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Tropical Shearwater population stability at Reunion Island, despite light pollution

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Abstract

Seabirds are exposed to numerous threats at sea and on land, and they are among the most endangered birds worldwide. Procellariids are attracted by artificial light, and this causes massive fallout at various places of the world. In Reunion Island, Tropical Shearwaters Puffinus bailloni are heavily impacted by light pollution. To assess the population trends of this species, we conducted two large-scale acoustic surveys across the island (in 1996/1997 and in 2013/2015) and analysed the numbers of birds attracted by lights and rescued by the local wildlife rescue center between 1996 and 2015. We detected 220 colonies in 2013/2015, including 124 colonies previously surveyed in 1996/97 and 96 newly discovered colonies. The average vocal activity recorded at colonies was similar during the two surveys suggesting no marked change in population size. Some 13,200 Tropical Shearwaters were found grounded since 1996 due to light attraction, of which 88 % were successfully released. The number of reported grounded birds increased 19-fold between 1996 and 2015. This increase was due to a combination of factors that are difficult to disentangle: (1) increasing public awareness; (2) increasing light pollution; and (3) the absence of population collapse. Indeed, both acoustic surveys and the number of rescued birds indicate that the Tropical Shearwater population of Reunion Island did not decline between 1996/1997 and 2013/2015. We suggest that the rescue campaigns conducted annually strongly contributed to this stability. Thus, we recommend maintaining the rescue operations, but also to reduce light pollution.

Zusammenfassung

Tropensturmtaucherpopulation auf Réunion stabil trotz Lichtverschmutzung

Seevögel sind auf See und an Land einer Vielzahl von Gefährdungen ausgesetzt und gehören zu einer der am stärksten bedrohten Vogelgruppen weltweit. Procellariidae werden von künstlichen Lichtquellen angelockt, was an verschiedenen Orten weltweit zu einer großen Zahl an Strandungen führt. Auf Réunion sind Tropensturmtaucher Puffinus bailloni stark von Lichtverschmutzung betroffen. Zur Bestimmung des Populationstrends der Art führten wir zwei großflächige akustische Erfassungen der gesamten Insel durch (1996/1997 und 2013/2015) und analysierten darüber hinaus die Anzahl an Vögeln, die im Zeitraum zwischen 1996 und 2015 vom Licht angelockt und von der Wildtierrettungsstation vor Ort rehabilitiert wurden. In den Jahren 2013/2015 erfassten wir 220 Kolonien einschließlich der 124 zuvor in den Jahren 1996/1997 erfassten Kolonien und 96 neu entdeckten Kolonien. Die durchschnittliche Rufaktivität war während der beiden Erfassungen vergleichbar hoch, weshalb davon ausgegangen werden kann, dass keine merkliche Veränderung in der Populationsgröße stattgefunden hat. Seit 1996 wurden ungefähr 13.200 durch Lichtverschmutzung gestrandete Tropensturmtaucher aufgefunden, von denen 88 % erfolgreich rehabilitiert wurden. Die Anzahl Meldungen gestrandeter Vögel stieg zwischen 1996 und 2015 um das neunzehnfache. Dieser Anstieg beruhte auf einer Kombination von Faktoren, die schwer voneinander zu trennen sind: (1) erweitertes Bewusstsein in der Öffentlichkeit; (2) zunehmende Lichtverschmutzung und (3) ein fehlender Zusammenbruch der Population. Tatsächlich deuten sowohl die akustischen Erfassungen als auch die Zahl rehabilitierter Vögel darauf hin, dass die Tropensturmtaucherpopulation auf Réunion zwischen 1996/1997 und 2013/2015 nicht zurückging. Wir schließen daraus, dass die jährlich durchgeführten Rettungsaktionen maßgeblich zu dieser Stabilität beisteuern. Daher schlagen wir vor, die Rettungsaktionen fortzuführen, jedoch darüber hinaus auch die Lichtverschmutzung zu reduzieren.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Association Nationale de la Recherche et la Technologie, CBo Territoria, Communauté INtercommunale du NOrd de la Réunion, Région Réunion and Biotope. Authors want to thank all the contributors to this work, especially the numerous fieldworkers and particularly V. Tauran, Y. Soulaimana Mattoir, C. Scher, and B. Bourillon. We also want to thank all the people that donated money, critically important for the care center and, further, all volunteers that participated in the rescue campaigns. Special thanks to A. Raine (from the Kauai Endangered Seabird Recovery Project at the University of Hawaii) for sharing with us a photograph of Newell’s Shearwater’s habitat, in Kauai, Hawaii, to V. Viblanc and M. Enstipp for the paper review and to the reviewers who bring pertinent comments improving the paper. The 1996/1997 acoustic survey was funded by the French Ministry of Environment (Direction Régionale de l’Environnement Réunion) and was conducted under the supervision of P. Jouventin with the collaboration of S. Ribes (Natural History Museum of Reunion Island). We thank all field workers that participated in this pioneering surveys in 1996/1997, especially T. Gerdil, D. Capdeville, G. Jacubek, and J. Bried.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UMR ENTROPIE, 15 Avenue René Cassin, BP 7151, 97715, Saint-Denis Messag, La Réunion, France

    Benoit Gineste, Gaël Potin & Matthieu Le Corre

  2. BIOTOPE, 910 Chemin Lagourgue, 97440, Saint-André, La Réunion, France

    Benoit Gineste, Mathieu Souquet, Yannick Giloux, Jean-Sébastien Philippe & Cedric Hoarau

  3. SEOR (Société d’Etudes Ornithologiques de La Réunion), 13 ruelle des Orchidées, 97440, Saint-André, La Réunion, France

    François-Xavier Couzi & Julie Tourmetz

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  1. Benoit Gineste
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  2. Mathieu Souquet
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  3. François-Xavier Couzi
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Correspondence to Benoit Gineste.

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Gineste, B., Souquet, M., Couzi, FX. et al. Tropical Shearwater population stability at Reunion Island, despite light pollution. J Ornithol 158, 385–394 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-016-1396-5

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