Conservation of Marine Birds is the first book to outline and synthesize the myriad of threats faced by one of the most imperilled groups of birds on earth. With more than half of all 346 seabird species worldwide experiencing population declines and 29% of species recognized as globally threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the timing to determine solutions to threats could not be more urgent. Written by a diverse team of international experts on marine birds, this book explores the environmental and biogeographical factors that influence seabird conservation and provides concrete recommendations for mounting climate change issues. This book will be an important resource for researchers and conservationists, as well as ecologists and students who want to understand seabirds, the threats they are facing, and tactics to help conserve and protect them.
Section I: Threats
1. Ecology of marine birds / Lindsay Young and Lisa T. Ballance
2. Conservation status and overview of threats / Richard A Phillips, Jérôme Fort, and Maria P Dias
3. Fisheries interaction - prey based depletion and bycatch / William A. Montevecchi
4. Invasive species / Dena R. Spatz, Holly Jones, Elsa Bonnaud, Peter Kappes, Nick D. Holmes, and Yuliana Bedolla Guzmán
5. Health and Diseases / Ralph Eric Thijl Vanstreels, Marcela M. Uhart, and Thierry Work
6. Pollution - lights, plastics and contaminants / Morgan Gilmour, Airam Rodriguez, Stephanie Borrelle, Linda Elliott, and Rae Okawa
7. Disturbance and hunting / D.C. Duffy and V. Peschko
8. Climate change / William J. Sydeman, Pistorius PA, Watanuki Y, Thompson, SA, Orgeret F
Section II: Solutions
9. Introduction and historical approaches to seabird conservation / Colin M. Miskelly
10. Legal and regulatory frameworks / Craig S. Harrison, Mi Ae Kim, and Mark Tasker
11. Cultural aspects of seabird management / Kawika Winter, Rebecca Young, and Phil Lyver
12. Managing seabird harvest / Liliana C. Naves and Thomas C. Rothe
13. Mitigating light attraction / Airam Rodriguez
14. Reducing collisions with structures / Marc Travers
15. Conservation of Marine Birds: Biosecurity, control, and eradication of invasive species threats / Nick Holmes, Rachel Buxton, Holly Jones, Federico Mendez-Sanchez, Steffen Oppel, James Russell, Dena Spatz, Araceli Samaniego
16. Fisheries regulation and conserving prey bases / Mark Tasker and William J. Sydeman
17. Bycatch reduction / Edward F. Melvin, Anton Wolfaardt, Rory Crawford, Eric Gilman, and Cristián G. Suazo
18. Protecting marine habitats: spatial conservation measures for seabirds at sea / Robert A. Ronconi, Joanna L. Smith, and Karel A. Allard
19. Restoration and assisted colonization by social attraction and translocation / Eric VanderWerf, Stephen Kress, Yuliana Bedolla Guzmán, Dena Spatz, Graeme Taylor, and Helen Gummer
20. Conclusions and the future of seabird conservation / Lindsay Young and Eric VanderWerf
Dr Lindsay Young is the Executive Director of Pacific Rim Conservation, a non-profit organization she co-founded with Eric VanderWerf to address research and management needs of native species across the Pacific. She earned an MS and PhD in Zoology from the University of Hawaii. Dr Young has specialized in creating “mainland islands” through predator-proof fencing followed by habitat restoration and seabird attraction and translocation. In 2014 she oversaw the construction of a predator-proof fence at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge followed by intensive habitat restoration in anticipation of translocating Hawaiian Petrels and Newell’s Shearwaters. Dr Young has authored several dozen scientific papers, served as the treasurer for the Pacific Seabird Group, the local chair of PSG twice, the chair of the North Pacific Albatross Working Group, and the North Pacific correspondent for ACAP (Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels).
Dr Eric A. VanderWerf is the Director of Science of Pacific Rim Conservation. He completed a PhD at the University of Hawai`i, where his research focused on plumage variation and effects of habitat disturbance and diseases on population biology of the Hawai`i Elepaio. He has worked on a variety of conservation and ornithological projects in Hawai`i and throughout the Pacific and was previously with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife. Dr VanderWerf has authored over 100 scientific papers, book chapters, government documents, and technical reports, and serves as the leader of the Hawaiian Forest Bird Recovery Team for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, on the Endangered Species Recovery Committee for the State of Hawai`i, as an associate editor for the Condor, and as an associate editor of the Birds of North America.