Hobart

Seminar Abstract

Wednesday 13 February 2008, 11.30am (Tas time)
CSIRO Auditorium, Hobart

Richard A Phillips
British Antarctic Survey

Research and conservation of albatrosses and petrels

Many albatrosses and large petrels are declining rapidly because of incidental mortality in longline and trawl fisheries. Advances in micro technology over the last 20 years have revolutionised our understanding of the foraging behaviour of these highly pelagic seabirds. This talk will provide a broad overview of results from the research programmes on demography, physiology and foraging ecology of albatrosses and petrels that have taken place at South Georgia, for some species since the late 1950s. This includes some of the first deployments of satellite-transmitters to the recent application of GPS, geolocators, immersion and other loggers, and stable isotopes, to reveal the distribution and behaviour of birds in unprecedented detail, including during the nonbreeding period when they are far from colonies. This research has not only provided new insights into ecological specialisation and segregation, but, by indicating regions of highest utilisation and overlap with fisheries, has also served to highlight conservation issues of global concern.

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Location:
CSIRO = Marine Laboratories Auditorium, Castray Esplanade, Hobart

For further information, or to schedule a seminar, contact:
To schedule a seminar, contact:
Bernadette Sloyan, (Oceanographic seminars) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (03) 6232 5152
Thomas Kunz, (Biological seminars) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research
(03) 6232 5076
Natalie Dowling, (Fisheries Modelling) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research
(03) 6232 5148
Jillian Enraght-Moony, (seminar administrator) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (03) 6232 5320
Sandra Zicus, Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC (03) 6226 7888
Margaret Hazelwood, Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies (IASOS) University of Tasmania (03) 6226 2971

Last updated 8/02/08