Ariel Heswall
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Heswall, A. M., Miller, L., McNaughton, E. J., Brunton-Martin, A. L., Cain, K. E., Friesen, M. R., & Gaskett, A. C. (2022). Artificial light at night correlates with seabird groundings: mapping city lights near a seabird breeding hotspot. PeerJ, 10, e14237.
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a growing conservation concern for seabirds, which can become disoriented and grounded by lights from buildings, bridges and boats. Many fledgling seabirds, especially Procellariiformes such as petrels and shearwaters, are susceptible to light pollution. The Hauraki Gulf, a seabird hotspot located near Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, Aotearoa—New Zealand’s largest urban city, with a considerable amount of light pollution and regularly documented events of seabird groundings. We aim to identify the characteristics of locations especially prone to seabird groundings. We used an online database of seabirds taken to a wildlife rescue facility by the public to map 3 years of seabird groundings and test for correlations between seabird groundings and the natural night sky brightness. We found that areas with lower amounts of natural night sky brightness and greater light pollution often had a higher number of seabirds grounded. Further, we identified important seasonal patterns and species differences in groundings. Such differences may be a by-product of species ecology, visual ecology and breeding locations, all of which may influence attraction to lights. In general, seabird groundings correlate with the brightness of the area and are species-specific. Groundings may not be indicative of human or seabird population abundance considering some areas have a lower human population with high light levels and had high amounts of seabird groundings. These findings can be applied worldwide to mitigate groundings by searching and targeting specific brightly lit anthropogenic structures. Those targeted structures and areas can then be the focus of light mitigation efforts to reduce seabird groundings. Finally, this study illustrates how a combination of community science, and a concern for seabirds grounded from light attraction, in addition to detailed animal welfare data and natural night sky brightness data can be a powerful, collaborative tool to aid global conservation efforts for highly-at-risk animals such as seabirds.
Sweeney, A. P., Heswall, A. M., & Cain, K, E. (2022). An observation of a juvenile feeding an injured
adult in pūkeko (Porphyrio melanotus melanotus). Notornis, Vol. 69: 191-195
Short Note:
Altruism is defined as a behaviour that increases the fitness of recipients while decreasing that of the performer. Pūkeko (Porphyrio melanotus melanotus) often live in cooperatively breeding and polygynandrous groups and defend a shared territory. We monitored a pūkeko population at Watercare Coastal Walkway, Māngere, New Zealand. Captured birds were individually banded with unique colour combinations on both legs. During experimental trials, double-sided, step-activated Chooketeria feeders were placed in territories and behaviour was recorded. The beta male, Bird A, walked with only a slight limp. A series of video clips were captured at one of the feeders showing another subordinate male from the group (Bird B) repeatedly feeding Bird A. Because Bird A is a beta male (i.e. contributes to the maintenance of the group territory), its survival benefits the entire group. However, this is the first known instance of a lower ranking male assisting a higher-ranking male within the same social group.
Heswall, A. M., Friesen, M. R., Martin, A. L., & Gaskett, A. C. (2021). Seabird bycatch risk correlates with body size, and relatively larger skulls, bills, wings and sensory structures. Marine Biology, 168(5), 1-13.
Many animals have sensory biases towards signals or cues that typically provide some fitness benefit. Sensory traps occur when other species or anthropogenic sources produce similar signals or cues but responding is no longer adaptive and can impose significant costs or even death. Bycatch of seabirds by fishing boats has devastating impacts, causing hundreds of thousands of seabird deaths per annum. Here, we explore whether fishing vessels are acting as a sensory trap, inadvertently targeting seabirds with certain life-history traits or larger skeletal or sensory structures. We surveyed the literature to compare seabird order, diet, wingspan, body size, and nesting preference (surface or burrow) of 70 seabirds with varying numbers of reported bycatch in one of the world’s most important regions for seabird breeding, in northern Aotearoa New Zealand. We also examined the skeletal and sensory measurements of six seabirds that co-occur spatially in this region, but have different numbers of reported bycatch and indices of bycatch risk. The literature survey revealed that the Charadriiformes and the Sphenisciformes were the most vulnerable groups (p = 0.01), especially to surface longline fisheries. There were no correlations with diet and foraging behaviour, but surface nesting seabirds and those with larger bodies and wingspans were at a greater risk of becoming bycatch. Skeletal measurements show that species with higher bycatch also have relatively larger skulls, bills and wings, eye sockets and nostrils (relative to body size) (p < 0.05). This suggests that having a larger overall body size and longer protruding body parts is a primary risk factor, but that species with relatively more sensitive sensory systems likely have even more acute bycatch risk. Considering fishing vessels as sensory traps provides a context to explore the multiple interconnecting factors of sensory sensitivity, sensory bias, behaviour and morphology.
Lukies, K., Gaskin, C., Gaskett, A., Heswall, A., Gulley, K. and Friesen, M. (2021). Lighting adjustments to mitigate against fishing vessel deck strikes/vessel impacts. MIT2019-03 final report prepared by Northern New Zealand Seabird Trust for the New Zealand Department of Conservation, Wellington. 37 p.
Artificial light at night (ALAN) can negatively impact the behaviour of nocturnally active seabirds by causing disorientation, exhaustion, and injury or mortality from light-induced collisions. Procellariiformes (e.g., petrels, prions, shearwaters, diving petrels and storm petrels) are disproportionately attracted to ALAN compared to other seabird groups, fledglings on their maiden flight are most at risk. The Hauraki Gulf has one of the world’s highest diversities of seabirds, including several threatened species. Many of the species in the region are vulnerable to light pollution. While most of these species breed on uninhabited offshore islands, the extensive shipping activity in this region puts seabirds at great risk of light-induced collisions with vessels as they pass or are anchored nearby. This includes fishing vessels working at night.
Media Releases
Conferences
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TEDx
July 9th 2022 - I gave a TEDx talk at TEDxyouthparnell on how seabirds perceive threats in their environment
Pacific Seabird Group
February 2020 - I gave an oral presentation regarding my Honours research on seabird sensory ecology in relation to bycatch
February 2021 - I gave an oral presentation on seabird light attraction in the Hauraki Gulf
February 2022 - I gave an oral presentation on seabird fallout from light attraction in the Auckland region
February 20223- I gave an oral presentation on seabird plastic ingestion
BirdsNZ
June 2021 - I gave an oral presentation on seabird light attraction in the Hauraki Gulf
April 2022 - I gave a lecture on viewing threats to seabirds from their own perspective
June 2022 - I gave an oral presentation on seabird fallout in the Auckland region due to light attraction
June 2023 - I gave an oral presentation on seabird plastic ingestion
Australasian Society of Animal Behaviour
2019 - I presented a poster regarding my Honours research on seabird sensory ecology in relation to bycatch.
October 2020 - I gave an oral presentation on seabird light attraction in the Hauraki Gulf
Joint Graduate School for Biodiversity and Biosecurity
November 2019 - I gave an oral presentation regarding my Honours research on seabird sensory ecology in relation to bycatch
June 2021 - I gave an oral presentation on seabird light attraction in the Hauraki Gulf
New Zealand Ecological Society
November 2021 - I gave an oral presentation regarding different plastic colours being ingested by international seabirds
British Ornithology Union
November 2021 - I presented at the Twitter conference and discussed seabird light attraction in the Hauraki Gulf
Australasian Ornithology Conference
February 2022 - I presented a poster regarding different plastic colours being ingested by international seabirds
BirdCare Aotearoa
2021 – I gave two lectures and talks regarding Avian sensory ecology and seabird diversity in New Zealand.
May 2022 - I gave a lecture on seabird light attraction in the Hauraki gulf
World seabird union
May 2022 - I gave a twitter conference on the colours of plastic frequently ingested by seabirds
Sustainable Coatlines
August 2021 - I gave a lecture on general threats to seabirds and looking at it from a sensory perspective