Shearwaters and petrels (hereafter petrels) are highly adapted seabirds that occur across all the world's oceans. Petrels are a threatened seabird group comprising 124 species. They have bet-hedging life histories typified by extended chick rearing periods, low fecundity, high adult survival, strong philopatry, monogamy and long-term mate fidelity and are thus vulnerable to change. Anthropogenic alterations on land and at sea have led to a poor conservation status of many petrels with 52 (42%) threatened species based on IUCN criteria and 65 (52%) suffering population declines. Some species are well-studied, even being used as bioindicators of ocean health, yet for others there are major knowledge gaps regarding their breeding grounds, migratory areas or other key aspects of their biology and ecology. We assembled 38 petrel conservation researchers to summarize information regarding the most important threats according to the IUCN Red List of threatened species to identify knowledge gaps that must be filled to improve conservation and management of petrels. We highlight research advances on the main threats for petrels (invasive species at breeding grounds, bycatch, overfishing, light pollution, climate change, and pollution). We propose an ambitious goal to reverse at least some of these six main threats, through active efforts such as restoring island habitats (e.g., invasive species removal, control and prevention), improving policies and regulations at global and regional levels, and engaging local communities in conservation efforts.
1.CSIC, Estn Biol Donana, Dept Evolutionary Ecol, Seville, Spain 2.SEO BirdLife, Marine Programme, Barcelona, Spain 3.CNRS, Ctr Etud Biol Chize, Chize, France 4.Univ La Rochelle, Chize, France 5.BirdLife Int, Cambridge, England 6.ISPA Inst Univ, Marine & Environm Sci Ctr MARE, Lisbon, Portugal 7.Isl Conservat, Santa Cruz, CA USA 8.AZTI, Pasaia, Spain 9.Acadia Univ, Dept Biol, Wolfville, NS, Canada 10.Kauai Endangered Seabird Recovery Project, Hanapepe, HI USA 11.Univ Barcelona, Dept Biol Evolut Ecol & Ciencies Ambientals, Fac Biol, Barcelona, Spain 12.Canary Isl Omithol & Nat Hist Grp GOHNIC, Buenavista Del Norte, Spain 13.Environm & Climate Change Canada, Canadian Wildlife Serv, Dartmouth, NS, Canada 14.Queens Univ, Biol Dept, Kingston, ON, Canada 15.Trent Univ, Biol Dept, Peterborough, ON, Canada 16.Univ Paris Saclay, Univ Paris Sud, AgroParisTech, CNRS,Ecol Systemat & Evolut, Orsay, France 17.Soc Conservat Biol, David H Smith Conservat Res Program, Washington, DC USA 18.Norwegian Polar Res Inst, Fram Ctr, Tromso, Norway 19.CSIC, Theoret & Computat Ecol Lab, Ctr Estudis Avancats Blanes, Blanes, Spain 20.Environm & Climate Change Canada, Wildlife Res Div, Mount Pearl, NB, Canada 21.Oikonos Ecosyst Knowledge, Tacoma, WA USA 22.Black Bawks Data Sci, Fort Augustus, Scotland 23.Univ Reunion, UMR ENTROPIE, St Denis, Reunion, France 24.Univ Reunion, UMR Proc Infectieux Milieu Insulaire Trop, St Denis, Reunion, France 25.Univ Washington, Washington Sea Grant, Seattle, WA 98195 USA 26.Mem Univ Newfoundland, Psychol Dept, St John, NB, Canada 27.LIFE Petrels, Parc Natl Reunion, St Denis, Reunion, France 28.Univ Auckland, Sch Biol Sci, Auckland, New Zealand 29.Univ Cape Town, FitzPatrick Inst African Ornithol, Cape Town, South Africa 30.UIB CSIC, Inst Mediterraneo Estudios Avanzados, Anim Ecol & Demog Grp, Esporles, Spain 31.Univ Exeter, Environm & Sustainabil Inst, Exeter, Cornwall, England 32.BirdLife South Africa, Seabird Conservat Programme, Cape Town, South Africa 33.Univ Tasmania, Inst Marine & Antarctic Studies, Hobart, Tas, Australia 34.Phillip Isl Nat Pk, Conservat Dept, Cowes, Vic, Australia 35.Monash Univ, Sch Biol Sci, Clayton, Vic, Australia
Recommended Citation:
Rodriguez, Airam,Arcos, Jose M.,Bretagnolle, Vincent,et al. Future Directions in Conservation Research on Petrels and Shearwaters[J]. FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE,2019-01-01,6