Efforts to conserve biodiversity comprise a patchwork of international goals, national-level plans, and local interventions that, overall, are failing. We discuss the potential utility of applying the mitigation hierarchy, widely used during economic development activities, to all negative human impacts on biodiversity. Evaluating all biodiversity losses and gains through the mitigation hierarchy could help prioritize consideration of conservation goals and drive the empirical evaluation of conservation investments through the explicit consideration of counterfactual trends and ecosystem dynamics across scales. We explore the challenges in using this framework to achieve global conservation goals, including operationalization and monitoring and compliance, and we discuss solutions and research priorities. The mitigation hierarchy's conceptual power and ability to clarify thinking could provide the step change needed to integrate the multiple elements of conservation goals and interventions in order to achieve successful biodiversity outcomes.

No abstract

No abstract

Many animal taxa exhibit sex‐specific variation in ecological traits, such as foraging and distribution. These differences could result in sex‐specific responses to change, but such demographic effects are poorly understood. Here, we test for sex‐specific differences in the demography of northern (NGP, Macronectes halli) and southern (SGP, M. giganteus) giant petrels – strongly sexually size‐dimorphic birds that breed sympatrically at South Georgia, South Atlantic Ocean. Both species feed at sea or on carrion on land, but larger males (30% heavier) are more reliant on terrestrial foraging than the more pelagic females. Using multi‐event mark‐recapture models, we examine the impacts of long‐term changes in environmental conditions and commercial fishing on annual adult survival and use two‐sex matrix population models to forecast future trends. As expected, survival of male NGP was positively affected by carrion availability, but negatively affected by zonal winds. Female survival was positively affected by meridional winds and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and negatively affected by sea ice concentration and pelagic longline effort. Survival of SGPs did not differ between sexes; however, survival of males only was positively correlated with the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). Two‐sex population projections indicate that future environmental conditions are likely to benefit giant petrels. However, any potential increase in pelagic longline fisheries could reduce female survival and population growth. Our study reveals that sex‐specific ecological differences can lead to divergent responses to environmental drivers (i.e. climate and fisheries). Moreover, because such effects may not be apparent when all individuals are considered together, ignoring sex differences could underestimate the relative influence of a changing environment on demography.

Bycatch of pelagic seabird species in longline fisheries is recognized as one of the most important and pervasive sources of mortality, contributing to an increased risk of their extinction. Uptake of mitigation measures to reduce seabird bycatch has not been widespread by the industry. Here, we present the results of 18 at‐sea trials conducted between 2011–2015 onboard pelagic longliners targeting tuna (Thunnus spp) and swordfish (Xiphias gladius) in South African, Brazilian and Australian waters, using a recently designed seabird bycatch mitigation device. The ‘Hookpod’ is a polycarbonate capsule that encases the point and barb of baited pelagic longline hooks to prevent seabirds from becoming hooked and drowning during line‐setting operations. The assessment was based on efficacy (i.e. reducing rates of seabird bycatch without impacting target catch rate) and practicality (i.e. how the Hookpod fitted into fishing operations). We observed 59 130 experimental branchlines over 129 sets and recorded a single seabird mortality on the Hookpod branchlines compared to 24 on the control branchlines, a bycatch rate of 0.04 birds/1000 hooks and 0.8 birds/1000 hooks, respectively. No difference in catch rate of target fish species between Hookpod and control treatments was detected. These findings demonstrate that Hookpods do not negatively affect catch rate of target species and could make an important contribution to halting the decline of many seabird populations if adopted as a mitigation measure by the pelagic longline fishing industry.

ABSTRACT. We document the expansion of the breeding distribution of the Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea (Linnaeus, 1758) to 850 km beyond its previous southern limit in South America. In addition we present data on abundance, breeding biology and food of the species in the Patos Lagoon estuary, the area which the species recently colonized. The maximum abundance recorded in the breeding colony and in a nocturnal roosting site was 53 and 49 individuals respectively. Nesting occurred from September to March. Birds nested in a mixed breeding colony together with about 3,000 breeding pairs of seven other species of Pelecaniformes, in a swampy forest near the margin of the estuary. Five nests were between 1.5 and 4.3 m from the ground, on the shrub Daphnopsis racemosa (Thymelaeaceae), on the trees Sebastiana brasiliensis (Euphorbiaceae) and Mimosa bimucronata (Leguminosae), or on the bamboo Bambusa sp. (Poaceae). Four nests produced two fledglings each, while one nest was abandoned. Of 13 grouped samples of food regurgitated by five nestlings, Pink Shrimp Farfantepenaeus paulensis (PerezFarfante, 1967) constituted 70% in mass, while total length of ingested fishes and shrimps varied mostly between 20 and 50 mm. Estuarine prey items represented 99% of the total food mass. The recent southward expansion of the breeding range of the Little Blue Heron in South America may be a response to climate warming of the Patos Lagoon estuary. Degradation of estuaries in the southwestern Atlantic may also be forcing the birds to breed in areas outside previous geographical range. KEYWORDS.Climate change, herons, reproduction, Rio Grande do Sul, range expansion.RESUMO. Abundância, reprodução e alimentação da garça-azul Egretta caerulea no estuário da Lagoa dos Patos, uma área recentemente colonizada no sul do Brasil. No presente trabalho é documentada a expansão da distribuição reprodutiva da garça-azul Egretta caerulea (Linnaeus, 1758) 850 km para o sul das colônias mais austrais previamente conhecidas. Adicionalmente, são apresentadas informações sobre abundância, reprodução e alimentação da espécie no estuário da Lagos dos Patos, região recentemente colonizada no extremo sul do Brasil. As garças-azuis nidificaram em uma colônia multiespecífica localizada em uma mata paludosa às margens do estuário, contendo outras sete espécies de Pelecaniformes, totalizando cerca de 3.000 pares reprodutivos. O período reprodutivo se estendeu de setembro até fins de março, e as maiores abundâncias registradas na colônia e no dormitório foram 53 e 49 indivíduos, respectivamente. Foram encontrados cinco ninhos, construídos sobre árvores Sebastiana brasiliensis (Euphorbiaceae) ou Mimosa bimucronata (Leguminosae), arbustos Daphnopsis racemosa (Thymelaeaceae), ou bambus Bambusa sp. (Poaceae), em alturas entre 1,5 e 4,3 m acima do solo. Quatro ninhos produziram dois filhotes cada, e um foi abandonado. Em uma análise preliminar da dieta, baseada em 13 amostras de alimento regurgitado de cinco filhotes, verificou-se que camarões-rosa Farfantepenaeus ...

No abstract

ABSTRACT. Distribution records of poorly-known species are currently the most explored theme in the Brazilian seabird literature. If properly evaluated, this kind of information can improve our knowledge on distribution, migration and status of occurrence of these species. In this note we present new records for six species of poorly-known seabirds in the Brazilian coast, reviewing distribution records and defining their status of occurrence in the country. We consider Chionis albus (Gmelin, 1789) a pseudo-vagrant in Brazil and define its status as a scarce seasonal visitor from southern South America. We present the first records of Leucophaeus atricilla (Linnaeus, 1758) RESUMO. Novos registros, distribuição e status de seis espécies de aves marinhas no Brasil. Registros de ocorrência de espécies pouco conhecidas têm sido o tema mais explorado na literatura sobre aves marinhas no Brasil. Se avaliado de forma adequada, esse tipo de informação pode contribuir para a compreensão de padrões de distribuição geográfica, migrações e definição do status de ocorrência dessas espécies. Neste estudo, apresentamos novos registros para seis espécies de aves marinhas pouco conhecidas no litoral brasileiro, revisando sua distribuição e definindo seu status de ocorrência no país. Consideramos Chionis albus (Gmelin, 1789) um pseudo-vagante no Brasil e definimos seu status como visitante sazonal escasso, oriundo do sul da América do Sul. Apresentamos os primeiros registros de Leucophaeus atricilla (Linnaeus, 1758) para a Ilha da Trindade e de Leucophaeus pipixcan (Wagler, 1831) para o estado do Rio Grande do Sul, e definimos que a primeira é vagante no Brasil oriental e a última vagante em todo o território nacional. Anous stolidus (Linnaeus, 1758) é vagante no extremo sul do país. Não foi possível determinar se os registros de Chlidonias niger (Linnaeus, 1758) para o Brasil e sul da América do Sul referem-se a vagância ou pseudo-vagância. Adicionalmente, verificamos a reprodução de Anous minutus Boie, 1844 na Ilha de Martin Vaz e confirmamos a inexistência de evidências de nidificação para a vizinha Ilha da Trindade. PALAVRAS-CHAVE.Vagância, pseudo-vagância, migração, Rio Grande do Sul, Ilhas da Trindade e Martin Vaz.Knowledge of seabirds inhabiting Brazil's extensive coastline and numerous coastal and oceanic islands has increased from the pioneering studies of IHERING (1888), NICOLL (1906) andMURPHY (1915) to recent reports focusing mainly on distribution, behavior and conservation (see VOOREN & BRUSQUE, 1999;BRANCO, 2004;DE LUCA et al., 2006;MORAES-ORNELLAS, 2009 and references therein). Despite these advances, the latitudinal gradient of 7,300 km spanning along the Brazilian seaboard (DE LUCA et al., 2006) and the isolation of some islands still pose major obstacles for the development of marine ornithology in Brazil. Not surprisingly, distribution records of poorly-known species are the most explored theme in the recent Brazilian seabird literature (MORAES-ORNELLAS, 2009). For some of these species, sound considerations...