Threats to seabirds: A global assessment

Abstract

37We present the first objective quantitative assessment of the threats to all 359 species of seabirds, 38 identify the main challenges facing them, and outline priority actions for their conservation. We applied 39 the standardised Threats Classification Scheme developed for the IUCN Red List to objectively assess 40 threats to each species and analysed the data according to global IUCN threat status, taxonomic group, 41and primary foraging habitat (coastal or pelagic). The top three threats to seabirds in terms of number 42 of species affected and average impact are: invasive alien species, affecting 165 species across all the 43 most threatened groups; bycatch in fisheries, affecting fewer species (100) but with the greatest 44 average impact; and climate change/severe weather, affecting 96 species. In addition to impacting 86% 45 of globally threatened species, these three top threats also affect 81% of the species currently classified 46as Near Threatened or as Least Concern but declining. Reversing these three threats would benefit two-47 thirds of all species and c. 380 million individual seabirds (c. 45% of the total global seabird population). 48Most seabirds (c. 70%), especially globally threatened species, face multiple threats. For albatrosses, 49 petrels and penguins in particular (the three most threatened groups of seabirds), it is essential to 50 tackle both terrestrial and marine threats to reverse declines. As the negative effects of climate change 51 are harder to mitigate, it is vital to compensate by addressing other major threats that often affect the 52 same species, such as invasive alien species and bycatch, for which proven solutions exist. 53 54

Protein Deimination and Extracellular Vesicle Profiles in Antarctic Seabirds

“…Seabirds are subject to a range of natural and anthropogenic pressures, including from incidental mortality (bycatch) in fisheries, overfishing, invasive species and exposure to pathogens and contaminants [39][40][41]. In addition, global climate change affects prey abundance and distribution at sea, increases the frequency of extreme weather (storms, high winds, rainfall or heatwaves) and possibly the likelihood or severity of disease outbreaks [42][43][44].…”

“…This compares with poultry, for example, in which acute-phase proteins have been studied because of commercial interests in minimizing disease outbreaks on farms [67][68][69][70][71]. As seabirds provide an ideal model for assessment of environmental changes and belong to the most globally threatened of all groups of birds [40,41], the identification of novel biomarkers to assess their health status is of pivotal importance.…”

Overhauling Ocean Spatial Planning to Improve Marine Megafauna Conservation

“…Increasing fishing intensity, shipping density, plastic pollution, and warming represent four major threats to many marine species, including seabirds (e.g., Dias et al, 2019), sharks (Queiroz et al, 2019), and cetaceans (Harcourt et al, 2019b), that are now occurring at the full extent of the globe (Figures 2A-D). These threats, which can influence each other (e.g., Arctic ice melting due to climate change is leading to new shipping routes), are highly dynamic in space and time (e.g., Molinos et al, 2016), and occur simultaneously in most of the global ocean.…”

Assessing the effectiveness of foraging radius models for seabird distributions using biotelemetry and survey data

“…Consequently, there is often insufficient data to inform conservation planning in marine systems, leading to a difficulty in defining marine protected areas for many marine top predators (Game et al 2009, Dias et al 2017. This is especially true for seabirds, a taxonomic group for which there remains a major gap in the level of protection afforded at sea for even the most threatened species (McGowan et al 2017, Critchley et al 2018) and who face significant threats when foraging at sea (Croxall et al 2012, Dias et al 2019.…”