Effects of land-based light pollution on two species of burrow-nesting seabirds in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Wilhelm, Sabina I.; Dooley, Suzanne M.; Corbett, Emma P.; Fitzsimmons, Michelle G.; Ryan, Pierre C.; Robertson, Gregory J.

doi:10.5751/ace-01809-160112

Cited by 26 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Considerable effort is being invested into risk assessment for Leach's Storm-Petrels across Atlantic Canada with a focus on breeding adults (e.g., Hedd et al, 2018;d'Entremont et al, 2020;Wilhelm et al, 2020;Collins, 2021;COSEWIC, 2020;Hoeg et al, 2021). Studies indicate that Leach's Storm-Petrels in the region strand on oil platforms, vessels, and at brightly illuminated coastal sites during the breeding season, but the greatest number of stranded birds are found during the fall when fledglings are departing colonies for the first time (Davis et al, 2017;Gjerdrum et al, 2021;Wilhelm et al, 2021;WM, unpublished data). These circumstances raise concern about risk posed by light attraction for adults and other age-classes outside the breeding period.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on the expansive area covered by Leach's Storm-Petrels during the non-breeding period (Pollet et al, 2014a(Pollet et al, , 2019, individuals from this and other populations will be exposed to oceanic sources of anthropogenic light such as boats, oil platforms, and drill rigs. Very little is known about juvenile survival, but the majority of seabirds that have been recovered from light-polluted areas are juveniles (Rodríguez et al, 2017b;Atchoi et al, 2020;Wilhelm et al, 2021). The visual system of Leach's Storm-Petrel chicks develops very slowly, and their eyes may not be fully developed until after fledging (Mitkus et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Continued research on the risks of light attraction to Leach's Storm-Petrels is needed and should be broadened to include vessel and coastal lighting, to assess the risks at different times of the year (e.g., Wilhelm et al, 2021), and to assess the risks for individuals of different age groups. Further research on the visual system of Leach's Storm-Petrels will inform best practices moving forward.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Foraging Paths of Breeding Leach’s Storm-Petrels in Relation to Offshore Oil Platforms, Breeding Stage, and Year

et al. 2022

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The global population of Leach’s Storm-Petrels (Hydrobates leucorhous), the smallest and most abundant breeding seabird species in eastern Canada, has declined substantially in recent decades. The species is listed as “Threatened” by the Committee On the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and as “Vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Fatal attraction to anthropogenic light is a major risk for Leach’s Storm-Petrels and many other nocturnal seabirds. From May to September each year, Leach’s Storm-Petrels in eastern Canada breed in island colonies and travel many hundreds of kilometers to obtain prey for themselves and their chick. At the species’ largest colonies in eastern Newfoundland, brightly illuminated oil production platforms intersect breeding storm-petrels’ foraging paths. The level of risk posed by these platforms is poorly understood. GPS tracking from 2016 to 2021 at one of the world’s largest colonies revealed considerable similarity in foraging trip distance, location, and behavior (inferred from Hidden Markov Models) among years, and a decrease in trip distance and duration between incubation and chick-rearing. Leach’s Storm-Petrels flew within the light catch-basin of an oil platform in 17.5% of trips, and the birds tended to transit rapidly past platforms during the day when light attraction is minimal. Exposure to oil platforms at night occurred in only 1.1% of trips. Despite our findings, Leach’s Storm-Petrels are known to strand on oil platforms in large numbers, especially during the fledging period. In addition, storm-petrels migrate over great distances and are likely exposed to brightly illuminated oceanic oil platforms outside the breeding season. Our results emphasize the need to focus conservation research on risks during migration and winter, and on juveniles and immature birds.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Foraging Paths of Breeding Leach’s Storm-Petrels in Relation to Offshore Oil Platforms, Breeding Stage, and Year

et al. 2022

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“…However, the colony has been in decline since the 1980s (Duda et al, 2020c;Wilhelm et al, 2020). The cause of the decline remains under investigation and is likely multi-faceted, but leading drivers include changes in oceanic conditions, such as a deeper pycnocline, as well as increased onshore and offshore light pollution, and attraction to human infrastructure (Gjerdrum et al, 2021;Mauck et al, 2018;Wilhelm et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate oscillations drive millennial‐scale changes in seabird colony size

Duda

Cyr

Robertson

et al. 2022

Global Change Biology

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Seabird population size is intimately linked to the physical, chemical, and biological processes of the oceans. Yet, the overall effects of long‐term changes in ocean dynamics on seabird colonies are difficult to quantify. Here, we used dated lake sediments to reconstruct ~10,000‐years of seabird dynamics in the Northwest Atlantic to determine the influences of Holocene‐scale climatic oscillations on colony size. On Baccalieu Island (Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada)—where the world's largest colony of Leach's storm‐petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous Vieillot 1818) currently breeds—our data track seabird colony growth in response to warming during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (ca. 9000 to 6000 BP). From ca. 5200 BP to the onset of the Little Ice Age (ca. 550 BP), changes in colony size were correlated to variations in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). By contrasting the seabird trends from Baccalieu Island to millennial‐scale changes of storm‐petrel populations from Grand Colombier Island (an island in the Northwest Atlantic that is subjected a to different ocean climate), we infer that changes in NAO influenced the ocean circulation, which translated into, among many things, changes in pycnocline depth across the Northwest Atlantic basin where the storm‐petrels feed. We hypothesize that the depth of the pycnocline is likely a strong bottom‐up control on surface‐feeding storm‐petrels through its influence on prey accessibility. Since the Little Ice Age (LIA), the effects of ocean dynamics on seabird colony size have been altered by anthropogenic impacts. Subsequently, the colony on Baccalieu Island grew at an unprecedented rate to become the world's largest resulting from favorable conditions linked to climate warming, increased vegetation (thereby nesting habitat), and attraction of recruits from other colonies that are now in decline. We show that although ocean dynamics were an important driver of seabird colony dynamics, its recent influence has been modified by human interference.

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“…Consequently, deck strikes also have the potential to reduce WHDP productivity. Additionally, as seabird fledglings are disproportionately affected by onshore ALAN (Rodríguez et al, 2017; Wilhelm et al, 2021), the potential for deck strikes could have implications for WHDP juvenile survival. Consequently, offshore ALAN has the potential to impact every key demographic parameter (Gaston et al, 2015) and as such, may be a hitherto overlooked threat to this critically endangered species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consistent offshore artificial light at night near the last breeding colony of a critically endangered seabird

Fischer

Debski

Taylor

et al. 2021

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Artificial light at night (ALAN) is considered a major threat to biodiversity, yet impacts of offshore ALAN on seabirds remain poorly understood. Particularly understudied are deck strikes (collisions of seabirds with vessels due to ALANinduced disorientation). To infer deck strike risks to the critically endangered Whenua Hou Diving-petrel (Pelecanoides whenuahouensis; WHDP), we estimated nightly vessel counts and associated probability of floodlight use in close proximity of their only breeding colony, number of WHDP commutes, duration of phenophases, and ultimately the cumulative exposure to floodlights using a Bayesian framework. The estimated nightly number of vessels was 0.76 (0.64-0.89), 31% (21%-38%) of which used floodlights. WHDPs were potentially exposed to 28.9 (19.7-39.7) floodlights per breeding period. There was no evidence for inter-annual variation in vessel counts, floodlight use, or WHDP activity, despite varying environmental conditions. WHDP activity, and therefore risk, was highest during courtship and post-guard. Yet, there was potential for deck strikes throughout the breeding period, which could impact WHDPs.We identify key research questions (likelihood of a deck strike occurring, survival of deck-struck birds, and post-release survival of deck-struck birds). In the meantime, small behavioral changes of vessel operators could be a successful approach to protecting seabirds from offshore ALAN. Tuhinga whakar apopotoKo te rama t awhai ite p o (ALAN) he mea whakam orearea i te rerenga rauropi, engari ko ng a p anga ote ALAN ki ng a manu moana ki tai k aore an o kia ata whakam aramatia. Ko ng a ahuatanga k aore an o kia ata t atari ko te tukinga k araho (ko te t utukinga o ng amanu moana e t ahurihuri ana ki ng a waka, n a te ALAN). Ki te whakapae atu i tem oreareatanga o te tukinga k araho ki te Kuaka Whenua Hou (Pelecanoideswhenuahouensis; WHDP) he manu e ngaro haere ana t ona whare ora, i whakatau tatate tini o ng a waka e tere i te p o me te t uponotanga e h angai ana ki tewhakamahinga o te t urama raharaha e p atata ana ki p urei k ohanga anake o r atou,te maha o ng a rerenga o ng a WHDP, te roa o te tauw ahi m atai, a, i te otinga kuawhakamahia te anga

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Effects of land-based light pollution on two species of burrow-nesting seabirds in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Cited by 26 publications

References 31 publications

Foraging Paths of Breeding Leach’s Storm-Petrels in Relation to Offshore Oil Platforms, Breeding Stage, and Year

Foraging Paths of Breeding Leach’s Storm-Petrels in Relation to Offshore Oil Platforms, Breeding Stage, and Year

Climate oscillations drive millennial‐scale changes in seabird colony size

Consistent offshore artificial light at night near the last breeding colony of a critically endangered seabird

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