United States

**Abstract:**

Red-throated loons (Gavia stellata) are a species of conservation concern due to the sensitivity of breeding individuals to disturbance and population declines, including a current decline on the Arctic Coastal Plain in northern Alaska, where oil and gas development is slated to increase. Concurrently, populations of two sympatric loon species are either stable or increasing on the Arctic Coastal Plain, highlighting the need to determine drivers of the population decline in red-throated loons. Possible drivers include nearshore marine ecosystem conditions, contaminants or predators. We present recent information on three possible drivers of loon abundance and discuss new research that addresses each of these hypotheses related to red-throated loon population declines in northern Alaska. Unlike sympatric loon species that feed in freshwater, red-throated loons exclusively catch fish in nearshore marine environments to feed themselves and their chicks. Thus, unfavorable shifts in nearshore fish communities may contribute to population decline of red-throated loons if preferred prey species are less abundant or have lower body condition. Ongoing research has revealed long term shifts in fish community composition and catch rates; therefore, identifying red-throated loon prey fish species, their nutritional quality and availability in northern Alaska, and links to loon energetic costs of flight and diving may allow assessment of how marine conditions impact loon breeding success. Contaminants were identified as a concern in northern Alaska over 15 years ago when eggs exhibited elevated levels of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which may influence loon reproductive success. Determining contemporary contaminant levels, in conjunction with migration information from satellite telemetry data, may provide additional information on contaminant level trends and sources. Predatory Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) abundance on the Arctic Coastal Plain is highly variable but years of high fox abundance can negatively affect avian breeding success; therefore, it is important to identify the potential top-down impacts of predators on loon breeding success.

**Authors:**

Brian Uher-Koch¹, Christopher Latty², Angela Matz³, Vanessa von Biela¹, Courtney Amundson¹, Joel Schmutz¹

¹U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center, ²U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ³U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Environmental Contaminants Program

3rd World Seabird Conference

Drivers of long-term declines in Red-throated Loon abundance on Alaska?s Arctic Coastal Plain: marine ecosystem conditions, environmental contaminants, or terrestrial predators?

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:**

Morphological and behavioural differences exist in many species. In rare instances these differences correspond to genetic differences at neutral molecular markers. On Kerguelen Island in the southern Indian Ocean, two species of seabirds, Kerguelen shag (Leucocarbo verrucosus) and gentoo penguin (<I>Pygoscelis papua), exhibit similar divergent behavioural and morphological patterns. Both species appear to have two main ecotypes based on foraging strategy. Colonies are either comprised of individuals who forage shallow waters or offshore in deeper waters. Differences in foraging strategy appear to be stable within a colony over time and correspond to morphological differences. On Kerguelen the differences between the ecotypes are so extreme that shags from 'inshore' colonies may be 60% lighter than individuals from 'offshore' colonies. To determine if these two foraging strategies have led to genetic differentiation, we used neutral markers to examine individuals from colonies containing the different ecotypes.

**Authors:**

Naomi Perkins¹, Juan Carlos Guevara-López², Charles-Andre Bost³, Theresa Burg¹

¹University of Lethbridge, ²Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, ³Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Microgeographic genetic differentiation in seabirds

**Abstract:**

Fisheries are an important industry in the East Canadian Arctic as the sustainable development of the regions progresses. Each year millions of seabirds migrate to the region to breed and take advantage of the highly productive waters during the Arctic summer. While only a limited number of reports deal with Arctic fisheries seabird bycatch in Canada, published reports indicate that seabird bycatch in both the longline and gillnet fisheries for Greenland Halibut in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait is almost exclusively Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis). While population modelling suggests that this level of incidental take may be problematic for local populations, projected declines at the larger regional level are less severe. We present new data on the level of bycatch of northern fulmars in the eastern Canadian Arctic in relation to updated colony census performed in 2018 and 2020. It appears that while industrial offshore fishing in the region, which started in 2001, does not coincide with steep declines in fulmar populations in the region, there is an overall decline being observed at many of the colonies in the region suggesting that these populations may be vulnerable to further multiple stressors.

**Authors:**

Jennifer Provencher¹, Mark Mallory², Allison Anholt³, Brett Favaro³

¹Environment and Climate Change Canada, ²Acadia, ³Memorial University of Newfoundland

Seabird bycatch in the eastern Canadian Arctic

**Abstract:**

Plastic pollution is widely regarded as a major threat to ocean ecosystems. An increasing number of studies show that seabirds frequently ingest plastics, but the drivers of variation in ingestion rates among and within populations and species are not well understood. Vulnerability to plastic pollution will depend on foraging method, diet, and spatial overlap of foraging areas with plastic debris in the oceans. Small pelagic species such as gadfly petrels and storm-petrels, which are among the most threatened groups of seabirds, show higher incidence of plastic ingestion - likely due to their gut anatomy, diet and their propensity to forage in ocean gyres, where surface plastics accumulate. Until recently, relatively little was known about the foraging ecology and at-sea distribution of these species, but with miniaturised tracking devices, we now have more detailed information on their movements. In this study, we use predictive models of plastic debris distributions (based on ocean circulation) along with analyses of the extensive tracking data held in the Seabird Tracking Database to map the spatial overlap (and therefore potential risk) of plastic encounter by small pelagic seabirds. Our analysis highlights the populations, species, seasons and regions for which there is greatest exposure to plastic pollution. Ultimately, our study provides a robust, evidence-based assessment of the problem of plastic pollution for pelagic seabirds, and should lead to increased understanding of the conservation needs of these cryptic, highly threatened species.

**Authors:**

Bethany Clark¹, Ana Carneiro¹, Elizabeth Pearmain¹, Thomas Clay², Richard Phillips³, Andrea Manica⁴, Marie-Morgane Rouyer⁵, Win Cowger⁶, Marcus Eriksen⁷, Carolina Hazin¹, Maria Dias¹

¹BirdLife International, ²University of California Santa Cruz, ³British Antarctic Survey, ⁴University of Cambridge, ⁵CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, ⁶University of California, Riverside, ⁷Five Gyres Institute

Plastic connectivity: disentangling the problem of plastic pollution for pelagic seabirds

**Abstract:**

Plastic pollution of the World Ocean is widely recognized major and increasing threat to the marine environment, and the seabirds are among the most affected groups of marine biota. Recent studies revealed global distribution of plastic, both macro- and micro-plastics, including most remote areas of the Arctic Ocean. Several recently published papers summarized information on the plastic and seabirds in the Arctic and adjacent areas, and emphasized poor coverage of the topic and lack of the data. Russia is washed by 12 seas and has longest sea shores inhabited by globally important populations of seabirds, but information about plastic pollution in the Russian waters, especially in relation to marine birds and their habitats is virtually absent. Here we present first national overview summarizing information on plastic pollution of the coastal habitats of marine birds and their interaction with plastic debris and microplastic. Our review covers Russian Arctic and seas from the Baltic Sea to and Far East seas. Plastic debris presents in coastal habitats of all studied seas including shores of the most remote high-arctic islands. Data on entanglement or plastic incorporation into the nests of marine birds, collected through interviews and dedicated surveys, are summarized and mapped. The most impacted nesting colonies and affected species are highlighted. All available data on digestion of the plastic particles observed in the Russian seas are compiled. Geographical patterns and possible sources of plastic in seabird habitats are discussed. Possibilities and scopes of further studies and monitoring of the plastic impact on marine birds as well as use of seabirds as fro monitoring of plastic pollution in Russian seas as part of the circumpolar / global monitoring schemes are assessed. The work is partly supported by AMBI / CAFF project Plastics and Seabirds: Habitat mitigation and Russian-Norwegian project MALINOR.

**Authors:**

Maria Gavrilo¹, Ekaterina Tolmacheva², Larisa Zelenskaya³, Yuri Artyukhin⁴, Yulia Bublichenko⁵, Uliana Babiy⁶, Yulia Bogomolova⁷, Alexander Cherenkov⁸, Elena Golubova³, Dmitry Pilipenko⁹, Olga Prokopenko³, Vladimir Semashko¹⁰, Irina Utekhina¹¹, Grigory Tertitskiy¹², Eugene Syroechkovskiy¹³

¹Association Maritime Heritage, ²Kandalaksha State Nature Reserve, ³Institute for Biological Problems of the North RAS, ⁴Pacific Institute for Geography RAS, ⁵Saint-Petersburg Scientific Centre of RAS, ⁶Wrangel State Nature Reserve, ⁷Nenets State Nature Reserve, ⁸Moscow State University, ⁹Commander Islands State Nature Reserve, ¹⁰retired, ¹¹Magadan State Nature Reserve, ¹²Institute for Geography RAS, ¹³BirdsRussia

Seabirds and plastic pollution in the Russian seas - first national review on the problem

**Abstract:**

Bioacoustics is increasingly being used to quantify the migration timings of avian species--with rises in vocal activity inferring arrival dates. Progress in this field may help inform the management of seabirds, whose phenologies are shifting due to climate change. However, there remains certain obstacles in analysing acoustic data. For one, the density of vocalisations in seabird colonies makes it difficult tease apart acoustic patterns in the soundscape, meaning call recogniser models can often be unreliable. Classification of individual vocalisations may be possible through machine learning, however building these models requires considerable effort and expertise. To resolve such issues, the outputs of acoustic indices may be used as proxies for vocal activity. Our research tests two commonly used indices in bioacoustics--the Normalised Difference Soundscape Index (NDSI) and the Acoustic Complexity Index (ACI)-- on short-tailed tailed shearwater (STSH) acoustic data. We find that the ACI is a better predictor of STSH vocalisations when additional noise in the soundscape is minimal (e.g., wind, rain, penguin vocalisations), however, the NDSI is more robust to these disturbances. To provide a full picture of the soundscape of a STSH colony, future research should empirically test the rate in which STSH vocalisations increase during migratory arrival.

**Authors:**

Harrison Talarico¹, Jennifer Lavers²

¹University of Tasmania, ²Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS)

Using acoustic indices to detect the vocalisations of a burrow-nesting seabird, the short-tailed shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris)

**Abstract:**

Seabirds use a diversity of marine habitats and thus offer scientists unparalleled access to these dynamic environments in the surface ocean. In addition to movement and biological data, biologging devices carried by seabirds can be used to collect in situ environmental data, effectively transforming seabirds into distributed environmental sampling platforms. Continued miniaturization of biologging devices, integration of multiple sensors, and customizable programming are all needed to facilitate collection of these ancillary data. To provide proof of concept and to refine environmental sampling via biologging devices we deployed three types of GPS-GSM biologging tags on Brandt's cormorants in the Columbia River estuary (Oregon, USA) in summer 2019 (n=20). We characterized dive shape in order to identify benthic dives - to be used as depth soundings. We tested the feasibility of measuring wave height, period, and direction with tags equipped with 3-axis accelerometers and magnetometers when birds rest on the water's surface. Similarly, we estimated surface currents from consecutive GPS locations. From a small subset of dives we measured water temperature and the temperature difference at the air-sea interface, exemplifying the utility of integrating a fast-response temperature sensor onto biologging tags for marine animals. Combined, this suite of oceanographic parameters can be assimilated with satellite data products to increase the skill of numerical models in assessing environmental conditions in littoral regions around the globe.

**Authors:**

Rachael Orben¹, Dylan Winters¹, Adam Peck-Richardson¹, Greg Wilson¹, Dorukhan Ardag¹, Tuba Özkan-Haller¹, Donald Lyons¹, James Lerczak¹

¹Oregon State University

Characterizing the in situ ocean environment through biologging: What can we measure?

**Abstract:**

Species invasions are major shapers of small insular ecosystems, due the frequent paucity of ecological interactions and low functional diversity of native island biota. Clipperton / La Passion (10°18′ N, 109°13′ W), a French overseas territory in the Eastern Tropical Pacific and the world's most isolated atoll (>900 km from the closest land), has undergone multiple ecosystem shifts over the past centuries, driven by temporary human settlement and accidental species introductions. In the 1950s, these shifts led to the near extinction of the atoll's notoriously large seabird community, putatively linked to the presence of domestic pigs (Sus scrofa). Their removal in 1958 sparked a recovery of the marine avifauna, bouncing back from a few hundred breeders to more than 150,000 individuals today. In recent years, the atoll has been shown to host the world's largest known colony of masked boobies Sula dactylatra (~35,000 breeding pairs) along with growing numbers of brown boobies Sula leucogaster (8000 bp). However, the introduction of the black rat Rattus rattus in the early 2000s prompted a decline of native grazing crabs, causing a rapid increase of local plant cover and initiating the spatial redistribution of nesting habitats. We combined ground and aerial survey data collected over the 2000-2019 period to assess the size and spatial distribution of breeding seabird colonies on Clipperton island and monitor the recent spread of vegetated areas. Using metrics of habitat characterization, we observed an expected negative effect of plant cover and height (>20cm) on the breeding of ground-nesting species. Overall, our results indicate that masked and brown boobies populations on Clipperton island have either remained stable or slightly grew in size from 2000 onward while the availability of ground-nesting habitats was continuously reduced by the rapid spread of creeping vines (Ipomoea pes-caprae, I. triloba) and sub-shrub plants (Sida rhombifolia). This study sets a baseline for discussing ecological processes at work since rat introduction and infer future habitat and demographic trends for breeding seabird populations on the atoll.

**Authors:**

Tristan Berr¹, Hélène De Méringo², Xénia Jost³, Christian Jost⁴, Pascal Dumas⁵, Éric Clua⁴, Robert Pitman⁶, Alexandre Millon⁷, Matthieu Le Corre⁸, Éric Vidal⁹

¹Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Université de Nouvelle-Calédonie, ²Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Écologie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, ³Independent, ⁴Centre de Recherches Insulaire et Observatoire de l'Environnement, Université PSL, ⁵Université de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Institut des Sciences Exactes et Appliquées, ⁶Oregon State University, ⁷Aix Marseille Université, Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité & d'Écologie, ⁸Université de la Réunion, ⁹Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

Tales of Clipperton: thriving boobies vs creeping vines on the world's most remote atoll

**Abstract:**

The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database (NPPSD) was created in 2005 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with additional support from the North Pacific Marine Research Institute to consolidate available data (~61,000 transects conducted during 1975-2002) on the oceanic distribution of seabirds in the North Pacific generally and Alaska in particular. The NPPSD was expanded greatly in Version 2.0 to include ~290,000 additional transects (1973-2012) conducted in adjacent waters of Russia, Japan, Alaska, Canada and the US West Coast. We have recently expanded the NPPSD by ~30% with the addition of another ~110,000 transects (2013-2019) for a total of 460,285. The NPPSD version 3 includes observations of over 20 million marine birds observed over 47 years. This update provides researchers and resource managers expanded spatial and temporal range for the mapping of marine bird distributions and abundances throughout the North Pacific. Data from the NPPSD has been used to map "hotspots of energy flow," assess species status and trends, and identify Important Bird Areas to assist in conservation planning. As the availability of broad-scale environmental data has increased, the potential to link seabirds to environmental factors will depend on integrated data resources like the NPPSD. Future updates of this USGS database will focus on filling in gaps and developing tools to assist in the linkage between the NPPSD and external data sources.

**Authors:**

Gary Drew¹, John Piatt¹

¹U.S. Geological Survey-Alaska Science Center

The North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database version 3.0: Expanding spatial-temporal ranges to address broad-scale questions

**Abstract:**

Mechanisms promoting coexistence between closely related species are fundamental for maintaining species diversity. Mechanisms of niche differentiation include allochrony which offsets the peak timing of resource utilisation between species. Many studies focus on both spatial and temporal niche partitioning; however, few have investigated the role allochrony plays in influencing interspecific segregation of foraging distribution and ecology between congeneric species. We investigated the non-breeding migrations of Snares (Eudyptes robustus) and Fiordland penguins (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus), closely related species breeding between 100 - 350 km apart whose migration phenology differs by two months. We examined the degree of overlap given the observed allochrony and a hypothetical scenario where the species commence migration simultaneously. We found that Fiordland penguins migrated to the Sub-Antarctic Frontal Zone and Polar Frontal Zone in the austral autumn whereas Snares penguins disperse westwards staying north of the Sub-Tropical Front in the austral winter. Our results suggest that allochrony is likely to be at the root of segregation because the relative profitability of the different water masses, that the penguins forage in, changes seasonally, which results in the two species utilising different areas over their core non-breeding periods. Furthermore, allochrony reduces relatively higher levels of spatiotemporal overlap during the departure and arrival periods, when the close proximity of the two species' colonies would cause the birds to congregate in similar areas, resulting in high interspecific competition just before the breeding season. Available evidence suggests that the shift in phenology between these species has arisen from adaptive radiation and phenological matching to the seasonality of local resource availability during the breeding season and reduced competitive overlap over the non-breeding season is likely to be an incidental outcome.

**Authors:**

Cara-Paige Green¹, Norman Ratcliffe², David Thompson³, Thomas Mattern⁴, Simon Wotherspoon¹, Mary-Anne Lea¹, Pablo Garcia Borboroglu⁵, Ursula Ellenberg⁶, Kyle Morrison⁷, Klemens Pütz⁸, Paul Sagar⁹, Philip Seddon⁴, Leigh Torres¹⁰, Mark Hindell¹

¹University of Tasmania, ²British Antarctic Survey, ³National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, ⁴University of Otago, ⁵New Zealand Penguin Initiative, ⁶La Trobe University, ⁷NA, ⁸Antarctic Research Trust, ⁹National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, ¹⁰Oregon State University

The roles of habitat selection and allochrony in niche partitioning in two closely related Eudyptes penguins

**Abstract:**

Seabirds play a vital role in marine ecosystems and the long-term study of their responses to environmental variations can be used to monitor the effects of climate change on marine fauna. However, slight differences in similar seabird species result in a range of responses which complicates our understanding of the effects of environmental changes to marine ecosystems. The present study investigated inter-annual differences in the breeding biology (breeding phenology, chick growth rates and breeding success) and environmental conditions (seasonal sea surface temperatures) of important foraging areas in two sympatric small Procellariiform species, the fairy prion (Pachyptila turtur) and the common diving petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix), over four reproductive seasons (2017-2020) in Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia. Marine heatwaves occurred during the years of 2018/19 and 2019/20 and coincided with years of delayed laying dates, slower chick growth and reduced breeding success, in both species. While fairy prions maintained a relatively high breeding success and broadly constant breeding phenology, common diving petrels delayed the start of the breeding season by up to 50 days and experienced dramatic collapses in breeding success in years of high marine heat wave occurrence. The difference in physiological capacity and foraging ecology between both species are explored as likely factors contributing to the contrasting breeding seasons observed.

**Authors:**

Yonina Eizenberg¹, Aymeric Fromant¹, John Arnould¹, Arnaud Lechvien¹

¹Deakin University

Drivers of long-term declines in Red-throated Loon abundance on Alaska?s Arctic Coastal Plain: marine ecosystem conditions, environmental contaminants, or terrestrial predators?

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Microgeographic genetic differentiation in seabirds

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Contrasting impacts of environmental variability on the breeding biology of two sympatric small procellariiform seabirds in south-eastern Australia

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