80Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds

80 Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds

Light pollution represents a potential threat to this species in parts of the range. A number much higher than anticipated, of (predominantly juvenile) shearwaters were found dead or injured as a result of being attracted to lights and grounded. Over a 15-year period of patrols on Phillip Island, Victoria (1999-2013), 8,871 fledglings were found grounded, 39 per cent of which were dead or dying. The incidence levels far exceed those of other shearwater spp., however fewer than 1 per cent of fledglings produced annually are thought to be affected by mortality from attraction to artificial light (Rodriguez et al. 2014).

Wrecks (mass-mortality events) have been reported, e.g. at Bering Sea 1997 (Hyrenbach et al. 2001) and in Australia 2013 (Peter and Dooley 2014) and are potentially linked to ecosystem changes caused by climate change and salmon productivity (Brooke 2004; Springer at al. 2018). Recent studies indicate that both young and adults suffer from the ingestion of marine plastic debris, with potentially adverse effects (Carey 2011).

 Update population estimates for this species in Tasmania and Australia

 Implement measures to reduce the impact of light pollution near breeding colonies

Photograph of a Short-tailed Shearwater during the night at its burrow

Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds 81

Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas)

TABLE Species information for the Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas)

The Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas) is a very large shearwater, with a long slender bill, long slender neck and body tapering to long wedge-shaped tail. Wings are long and broad and the species has a diagnostic white face, finely streaked black.

This species is found in the western Pacific, breeding on the coast and on offshore islands of Japan, Russia, China and Korean Peninsula. Breeding begins in March at colonies on offshore islands, occupying burrows in forested hills. It undergoes trans-equatorial migration traveling south during winter, to the coasts of Vietnam, New Guinea, the Philippines, Australia, southern India and Sri Lanka (del Hoyo et al. 1992,

Praveen et al. 2013). It feeds mainly on fish and squid which it catches by surface-seizing and shallow plunges. It often associates with other seabirds and will follow fishing boats.

The global population has been estimated to number 3 million individuals

(Brooke 2004). In Japan, where the majority of the species breeds, there are 11 islands that are each thought to be inhabited by more than 10,000 breeding pairs (Oka 2004). According to locals, the species appears to have been decreasing rapidly on Mikura-Jima, but quantitative data are not available (BirdLife International 2019). The prevalence of threats from introduced predators suggests that the species is in overall decrease; however, further data are required from throughout the species range to assess the current population trend.