan Albatross (P.
immutabilis) population consists of 3.1 million birds, nests primarily in the Hawaiian Islands, and appears to be
increasing slightly. We project population changes for all three albatross species under several scenarios of agespecific
survival and fecundity.
PROTECTING PENGUINS WITH CREATIVE OCEAN ZONING IN THE SW ATLANTIC
Elizabeth Skewes* (skewes@u.washington.edu) and P. Dee Boersma; Department of Biology, University of
Washington, Seattle, WA USA
Less than 0.5% of the oceans are protected (compared with 11.5% of the Earth’s land surface), and the
status of many marine species continues to deteriorate. Strong political and economic forces oppose the creation
of protected areas that would restrict exploitation of marine resources. In the SW Atlantic, human activities
such as fishing, shipping, oil exploration and transport, and pollution are putting increasing pressure on marine
ecosystems. Most Magellanic Penguins migrate north from their colonies along the Atlantic coast during the
austral winter, following a “highway” along the coast from May to July. We document that few marine areas
around Magellanic Penguin breeding colonies are currently protected and that the penguin migration route has
no protection. Because the birds remain for the most part inside the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of coastal
nations, penguin protection can be implemented at a national level. We propose the designation of a national
park with temporal zones to protect penguins and their prey sources during migration and wintering. This novel
approach of having a spatial and temporal protected area for a few months of the year could minimize conflicts
between people and penguins, with little impact on human economic activities.
WHERE TO FISH FORAGING ECOLOGY AND HABITAT USE OF JUAN FERNANDEZ PETRELS
DURING CHICK REARING
Jo Smith* (josmith@u.washington.edu); University of Washington, Seattle, WA USA
During chick-rearing, long-lived pelagic birds must balance adult body condition against the flow of
energy to chicks. Some groups, in particular procellariiforms, use alternating short- and long-duration trips to
meet these demands. I am interested in the linkages between adult behaviours, the use of oceanic habitats, and
ultimately, chick growth or survival. Using a combination of data from bird-borne archival data loggers,
remotely sensed (satellite) data, and colony studies during early and late chick rearing, I am studying the
foraging ecology of Juan Fernández Petrels (Pterodroma externa), an endemic seabird of the Robinson Crusoe
Islands, Chile. In 2004, foraging trips lasted between 1 and 18 days (mean 4.1; n = 87 trips), with both short (1–
3 d) and long (4–18 d) trips observed in marked birds. One-third of all chicks were fed on any given night, and
individually marked adults (n = 53) made 1 to 3 provisioning trips (n = 24 nights; 18 Feb–13 Mar). Adults
traveled to oceanic habitats characterised by minimal sea-surface temperatures ranging from 10° to 20°C (n = 16
trips), placing them in the Subtropical Zone, coastal-upwelling areas (Humboldt Current), or Subantarctic Zone.
Cold water masses (