**Abstract:**

Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris borealis) juveniles, like most tubenose seabirds, are negatively affected by light pollution during fledging. Urban artificial lights attract and disorientate juveniles that fall to the ground in massive numbers. Since 2001, a citizen-science rescue campaign organized by DRAM, Azores Government, has allowed the rescue and release to sea of over 38.000 juveniles throughout the Azores archipelago. The campaign is well established with high success rates, releasing around 90% of collected juveniles. The fate of rescued birds and their recruitment into the breeding population, however, are unknown. The species' nocturnal habits, delayed recruitment or inaccessible colonies prevent an efficient recapture of returning individuals. Only 13 out of 9000 fledglings ringed and measured during the rescue campaigns have been recovered (6 alive, 7 dead). Here we apply an alternative method to assess campaign effectiveness by using biometric data collected during ringing, to estimate the potential post-release survival of rescued juveniles. Mass at fledging has been linked with juvenile survival (minimum 85% of adult average mass). Potential survival after release was estimated using the corresponding threshold of 714g (85% of average adult mass in the Azores). Results show that 65% of released juveniles were above the threshold. These preliminary results corroborate the campaign as a mitigation tool for light-induced fledgling mortality, with high proportions of rescued individuals and a high potential survival at release. Of the recaptured individuals (confirmed survival) 75% were above threshold at fledging, however more recaptures are needed to accurately estimate survival mass threshold. Overall fledgling condition deteriorates throughout the rescue campaign, with the latest fledglings being lightest. Correctly assessing survival thresholds will help to improve campaign design and effectiveness. Future assessments will include juvenile survival rates at-sea and conditioning environmental factors that can further reduce survival.

**Authors:**

Elizabeth Atchoi¹, Joël Bried¹, Sofia Garcia², Airam Rodríguez³

¹Okeanos-UAç, ²DRAM - Regional Directorate for Sea Affairs, ³CSIC - Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana / GOHNIC

Effectiveness of a 20-year seabird rescue citizen-science campaign: estimating post-release survival

**Session Replay:** [Click here](https://zoom.us/rec/share/uU38KFxYki-pE7PDbuptiKKqdhY-6AeYsMtC8VCIduNY7nYHXDt14lPSdXGoYrrt.JzqvlCNaNpWuAswo?startTime=1633529733000)<br><br>

<i>**Session Chair: **Reyd Smith</i><br><br> 
<i>**Technical Session Chair: **Kirsty Franklin </i><br><br> 


Conservation II

technical paper

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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3rd World Seabird Conference

Join us for four days of science, networking and virtual engagement with delegates from around the world!

Elizabeth Atchoi

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Effectiveness of a 20-year seabird rescue citizen-science campaign: estimating post-release survival

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