Restrictions on roaming Until the past century or so, the movement of wild animals was relatively unrestricted, and their travels contributed substantially to ecological processes. As humans have increasingly altered natural habitats, natural animal movements have been restricted. Tucker et al. examined GPS locations for more than 50 species. In general, animal movements were shorter in areas with high human impact, likely owing to changed behaviors and physical limitations. Besides affecting the species themselves, such changes could have wider effects by limiting the movement of nutrients and altering ecological interactions. Science , this issue p. 466

DNA barcoding of faeces or stomach contents is an emerging approach for dietary analysis. We pyrosequenced mtDNA 16S markers amplified from faeces of captive little penguins (Eudyptula minor) to examine if recovered sequences reflect the proportions of species consumed. We also analysed wild little penguin faeces collected from 100 nests in southeast Australia. In the captive study, pilchards were the primary fish fed to the penguins and DNA sequences from pilchard were the most common sequences recovered. Sequences of three other fish fed in constant mass proportions (45:35:20) were all detected, but proportions of sequences (60:6:34) were considerably different than mass proportions in the diet. Correction factors based on relative mtDNA density in the fish did not improve diet estimates. Consistency between replicate samples suggests that the observed bias resulted from differences in prey digestibility. Detection of DNA from fish consumed before the penguins were brought into captivity indicates that a DNA signal in faeces can persist for at least 4 days after ingestion. In the wild-collected faeces, 24 distinct fish and 1 squid were identified; anchovy, barracouta and pilchard accounted for over 80% of these sequences. Our results highlight that DNA sequences recovered in dietary barcoding studies can provide semi-quantitative information on diet composition, but these data should be given wide confidence intervals.

No abstract

Artificial lights at night cause high mortality of seabirds, one of the most endangered groups of birds globally. Fledglings of burrow-nesting seabirds, and to a lesser extent adults, are attracted to and then grounded (i.e., forced to land) by lights when they fly at night. We reviewed the current state of knowledge of seabird attraction to light to identify information gaps and propose measures to address the problem. Although species in families such as Alcidae and Anatidae can be grounded by artificial light, the most affected seabirds are petrels and shearwaters (Procellariiformes). At least 56 species of Procellariiformes, more than one-third of them (24) threatened, are subject to grounding by lights. Seabirds grounded by lights have been found worldwide, mainly on oceanic islands but also at some continental locations. Petrel breeding grounds confined to formerly uninhabited islands are particularly at risk from light pollution due to tourism and urban sprawl. Where it is impractical to ban external lights, rescue programs of grounded birds offer the most immediate and employed mitigation to reduce the rate of light-induced mortality and save thousands of birds every year. These programs also provide useful information for seabird management. However, these data are typically fragmentary, biased, and uncertain and can lead to inaccurate impact estimates and poor understanding of the phenomenon of seabird attraction to lights. We believe the most urgently needed actions to mitigate and understand light-induced mortality of seabirds are estimation of mortality and effects on populations; determination of threshold light levels and safe distances from light sources; documentation of the fate of rescued birds; improvement of rescue campaigns, particularly in terms of increasing recovery rates and level of care; and research on seabird-friendly lights to reduce attraction.

Shearwaters and petrels (hereafter petrels) are highly adapted seabirds that occur across all the world's oceans. Petrels are a threatened seabird group comprising 124 species. They have bet-hedging life histories typified by extended chick rearing periods, low fecundity, high adult survival, strong philopatry, monogamy and long-term mate fidelity and are thus vulnerable to change. Anthropogenic alterations on land and at sea have led to a poor conservation status of many petrels with 52 (42%) threatened

The main hot spots of marine biodiversity are also the areas that are affected the most by climate and, potentially, fishing impacts.

Light pollution is increasing around the world and altering natural nightscapes with potential ecological and evolutionary consequences. A severe ecological perturbation caused by artificial lights is mass mortalities of organisms, including seabird fledglings that are attracted to lights at night on their first flights to the sea. Here, we report on the number of fledging short-tailed shearwaters Ardenna tenuirostris found grounded in evening and morning rescue patrols conducted at Phillip Island, Australia, during a 15-year period (1999–2013). We assessed factors affecting numbers of grounded birds and mortality including date, moon phase, wind direction and speed, number of visitors and holiday periods. We also tested experimentally if birds were attracted to lights by turning the lights off on a section of the road. Of 8871 fledglings found, 39% were dead or dying. This mortality rate was 4–8 times higher than reported elsewhere for other shearwater species, probably because searching for fledglings was part of our systematic rescue effort rather than the opportunistic rescue used elsewhere. Thus, it suggests that light-induced mortality of seabirds is usually underestimated. We rescued more birds (dead and alive) in peak fledging, moonless and windy nights. Mortality increased through the fledging period, in the mornings and with increased traffic on holiday periods. Turning the road lights off decreased the number of grounded birds (dead and alive). While moon, wind and time are uncontrolled natural constraints, we demonstrated that reduction of light pollution and better traffic management can mitigate artificial light-induced mortality.

Summary1. Nonlinear, parametric curve-fitting provides a framework for understanding diverse ecological and evolutionary trends (e.g. growth patterns and seasonal cycles). Currently, parametric curve-fitting requires a priori assumptions of curve trajectories, restricting their use for exploratory analyses. Furthermore, use of analytical techniques [nonlinear least-squares (NLS) and nonlinear mixedeffects models] for complex parametric curves requires efficient choice of starting parameters. 2. We illustrate the new R package FlexParamCurve that automates curve selection and provides tools to analyse nonmonotonic curve data in NLS and nonlinear mixed-effects models. Examples include empirical and simulated data sets for the growth of seabird chicks. 3. By automating curve selection and parameterization during curve-fitting, FlexParamCurve extends current possibilities for parametric analysis in ecological and evolutionary studies.