United States

**Abstract:**

The Columbia River on the west coast of the United States is the 21st largest river in the world in terms of annual mean flow. Freshwater discharge from the Columbia River flows into the northern California Current Ecosystem, one of the most productive marine food webs in the world. A large, dynamic plume is formed at the mouth of the river, which has a strong regional influence on nearshore oceanography and productivity. Using at-sea surveys, land-based surveys, and satellite telemetry, we demonstrated that the plume also strongly affects the distribution, abundance, and habitat preferences of seabirds and seabird prey. Specifically, we found that two numerically dominant piscivorous seabirds, common murres (Uria aalge) and sooty shearwaters (Ardenna grisea), aggregate in large numbers in this region, preferentially select plume habitat, and respond to spatial and temporal changes in plume dynamics. Coastal pelagic fishes consumed by seabirds such as northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) are disproportionately more abundant in plume waters compared to adjacent waters, suggesting that foraging birds use the plume to increase prey encounter probabilities. Plume effects are evident in both summer and winter, although the dynamics driving winter use of the plume are not well-understood. Given predicted changes in freshwater runoff with climate change, and high levels of human use of the Columbia River and other large rivers for commercial and recreational activities, we suggest that river plumes are under-appreciated regions of global conservation importance for seabirds.

**Authors:**

Jeannette Zamon¹, Elizabeth Phillips², Josh Adams³

¹NOAA Fisheries - Pt. Adams Research Station, ²NOAA Fisheries - Northwest Fisheries Science Center, ³US Geological Survey

3rd World Seabird Conference

Using seabird associations with the Columbia River Plume to demonstrate the conservation importance of river plumes

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!

symposium

**Abstract:**

Seabirds are attracted to fishing vessels through the availability of fishery discards, increasing the risk of injury or mortality from interactions with fishing gear. However, it is difficult to estimate what proportion of the population may be at risk. We use DNA metabarcoding of scats to characterise the intra- and inter-annual variability in the diet of shy albatross at Albatross Island, and combine this dietary data with foraging range estimates to examine spatial overlaps and species overlaps between albatross and fisheries in the region. Shy albatross diet consisted predominantly of fish (93% of samples) and cephalopods (38% of samples), with 84 fish and 11 cephalopod species detected. The majority of food was sourced naturally, however, at least 13% of the population overall is sourcing food from fisheries, with up to 29% during some breeding stages. There were spatial overlaps between shy albatross and six Commonwealth managed fisheries operating in South-East Australia and two Tasmanian managed fisheries. There was considerable intra-annual variation in the level of engagement with the Commonwealth fishery, but little inter-annual variability. Blue Grenadier, Ling and Warehou sp. were the main Commonwealth managed fishery discard species consumed. This study highlights that fisheries still pose a risk for shy albatross in Australian waters. As the majority of albatross food is sourced naturally, it shows that albatross are unlikely to be reliant on discards, therefore a reduction in discard availability would benefit shy albatross populations and improve the sustainability of fisheries in the region. DNA dietary analysis in conjunction with spatial foraging data provides a valuable tool to assess the proportion of a population at risk from fishing operations.

**Authors:**

Julie McInnes¹, Geoff Tuck², Rachael Alderman³

¹University of Tasmania, ²CSIRO, ³Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment

Using scat DNA to inform sustainable fisheries management and Ecological Risk Assessments: a Shy Albatross case study

**Abstract:**

Proven solutions to minimise seabird bycatch exist for longline and trawl gears, but information on successful implementation of mitigation is generally lacking. While there are numerous examples of experimental work to verify the efficacy of mitigation measures these are mostly short-term studies that are undertaken on a few vessels and do not span entire fishing seasons, even less several years. Long-term case studies are important because fishing is dynamic, with changes in effort, gear and practices driven by market forces exposing mitigation measures to thorough testing under a range of conditions rarely tested in short-term experimental work. Under current knowledge and operations bycatch is inevitable and understanding the causes of these factors, and finding suitable approaches to manage them, will require good data collection and ongoing collaboration among fishers, fishery managers, seabird biologists and gear technologists. We evaluate a suite of approaches introduced to mitigate seabird bycatch in deepwater large vessel trawl fleets that have operated in New Zealand waters for 35 years. Our analysis is confined to the period 2003 to 2018. The fisheries are noted for higher than average rates of seabird interactions and display many of the operational characteristics and complexities typical of large-scale commercial trawling. These include a multi-national fleet; a range of vessel sizes and types; changes in spatial and temporal fishing effort resulting from fleet rationalisation, policy changes and market conditions; improved technology and efficiency in the catch of fish; and changes in economics in fishing for some species. We sought to determine if and how seabird conservation objectives can be achieved in a diverse trawl fishery with measures demonstrated to be effective through research, and to identify alternative management options that might further improve seabird conservation in both New Zealand and global trawl fisheries.

**Authors:**

Barry Baker¹, Keith Reid², Richard Wells³

¹Latitude 42 Environmental Consultants, ²Ross Analytics, ³DeepWater Group Ltd

Mitigation of seabird bycatch in New Zealand trawl fisheries

**Abstract:**

Marine visual seabirds rely on waters with clear visibility to forage. A single-acute increase in turbidity may not have a severe effect on finding prey. However, extended periods of turbidity can impact the foraging success of predators. Long-lasting turbidity created by a large-scale shipping channel dredging proposed at the mouth of the Yarra river, Australia, could potentially affect the foraging and breeding success of ~35,000 little penguins Eudyptula minor. We conducted three-dimensional spatial studies using GPS or satellite trackers, and time-depth recorders, to examine the underwater habitat preferences of the penguins within the dredging area. Our data showed that 39% of feeding dives were within the shipping channels. Given the potential negative effect, penguins were used as key indicators in a four-year monitoring plan during the dredging. We used a penguin monitoring system equipped with a weighing platform to monitor body mass change to assure that penguin weights would not drop below a critical threshold. Fortunately, this critical threshold was not reached during dredging. Outside the dredging period, we used oceanographic data from a Ship of Opportunity (volunteer merchant vessels carrying environmental sensors) to assess the fine-scale habitat use of the little penguin within the estuarine plume. We compared the home-range (transit and foraging) and core-range (foraging hotspot within the home-range) with the environmental conditions in the accessible, but not visited range (i.e. non-foraging range). Waters in the core foraging range were less turbid but also less productive and dynamic. Even under unfavourable conditions, penguins spent a great proportion of their time in the core-ranges. Although less productive, these low turbidity waters may improve the ability of penguins to detect and capture their prey. Our results highlight that a visual predator selectively forages in waters with better visibility but less productive as a potential means to improve foraging efficiency.

**Authors:**

Nicole Kowalczyk¹, Richard Reina¹, Tiana Preston¹, Yan Ropert-Coudert², Akiko Kato², Andre Chiaradia³

¹School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, ²Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS, ³Phillip Island Nature Parks

Foraging habitat preference of an inshore seabird within estuarine plume fronts

**Abstract:**

Temporal variations in the numbers of foraging seabirds usually coincide with concurrent variations in physical processes influencing prey availability. Responses to periodic tidal currents are commonly reported, with certain tidal states being favoured. By contrast, responses to intermittent meteorological events have rarely been reported, even though wind-driven exchanges of water masses or intrusion of estuarine plumes could have similar consequences. This study compares responses of foraging seabirds to physical processes in the Ria de Vigo, north-western Spain. The numbers of foraging European shags Phalacrocorax aristotellis and yellow-legged gulls Larus michahellis showed no response to variations in current direction/speed. By contrast, the numbers of both species increased during the intrusion of the Western Iberian Buoyant Plume following high freshwater discharge and southerly winds. The differences in responses to periodic tidal currents and intermittent meteorological events presumably relate to their relative control of conditions in the ria; whilst currents cannot be considered particularly weak, intermittent weather events have a stronger control on conditions. These findings show that responses to periodic tidal currents could be absent or subdued when intermittent meteorological events have a greater control on conditions, even though periodic tidal currents are conspicuous physical processes in coastal environments.

**Authors:**

James Waggitt¹, Shaun Fraser², Ricardo Torres³

¹Bangor University, ²University of Highlands and Islands, ³Plymouth Marine Laboratory

Foraging seabirds respond to an intermittent meteorological event in the Ria de Vigo, Spain.

**Abstract:**

Farisayi Dakwa¹; Peter Ryan¹; Robert Crawford²; Bruce Dyer²; Pierre Pistorius³, Azwianewi Makhado¹¨² ¹FitzPatrick Institute for African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, ²Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Branch Oceans and Coasts, ³Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela University Breeding penguins are central place foragers, limited by their need to forage and return to their colonies to relieve their partners and/or feed their chicks; they are flightless seabirds which further constrains their movement and range during breeding. As a result, long-term studies of their diet while breeding can be a useful indicator of ecosystem changes around their colonies. At Marion Island, over the past 25 years, there has been a marked decrease in the population of Macaroni Eudyptes chrysolophus and Rockhopper Eudyptes chrysocome Penguins. Since 2008/09 their populations have dropped by 30 and 70%, respectively which has been attributed to climate-induced environmental changes. Diet samples (1005 and 664 respectively) were collected at the Island from 1994 to 2018. We analysed spatio-temporal variability in the diet composition of the two penguins, their prey size and the length distributions of dominant prey species. Considering that these species breed sympatrically, they are predicted to exhibit aspects of segregation in their ecology. Their diets were dominated by crustaceans Thysanoessa vicina and Euphausia vallentini and fish Krefftichthys andersoni and Electrona carlsbergi with small amounts of cephalopods. Fish was more prevalent and prey size and was significantly larger in the diet of Macaroni than Rockhopper Penguins over the years, with the proportion of fish increasing in the diet of Macaroni Penguins during the later stages of chick rearing. There was no change in the selection of the dominant prey species by the two penguins for the past 25 years, but this is not indicative of a stable environmental condition over the years but rather of preference of the prey by the penguins, which could reflect the energy content and calorific value of the selected species. Keywords: diet; penguin; Macaroni; Rockhopper; Marion Island

**Authors:**

Farisayi Dakwa¹, Peter Ryan¹, Robert Crawford², Bruce Dyer², Pierre Pistorius¹, Azwianewi Makhado²

¹University of Capetown, ²Department of Environment Forestry and Fisheries

What is on the menu? Long-term variability in the diet of the Macaroni and Rockhopper Penguins at sub-Antarctic Marion Island

**Abstract:**

Influenza A viruses infect a range of host species, including a large variety of mammals and more than a hundred species of birds. In this study, we describe the detection of an influenza A (H11N2) virus in fecal samples of Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) and from fecal samples collected in the colony of chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus) at Penguin Island, Southern Shetland Islands, Antarctica. In the present study, we show an evolutionary divergent influenza A subtype H11N2 virus detected in fresh fecal samples of penguins emphasising the success of virus genetic characterisation through non-invasive method, allowing the monitoring of AIVs in a fragile and unique environment. This identification suggests the persistence of Influenza A(H11N2) in penguins' colonies in South Shetland Islands once it was first identified on 2014 in P. adeliae living around the Antarctic Peninsula. Our results reinforce the usefulness of environmental sampling as an alternative to the time consuming and stressful active bird capture for acquiring biological samples, as well as emphasise the need for continuous surveillance of zoonotic influenza in the Antarctic continent.

**Authors:**

Maria Ogrzewalska¹, Fernando Motta¹, Paola Resende¹, Tulio Fumian¹, Ana da Fonseca Mendonça¹, Luciana Apolinario¹, Martha Brandao¹, Marcia Chame¹, Marilda Mendonca Siqueira¹

¹Fiocruz Foundation

Influenza A (H11N2) detection in fecal samples from penguins in Antarctica

**Abstract:**

Seabirds, particularly Procellariiformes, are known to harbour a rich community of ectosymbionts, including fleas, lice, ticks, blood-feeding mites, feather mites and hippoboscid flies. Among them, feather mites (Acariformes: Astigmata: Analgoidea and Pterolichoidea) are the most abundant and diverse group of permanent symbionts living on the body of birds. Although feather mite species richness seems to be particularly high on seabirds as in other groups of aquatic birds, it is still poorly known, with a high potential to discover new species. In this study we investigated the feather mite fauna of the European storm-petrel, Hydrobates pelagicus (Procellariiformes: Hydrobatidae) nesting in the north-east Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. The acarological material was collected from 101 adult birds across eight breeding colonies using the dust-ruffling method. On this seabird host we found seven feather mite species belonging to five genera in three families, of which three corresponded to undescribed species. The family Avenzoariidae was represented by Zachvatkinia hydrobatidii and a new Rhinozachvatkinia species, the family Alloptidae was represented by 3 species of genus Brephosceles (B. pelagicus, B. longirostris and Brephosceles sp.) and a new Microspalax species, and the family Xolalagidae included Ingrassia oceanica. For most species, morphological identifications were confirmed by DNA barcode data on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI). Further steps of investigation would include description of the new discovered species of Brephosceles along with redescriptions of the other two species of Brephosceles. Overall, our results confirm the high diversity of ectosymbionts hosted by seabirds.

**Authors:**

Laura Stefan¹, Sergey Mironov², Jacob Gonzalez-Solis³, Andrei Mihalca⁴

¹National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences, ²Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, ³Universitat de Barcelona, ⁴University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca

Feather mite fauna of the European storm-petrel, Hydrobates pelagicus

**Abstract:**

Fishing discards are of great relevance to seabird trophic ecology worldwide. The Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus) is a generalist and opportunistic species that feeds on a wide variety of prey obtained in natural and human-related environments. We analyzed the spatial association with operating coastal bottom trawl vessels and the contribution of discards to the diet of incubating individuals at Punta Tombo (44°02'S, 65°11'W), Argentina. Based on carbon and nitrogen isotopic values of whole blood samples from 22 and 20 adults in 2016 and 2017, respectively, Bayesian mixing model outputs showed that discards (demersal prey normally unavailable to surface feeding predators) were the main prey, with similar contribution in both years (2016 = 47 ± 4%; 2017 = 52 ± 5%), followed by mussels (Perumytilus purpuratus) (2016 = 29 ± 4%; 2017 = 24 ± 5%), and Argentine anchovy (Engraulis anchoita) (2016 = 14 ± 6%; 2017 = 14 ± 7%). We also tracked 14 and 13 of these incubating adults using GPS loggers during 2016 and 2017, recording 134 and 122 foraging tips, respectively. Linear mixed models showed no significant differences between years in the maximum distances from the colony, total distance traveled and duration of foraging trips. Open sea environments were the most visited in both seasons and included areas where fishing vessels were operating according to vessel monitoring system data. Fisheries discards were the main prey for most tracked individuals even for those who did not travel to fishing areas during the few days of the tracking period, indicating plasticity in individual feeding behavior likely in response to the differential availability of alternative prey. Our results show that discards generated by coastal trawl fisheries are an important diet component for incubating Kelp Gulls at Punta Tombo.

**Authors:**

Tatiana Kasinsky¹, Cristian Marinao¹, Nicolás Suárez¹, Pablo Yorio²

¹Centro de Estudio de Sistemas Marinos, CESIMAR-CONICET, Argentina, ²Centro de Estudio de Sistemas Marinos, CESIMAR-CONICET, Argentina. Wildlife Conservation Society Arg

Trophic ecology of incubating Kelp Gulls (Larus dominicanus) and its relationship with coastal trawl fisheries in northern Patagonia, Argentina

**Abstract:**

In several ocean regions, fisheries and seabirds compete for the same resource. In Peru, the anchovy (Engraulis ringens) is not only the most exploited resource for the industrial fishing but also the main food for endemic seabirds. This competition may result in interactions that negatively affect some species through incidental capture or food competition. We attached video cameras and GPS tags on 137 Peruvian boobies in two guano islands in northern Peru between November 2020 and may 2021 during the anchovy fishing season to determine the type of encounter and the percentage of interaction between seabirds and fisheries. The analysis of GPS tracks and the extension of the fishing zones of vessels extracted from the Global Fishing Watch platform revealed a high overlapping area. The magnitude of interactions varied across season and locations between 0% and 29%. The majority of the booby interacting with vessels plunged dive and feed inside the purse-seine nets. Although flocks of endemic and migratory seabirds in Peruvian waters regularly interact with minor and large scale fisheries, our study is the first in quantifying these interactions.

**Authors:**

Cinthia Irigoin-Lovera¹, CARLOS ZAVALAGA¹

¹Universidad Cientifica del Sur

First estimations of the magnitude of interactions between Peruvian boobies and the anchovy commercial fishing fleet

**Abstract:**

Breeding seabirds must balance foraging for themselves and feeding their chicks with the constraints imposed as central place foragers. We evaluated Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) adult and chick diets during the early and late chick rearing periods and assessed adult trophic consistency throughout the season for using carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope values. We sampled blood cells (integrates information over months) and plasma (integrates information over weeks) from 13 families (adults and offspring) at Martillo Island colony, Beagle Channel, Argentina during early-chick rearing (ECR) and late-chick rearing (LCR) periods in 2016. Isotopic niche width was larger during ECR than LRC for both tissues in chicks and adults. From ECR to LCR we found a significant decrease in plasma δ13C values of chicks and adults (ΔC=0.5; 1.0 per mil respectively) and blood cell δ13C values for chicks only (ΔC=0.8 per mil). We also found a small decrease in plasma δ15N values for chicks and females (ΔN=0.4 per mil) and blood cell δ15N values for females only (ΔN=0.5 per mil), without any changes in males. Despite these statistical differences, we estimated similar trophic position (TPs) between ages and stages (TPs≈3). Within-family variability accounted for 90% of the total isotopic variability and we did not find any differential food provisioning during ECR or LCR in both tissues (Euclidean distance analysis). By comparing tissues with differing turnover rates we found slightly higher individual niche consistency in males relative to females. In conclusion, we found no evidence of differential provisioning by parents, which contrasts with studies in northern Patagonia were chicks had diets most similar to males during LCR. Differences observed in isotopic niches could be due to a differential dietary evenness over time and/or different areas used, but with the consumption of prey occupying same trophic level, since penguins showed consistency in their TPs across the season.

**Authors:**

Samanta Dodino¹, Luciana Riccialdelli¹, Michael Polito², Andrea Raya Rey¹

¹Centro Austral de Investigaciones Cientificas (CADIC-CONICET), ²Louisiana State University

Using seabird associations with the Columbia River Plume to demonstrate the conservation importance of river plumes

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