Subantarctic island seabird survey published
Subantarctic island seabirds were monitored on an expedition four years ago and the findings, showing some decline, have just been published.
The Australasian Antarctic Expedition 2013-14 gathered enormous amounts of data, which are gradually being analysed and published. Trust Chair, Kerry-Jayne Wilson, led the seabird research.
The expedition presented an opportunity to add to existing knowledge on the distribution and abundance of seabirds on the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island, for example, observations of cliff nesting species on Enderby Island (Auckland Islands) are reported.
The distribution of burrow breeding petrels has been poorly documented, especially so at the Auckland Islands where petrels were surveyed on Ewing, Masked and Figure of Eight Islands. Ewing Island is of particular interest as seabird abundance and diversity has apparently declined with the spread of an introduced tree daisy.
As climate is projected to become more variable and sea conditions change, inshore foraging, sub-Antarctic birds such as penguins, shags and terns are likely to be affected and long term monitoring could provide useful insights and indicators to change. The report reviews the data on shag and Antarctic tern numbers on the islands visited and recommends colonies for regular monitoring.
Read the full report here:
Subantarctic skua nesting on Ewing Island (Kerry-Jayne Wilson)
