Future Directions in Conservation Research on Petrels and Shearwaters

Airam Rodríguez,Robert A Ronconi,William A Montevecchi,Marc Travers,James C Russell,Stephen C Votier,Ingrid L Pollet,Edward F Melvin,Beneharo Rodríguez,Ross M Wanless,Raül Ramos,Sébastien Descamps,Peter Hodum,Matthieu Le Corre,Francisco Ramírez,Vicki L Friesen,Nick D Holmes,André F Raine,Vincent Bretagnolle,Verónica Cortés,Elsa Bonnaud,André Chiaradia,Stephanie B Borrelle,April Hedd,Maria P Dias,Peter G Ryan,Meritxell Genovart,Patrick Pinet,Rebecca S Taylor,Dena R Spatz,Grant R W Humphries,Camille Lebarbenchon,Jennifer F Provencher ,Maité Louzao ,Eric J Woehler ,Robert W Martin ,José Manuel Arcos ,Ana Sanz‐Aguilar

doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00094

Abstract

Shearwaters and petrels (hereafter petrels) are highly adapted seabirds that occur across all the world’s oceans. Petrels are a threatened seabird group comprising 124 species. They have bet-hedging life histories typified by extended chick rearing periods, low fecundity, high adult survival, strong philopatry, monogamy and long-term mate fidelity and are thus vulnerable to change. Anthropogenic alterations on land and at sea have led to a poor conservation status of many petrels with 52 (42%) threatened species based on IUCN criteria and 65 (52%) suffering population declines. Some species are well-studied, even being used as bioindicators of ocean health, yet for others there are major knowledge gaps regarding their breeding grounds, migratory areas or other key aspects of their biology and ecology. We assembled 38 petrel conservation researchers to summarize information regarding the most important threats according to the IUCN Red List of threatened species to identify knowledge gaps that must be filled to improve conservation and management of petrels. We highlight research advances on the main threats for petrels (invasive species at breeding grounds, bycatch, overfishing, light pollution, climate change, and pollution). We propose an ambitious goal to reverse at least some of these six main threats, through active efforts such as restoring island habitats (e.g., invasive species removal, control and prevention), improving policies and regulations at global and regional levels, and engaging local communities in conservation efforts.

Highlights

Humans have transformed ecosystems on an unprecedented global scale, driving a growing number of species to decline and extinction (Jenkins, 2003)
The Order Procellariiformes (Class Aves) is one of the most endangered avian groups (Croxall et al, 2012) and the percentage of threatened species is higher than Aves overall (Figure 1)
We focus on the 124 species of three out of four families from the Order Procellariiformes: Procellaridae, Oceanitidae, and Hydrobatidae (BirdLife International, 2018a), hereafter collectively referred to as “petrels.”

Summary

Introduction

Humans have transformed ecosystems on an unprecedented global scale, driving a growing number of species to decline and extinction (Jenkins, 2003). The increasing human population living along coasts is putting a severe burden on marine and coastal environments through urban development, infrastructure for energy production and transport, fisheries, eutrophication, ocean acidification and invasion by alien species (Barnosky et al, 2016). The Order Procellariiformes (Class Aves) is one of the most endangered avian groups (Croxall et al, 2012) and the percentage of threatened species is higher than Aves overall (Figure 1). They are one of the most adapted groups of seabirds to the marine environment, traveling long distances and spending most of their lives over vast open oceans. We focus on the 124 species of three out of four families from the Order Procellariiformes: Procellaridae (petrels and shearwaters), Oceanitidae (southern storm-petrels), and Hydrobatidae (northern storm-petrels) (BirdLife International, 2018a), hereafter collectively referred to as “petrels.”

Objectives

Findings

Methods