United States

**Abstract:**

Plastic pollution ingestion by seabirds is an increasing environmental problem even in remote areas such as the Arctic, yet knowledge on plastic pollution ingestion by several Arctic seabirds is limited, making it difficult to assess trends. We examined plastic pollution ingestion by northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis), black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) and black guillemots (Cepphus grylle) in the Canadian Arctic to assess species-specific and temporal differences in plastic ingestion over ten years. Seventy-two percent of fulmars and 15% of kittiwakes ingested plastic, while guillemots and murres did not. The number and mass of plastic ingested by fulmars decreased between the two periods (2008 and 2018), but the frequency of occurrence of plastic ingestion did not change, although sample sizes were less than ideal. Future research with larger samples is recommended to reinforce these trends in plastic ingestion by Arctic seabirds.

**Authors:**

Julia Baak¹, Jennifer Provencher², Mark Mallory³

¹McGill University, ²Environment and Climate Change Canada, ³Acadia University

3rd World Seabird Conference

Plastic ingestion by four seabird species in the Canadian Arctic: Comparisons across species and time

Welcome Seabirders!  

Welcome to Virtual World Seabird Conference 3 - vWSC3! Whether you are in your office or lab, at home, in a coffee shop or bar poaching some wifi, or at a remote field site or research vessel – we are very excited to welcome you to the third ever World Seabird Conference. 

We would like to thank ALL of you for being so patient as WSC3 was scheduled, postponed, rescheduled, revised to virtual, and scheduled again. Throughout all those iterations there was one message that remained perfectly clear – seabirders were eager to meet and share their science. If we could not meet in person then virtual it would have to be, but a 3rd WSC was something everyone wanted. That support and commitment helped the WSU Board of Directors and Member Societies sort through all of the challenges they faced to plan and hold this conference. 

The list of those that need to be thanked is long and, while we plan on recognizing many during the live closing plenary, it is important to do so here in writing as well. 

The Australasian Seabird Group was our Local Host for our plan to meet in Hobart, Tasmania. They invested substantial time and effort to find venues and plan events that we unfortunately were not able to visit. Nonetheless we appreciate their work on behalf of WSC3 and encourage all of you to thank them when you see their members in Gathertown or elsewhere during our virtual meeting. Their willingness to host created the initial excitement for WSC3 and without that our vWSC would not have been possible.

We also wish to thank the Science Program Committee, the Virtual Committee, and the Early Career Scientist Committee for their hard work planning the logistics, events, and schedule for vWSC3. These committees also had to deal with changing parameters and short timelines that made what is always a challenging task even more challenging. The Travel Awards Committee also invested time and effort in developing procedures for awarding travel funds that ultimately would not be implemented. 

Our ability to shift from an in-person to a virtual meeting, and to do so in a way that would be financially feasible, was due to the effective efforts of The International Fundraising Committee and to our financial sponsors. The IFC raised funds to support WSC3 and then, through the good relationships they built with sponsors, ensured we could re-envision how those funds could be used to support a virtual conference that would be affordable and high-quality.

We all owe the WSU Board of Directors and the Representatives of the Member Societies a great deal of thanks. They are the ones who manage the WSU and, for the past 18 months, have had to have a series of challenging meetings and conversations, have had to make a series of difficult choices, have had to do all of that while considering the short- and long-term health of WSU and the World Seabird Conferences, and did this while also managing their own challenges at their day jobs. We are grateful for their diligence, patience, foresight, and throughout all of the meetings, their collegiality. Also – a 6-year term is quite a commitment!

There would not be a WSC3 without a successful WSC1 and WSC2. Thanks go to the Pacific Seabird Group for their support of WSC1 in Victoria, Canada, and to the African Seabird Group for their support of WSC2 in Cape Town, South Africa. In each of these endeavors and for our current conference we were fortunate to work with a dependable and trustworthy partner in Podium Conferences. Michelle Smith and Marischal de Armond have become valued members of our team and have not only helped us plan conferences but have assisted and advised the WSU Chairs and Board on issues above and beyond conference planning. 

As we embark on our vWSC3 week we extend to all of you our thanks for showing up, for being patient, and most importantly for the work you do with seabirds. We are all part of a unique, global community that shares an interest, a fascination, and a passion for birds that make a living in our world’s oceans. We have advanced the science, conservation, and management of seabirds as well the ecosystems they inhabit. We are consistently impressed and motivated by the work you do. 

The WSU formed in 2010 because we saw the need for a global organization to address challenges at a global level. Over the past 11 years WSU has grown, adapted, and evolved to become the community that this week is making vWSC3 a reality. Enjoy the week, appreciate and support the friends and colleagues you have made in the community, and if you see us in a virtual hallway please stop and say hello! 

Thank you for the opportunity to serve all of you and the WSU over the past few years,

Nicholas Carlile, Interim Chair, WSU<br>
Patrick Jodice, 2nd Chair of the WSU<br><br>

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Join us for four days of science, networking and virtual engagement with delegates from around the world!

poster

**Abstract:**

Ingestion of plastic by marine fauna has been reported all around the world and affects a large number of seabirds including albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, seagulls and boobies. Most of the studies on plastic ingestion by seabirds realized so far have been focusing in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans but no information has been published on this issue in the western Indian Ocean. In this study we investigated plastic ingestion in nine seabird species breeding or foraging at Reunion Island and at Juan de Nova (Mozambique Channel), among which two species are endemic and endangered (the Barau's Petrel, Pterodroma baraui) or critically endangered (the Mascarene petrel, Pseudobulweria aterrima). We analyzed the stomach contents of 222 individuals and showed the most affected species are tropical shearwaters (79%) and Barau's petrels (59%). The average number of plastic particles per contaminated bird was higher in Barau's petrels (6.10 ± 1.29) than in tropical shearwaters (3.84 ± 0.59) and all other studied species also showed plastic presence in their stomach contents to a lesser extent. We analyzed differences in plastic ingestion between juveniles and adults for three different species: Barau's petrels, tropical shearwaters and white-tailed tropicbirds. We showed significantly more plastic particles in juveniles of Barau's petrels than in adults and a significantly higher mass of plastic particles both in juveniles Barau's petrels and tropical shearwaters than in adults of these two species. These results demonstrate that the foraging areas of seabirds of the western Indian Ocean have a high level of plastic pollution. In Reunion Island, hundreds of tropical shearwaters and Barau's petrels are attracted by urban lights and die each year so we suggest to take advantage of this situation by using these species as long-term indicators of plastic marine pollution in the region. Keywords: plastic ingestion, seabird, marine pollution, Indian Ocean, Pterodroma baraui, Puffinus bailloni.

**Authors:**

Audrey Cartraud¹, Matthieu Le Corre¹, Jean Turquet¹, Julie Tourmetz¹

¹Université de La Réunion

Plastic ingestion in seabirds of the western Indian Ocean

**Abstract:**

In complex oil spill response operations, focusing tactics and strategies are essential in order to optimise mitigation and reduce impacts on seabirds and other vulnerable biological resources. Along the more than 100 000 km of Norwegian shoreline, distribution of different species varies significantly over the year, and the coastal environment varies diversely in terms of water depth, extent of intertidal areas, and degree of wave exposure. In order to address these challenges, a set of priorities and strategies have been developed towards presence of ecological groups of seabirds and shorebirds, linked to the barrier philosophy of Norwegian oil spill response. The priorities depend on a combination of temporal seabird habitat use and spill drift patterns linked to the oceanographic and seascape characteristics and needs to be linked to spill response tactics taking into account operational factors including water depth, wave exposure and access to the shoreline. This approach allows for a systematic decision support, to be applied under the spill response planning as well as operations identifying which response units and tactics to be deployed where, depending on time of the year, presence of species and operational conditions of the coastal environment.

**Authors:**

Geir Skeie¹, Geir Helge Rødlie Systad²

¹Akvaplan-niva, ²Norwegian Institute for Nature Research

Protecting seabirds by targeted and focused species-specific oil spill response strategies

**Abstract:**

The Northern Gannet Morus bossanus is an avian sentinel; the largest breeding seabird in Ireland and an obligate piscivore. Gannet eggs were collected from two island colonies off the east coast of Ireland, approximately 150km from each other, in locations with divergent history of industrialization (n = 10-20). Levels of potentially harmful contaminants including Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), Organochlorine pesticides (OCs), heavy metals and mercury were measured and differences of contaminant concentrations between different colonies compared. This is the first such study of contaminant levels in Gannet, or in any seabird egg in Ireland. Stable isotopes of carbon (d13C) and nitrogen (d15N) were measured in each egg to understand the influence of diet in contaminant levels detected. Significantly higher levels of PCBs, PBDEs and mercury were detected near Dublin (Ireland's industrialized capital city and location of its largest port) compared to Wexford. No differences were observed in levels of OCs and heavy metals between the two colonies. Stable isotope analysis demonstrated that Gannets in both locations occupy the same dietary niche excluding a difference in diet as the driver of differing contaminant levels in the two feeding areas. Though Gannets travel significant distances when foraging for food (~200km) tracking studies have shown that Gannets colonies maintain exclusive feeding areas with little overlap between neighbouring colonies. Differences between colonies within the feeding range of Gannets can therefore be detected despite Gannet's high dispersal ability. These results are in concurrence with elevated levels of contaminants in lower trophic level organisms that have been found in Dublin Bay compared to the rest of Ireland, indicating potential for Gannets as a higher trophic level indicator - though variability in their diet, including feeding on fishing discard, may lead to unacceptable levels of variability for an indicator species.

**Authors:**

Andrew Power¹, Philip White¹, Brendan McHugh², Sinead Murphy¹, Simon Berrow¹, Moira Schlingermann¹, Stephen Newton³, Linda O'Hea², Brian Boyle², Marissa Tannian², Denis Crowley², Evin McGovern², Ian O'Connor¹

¹Galway Mayo Institute of Technology, ²Marine Institute, ³BirdWatch Ireland

Persistent organic pollutants and heavy metal concentrations in Northen Gannet (Morus bossanus) eggs in two island colonies in Ireland

**Abstract:**

In our industrialized world huge amounts of pollutants that are persistent to environmental degradation are released into air and water each year. Many, known to cause severe harm to health and environment, have been banned from the markets in several countries for decades by now. However, due to their stability they will continue to exist for decades to come. In our study we investigated the concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites (DDX) in embryos from failed eggs of the smallest seabird breeding in Antarctica, the Wilson's storm-petrel (Oceanites oceanicus). By atmospheric transport, organic pollutants reach the remotest areas of the world such as Antarctica. When deposited in polar areas, low temperatures and limited solar radiation lead to long environmental residence times, and they bioaccumulate in biota. To investigate if exposure to pollutants in their food changed over time we compared samples collected at King George Island from the early 2000s to recent years. We detected eight PCBs and two DDX in the embryos. Additionally we found seven more PCBs that could be qualified, but had concentrations below quantification limits. We found a high increase in concentrations in embryos during their last third of development. In general we found higher concentrations in samples from the early 2000s compared to more recent years. This decrease over time is reported also for other pelagic species, and could show a positive effect of the ban of these substances in many countries.

**Authors:**

Nadja Kuepper¹, Leonard Böhm¹, Paco Bustamante², Marcela Libertelli³, Petra Quillfeldt¹

¹Justus Liebig University of Giessen, ²Université de La Rochelle, ³Instituto Antártico Argentino

Decreasing concentrations of persistent organic pollutant in embryos of the Wilson's storm-petrel

**Abstract:**

In the UK, seabird populations are typically monitored during the breeding season when most species aggregate at colonies and accurate, cost-effective, surveillance can take place. Most seabird species, however, spend much of their lives at sea and a large proportion of the total population comprises immature birds or non-breeding adults which cannot be monitored using land-based surveys. Monitoring seabirds at sea is, therefore, essential to fully understand their population status, to identify trend drivers and to ensure appropriate and timely mitigation of them. At sea monitoring is usually delivered using boats or aircraft and, consequently, tends to be both expensive and logistically challenging. Regular at sea monitoring programmes are therefore rare. In 2018, JNCC began developing the Volunteer Seabirds at Sea (VSAS) programme and, in collaboration with CalMac Ferries and their Marine Awareness Programme, completed an inaugural survey season in 2019. The VSAS programme trains volunteer surveyors to collect high quality seabirds at sea data from ferries using the standard European Seabirds at Sea method. Data are captured and validated in real-time using rugged waterproof tablets with a bespoke application. This has removed the considerable input and validation time required for more traditional paper-based data capture systems. VSAS has demonstrated that citizen science schemes can be developed to provide a low-cost solution for the collection of high-quality seabirds at sea data.

**Authors:**

Tim Dunn¹, Mark Lewis¹, Danni Thompson¹

¹JNCC

Development and delivery of a citizen science seabirds at sea monitoring programme

**Abstract:**

Marine ecosystems worldwide are changing rapidly, and most marine systems lack well-developed biological indices. In the Gulf of Maine, rapid warming has coincided with major changes to breeding populations of seabirds, especially the Arctic (Sterna paradisaea) and Common Tern (S. hirundo). To investigate their potential as bioindicators, we examined trends in chick diets and reproductive measures in relation to bottom-up and top-down forcing. We used structural equation modeling, cluster analysis, and link tree analysis to investigate data from six (Arctic) and ten (Common) colonies, between 1991-2017. Both species showed major changes to their diets over time, coinciding with clear regime shifts in oceanographic properties and plankton communities. Arctic Terns fed chicks white hake (Urophycis tenuis) and Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) in the 1990s, whereas Common Terns relied primarily on herring and sand lance (Ammodytes spp.). Between 2002-2008, salinity and temperatures decreased and preferred prey became less common alongside reduced tern reproductive success; small copepod Centropages typicus also declined. From 2010 onwards, temperatures increased and promoted species more tolerant of warm water; herring declined and was replaced by other taxa in tern diets. Arctic Terns consumed more white hake, while Common Terns integrated more gadoids and rarely seen taxa into their diets, each improving their reproduction from the previous decade. Lobster landings and herring price correlated with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, and worked as a combined index for stress of large gulls; predation by gulls on tern eggs increased following warming and the decline of the herring fishery. These relationships illustrate the interconnectedness of this ecosystem, where herring and its productivity are strongly affected by top-down and bottom-up forcing, and have cascading effects on gulls and terns. Both tern species have potential as bioindicators, especially using diet data associated with specific ecosystem states. Top-down forcing reduces the indicator potential of most reproductive data except asymptotic mass of chicks.

**Authors:**

Lauren Scopel¹, Antony Diamond¹, Kevin Friedland², Stephen Kress³, Paula Shannon⁴, Linda Welch⁵, Sara Williams⁵

¹University of New Brunswick, ²Northeast Fisheries Science Center, ³Cornell University, ⁴National Audubon Society Seabird Institute, ⁵US Fish and Wildlife Service

Shifting ecosystem states are reflected in diets of Arctic (Sterna paradisaea) and Common Terns (S. hirundo) in the Gulf of Maine

**Abstract:**

Extinction of species and population declines are occurring globally as a consequence of human activities, including the occurrence of urbanization processes transforming the structure of natural habitats and exposing organisms to novel environmental challenges. That is the current scenario in the northern coasts of Argentina, as well as Uruguay and Southern Brazil, regularly used as winter quarters by the Olrog's gull (Larus atlanticus). This regionally threatened species was formerly known to be specialized in crabs but now to have incorporated a range of anthropogenic items in its diet. As part of an ongoing long-term study on the foraging ecology and health status of the Olrog's gull we investigated the impact of urbanization on the body condition of free-living individuals, measuring a range of blood parameters as indicators of body condition. Eighty-two gulls (46 juveniles and 36 adults) were captured at two sites with radically different levels of urbanization. Body weight, and levels of hematocrit, red and white blood cells, mean cell volume, heterophils, lymphocytes, eosinophils, monocytes, basophils, heterophils-lymphocytes ratio, glucose, uric acid, total protein, cholesterol, and triglyceride were determined. Most of parameters didn't show significant differences between the two populations. However, independently of sex and age, individuals from areas with low urbanization showed higher values of uric acid (1052.53±452.35 µmol/l), and lower levels of cholesterol (6.47±1.76 mmol/l) than individuals from highly impacted areas (455.08±305.69 µmol/l and 8.35±3.07 mmol/l, respectively). Adults from areas with low urbanization showed lower values of hematocrit than adults from impacted areas (39.14±7.47% and 44.00±4.68%, respectively). These differences in blood parameters could be considered as proxy indicators of health condition in Olrog's gulls exposed to urbanization in winter quarters. Further studies should focus on the effect of individual condition on the species recruitment and breeding success, taking into account the endemism, reduced population size and fragile conservation status of the species.

**Authors:**

GERMAN GARCIA¹, Melina Castano¹, Tomás Córdoba¹, Jesica Paz¹, Francisco Zumpano¹, Marco Favero¹

¹Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (UNMdP-CONICET)

Effect of urbanization on the individual condition of the regionally threatened Olrog´ gull

**Abstract:**

Kelp gulls (Larus dominicanus) are marine seabirds with generalist and opportunistic feeding habits, which allow them to take advantage of the urban waste. However, this food usually contains toxic substances and contaminated food that could influence their health condition. To assess the health of kelp gulls that feed of these types of food, we obtained values of diverse biochemical parameters, plasmatic enzymes and pathogenic bacteria of kelp gulls on an urban landfill in Patagonia, Argentina. Values of glucose obtained were similar than those previously reported for this species when using fishery discards at a closer site in Patagonia and for other species of gulls in the literature. However, the average of total proteins, triglycerides and cholesterol showed lower values than those reported for kelp gulls in general and other species of gulls, which could indicate a diet with a low supply of protein and fat resulting of the ingest of urban domestic food. Except for alanine transaminase that showed lower values, the lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, and aspartate transaminase were higher than those previously reported for other gull species. All the enzymes are involved in the cellular metabolism, and taken together, plus other physiological parameters, they can inform about the correct function of organs and tissues and their variations reflect hepatic, myocardium and tissue diseases, damage or trauma. Although, we expected that gulls feeding on urban waste showed presence of enteropathogenic bacteria that are commonly associated to the human, except for Escherichia coli that were present in 7 gulls out of the 35 sampled, the rest of bacteria tested Salmonella sp., Shigella sp., and Corynebacterium sp. were absent. These data constitute the first physiological report for the species at urban sanitary landfills of Patagonia Argentina.

**Authors:**

Miguel Adami¹, Marcelo Bertellotti¹, Veronica D'Amico¹

¹National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET)

Health status assessed by physiological parameters and pathogen tests in kelp gulls (Larus dominicanus) feeding on an urban sanitary landfill

**Abstract:**

Through a collaborative network, we evaluated plastic ingestion (items >1 mm) in 16 Procellariiform species along the coast of Brazil and Argentina. Plastic items were found in 30.2% of carcasses examined (n=161), with White-chinned Petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis), Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross (Thalassarche chlororhynchos), and Manx Shearwater (Pufinus puffinus) being the most susceptible species. Our results showed a high frequency of occurrence (FO) of plastic ingestion in birds bycaught offshore in southern Brazil (FO=42.8%, n=21) but not in birds bycaught offshore in southern Argentina (FO=0%, n=46). Plastic ingestion was frequently recorded in beach-wrecked carcasses, being highest in Chubut, Argentina (FO=100%, n=3), followed by Espírito Santo, Brazil (FO=61%, n=23), Santa Catarina, Brazil (FO=23%, n=13), and Buenos Aires, Argentina (FO=20%, n=5). In birds that died at rehabilitation facilities, plastic ingestion was similarly frequent in Espírito Santo (FO=27%, n=11) and Santa Catarina (FO=29%, n=14). A high FO of plastic ingestion was also noted in Southern Giant Petrel carcasses collected at breeding colonies in Chubut, Argentina (FO=54%, n=24). The most common plastic items found in the bird's gut were fragments (71% of recovered items; including film and rigid fragments), followed by foam (i.e. polystyrene/polyurethane; 12%), pellets (10%), nylon line (4%) and other types of plastic (3%). Our findings confirm that plastic ingestion is a common problem for Procellariiforms in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean and highlight the need for mitigation and at-source reduction. The use of standardized protocols for sample collection and analysis along with comparable metrics and terminology will allow comparisons between investigations, as well as the detection of large-scale spatiotemporal patterns.

**Authors:**

Luciana Gallo¹, Patricia Pereira Serafini², Ralph E. T. Vanstreels³, Tamini Leandro⁴, Cristiane Kolesnikovas⁵, Alice Pereira⁶, Tatiana Neves⁶, Gabriel Nascimento², Anabella Gerez⁷, Nahuel Chavez⁴, Ruben DellaCasa⁴, Marcela Uhart⁸

¹IBIOMAR-CONICET, ²CEMAVE / ICMBio / MMA, ³Instituto de Pesquisa e Reabilitação de Animais Marinho, ⁴Albatross Task Force, Aves Argentinas/AOP y BirdLife International, ⁵R3 Animal, ⁶Projeto Albatroz, ⁷Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, ⁸One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California

Plastic ingestion in albatrosses and petrels off the shores of Argentina and Brazil

**Abstract:**

Ingestion of marine debris by seabirds is widespread. Procellariiformes is the group with the highest frequency of ingestion, and the most threatened group of all birds. Here, we report the prevalence of type, color, size and weight of ingested debris by these species in southern Brazil, and short-term trends of ingestion along nine years of survey (2007 - 2015). We analyzed 767 stomachs from 18 species of beached-washed seabirds, and found the highest prevalence, abundance and mass of debris in Great shearwaters (GS), with almost 91% of individuals containing debris in their stomachs, and a mean of 22.6 ± 30.5 fragments weighting 0.44 ± 0.72g. The Manx shearwater (MS), Cory's shearwater (CS) and White-Chinned petrel (WCP) showed intermediate prevalence (63.4%, 54.2% and 47.8%, respectively), while the Yellow-nosed and Black-browed albatrosses showed low prevalence (9.3% and 10.5%). The number of items per individual ranged from 1-261 for CS, 1-174 for GS, 1-108 for the MS and 1-65 for WCP. Hard plastic fragments had the highest prevalence (Pr) in shearwaters (Pr = 65-85%), while sheet plastics were most frequent in albatrosses (62%). Threadlike plastic, i.e. nylon threads, were most frequent in WCP (45%). Pellets were found only in stomachs of WCP and shearwaters, and we found the highest prevalence in GS (50%). The most frequently ingested size category was microplastics (<5mm), followed by mesoplastics (5-20 mm). Off/white-clear plastics were the most abundant and frequently ingested color by all species. We found a decreasing trend in prevalence of debris ingestion for CS (R² = 0.75, p < 0.01) and MS (R² = 0.57, p = 0.02), both northern hemisphere breeders, while GS and WCP, both southern hemisphere breeders, showed a steady prevalence (R² = 0.27, p = 0.14, and R² = 0.04, p = 0.59, respectively). Northern migrants also ingested, on average, smaller masses of debris than southern migrants did (U = 9070, p < 0.01). Our results show that northern migrants are ingesting less plastic than southern breeders, in both frequency and mass. This may be related to European policies for plastics reduction, which have intensified over the past decade.

**Authors:**

Júlia Grohmann Finger¹, Victória Fontoura Benemann¹, Maria Petry¹

¹Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos

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