Effects of land-based light pollution on two species of burrow-nesting seabirds in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

This study examines the occurrence and underlying factors of onshore strandings of two species of seabirds breeding in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica) are found stranded in coastal communities bordering the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve in artificially lit a...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Sabina I. Wilhelm, Suzanne M. Dooley, Emma P. Corbett, Michelle G. Fitzsimmons, Pierre C. Ryan, Gregory J. Robertson
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Resilience Alliance 2021
Materias:	attraction coastal impact light pollution onshore seabird stranding Plant culture SB1-1110 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Plant ecology QK900-989
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/b7e6592a096c44eca7d3cb7ab7ff95ee
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:b7e6592a096c44eca7d3cb7ab7ff95ee
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:b7e6592a096c44eca7d3cb7ab7ff95ee2021-11-15T16:40:14ZEffects of land-based light pollution on two species of burrow-nesting seabirds in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada1712-6568https://doaj.org/article/b7e6592a096c44eca7d3cb7ab7ff95ee2021-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ace-eco.org/vol16/iss1/art12/https://doaj.org/toc/1712-6568This study examines the occurrence and underlying factors of onshore strandings of two species of seabirds breeding in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica) are found stranded in coastal communities bordering the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve in artificially lit areas. Between 2011 and 2020, 3845 recently fledged puffins were found during nightly searches. Counts of puffins found per night were related to the phase of the moon, with the fewest birds found around the full moon. Mean annual body mass of pufflings was positively associated with annual recovery rates, providing a non-intrusive approach to monitor inter-annual productivity at the colony. Using two approaches to estimate population impacts of strandings, we estimate that < 0.2% of fledging chicks were attracted to lights emitted from coastal communities. Despite bordering two of the largest Leach's Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa) colonies in Newfoundland, this species was rarely observed stranded in the Witless Bay area. Rather, most of the 1903 stranded storm-petrels reported in 2018 and 2019 were found on industrial properties bordering, or inland of, Conception Bay, at minimal distances of 25 km inland from the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve. Most storm-petrels were recently fledged juveniles. Strandings were less likely to occur around the full moon. Neither strong nor persistent winds were observed during nights of large stranding events, however, these nights tended to have winds coming from the north, suggesting that stranded storm-petrels fledged from Baccalieu Island, located at the mouth of Conception Bay and hosting the largest colony in the world. Stronger mitigation measures to avoid and minimize light emittance, as well as research investigating light characteristics to reduce attraction, are urgently needed to decrease unnecessary strandings, particularly for the Leach's Storm-Petrel, recently assessed as Threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.Sabina I. WilhelmSuzanne M. DooleyEmma P. CorbettMichelle G. FitzsimmonsPierre C. RyanGregory J. RobertsonResilience Alliancearticleattractioncoastalimpactlight pollutiononshoreseabirdstrandingPlant cultureSB1-1110Environmental sciencesGE1-350Plant ecologyQK900-989ENAvian Conservation and Ecology, Vol 16, Iss 1, p 12 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	attraction coastal impact light pollution onshore seabird stranding Plant culture SB1-1110 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Plant ecology QK900-989
spellingShingle	attraction coastal impact light pollution onshore seabird stranding Plant culture SB1-1110 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Plant ecology QK900-989 Sabina I. Wilhelm Suzanne M. Dooley Emma P. Corbett Michelle G. Fitzsimmons Pierre C. Ryan Gregory J. Robertson Effects of land-based light pollution on two species of burrow-nesting seabirds in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
description	This study examines the occurrence and underlying factors of onshore strandings of two species of seabirds breeding in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica) are found stranded in coastal communities bordering the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve in artificially lit areas. Between 2011 and 2020, 3845 recently fledged puffins were found during nightly searches. Counts of puffins found per night were related to the phase of the moon, with the fewest birds found around the full moon. Mean annual body mass of pufflings was positively associated with annual recovery rates, providing a non-intrusive approach to monitor inter-annual productivity at the colony. Using two approaches to estimate population impacts of strandings, we estimate that < 0.2% of fledging chicks were attracted to lights emitted from coastal communities. Despite bordering two of the largest Leach's Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa) colonies in Newfoundland, this species was rarely observed stranded in the Witless Bay area. Rather, most of the 1903 stranded storm-petrels reported in 2018 and 2019 were found on industrial properties bordering, or inland of, Conception Bay, at minimal distances of 25 km inland from the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve. Most storm-petrels were recently fledged juveniles. Strandings were less likely to occur around the full moon. Neither strong nor persistent winds were observed during nights of large stranding events, however, these nights tended to have winds coming from the north, suggesting that stranded storm-petrels fledged from Baccalieu Island, located at the mouth of Conception Bay and hosting the largest colony in the world. Stronger mitigation measures to avoid and minimize light emittance, as well as research investigating light characteristics to reduce attraction, are urgently needed to decrease unnecessary strandings, particularly for the Leach's Storm-Petrel, recently assessed as Threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.
format	article
author	Sabina I. Wilhelm Suzanne M. Dooley Emma P. Corbett Michelle G. Fitzsimmons Pierre C. Ryan Gregory J. Robertson
author_facet	Sabina I. Wilhelm Suzanne M. Dooley Emma P. Corbett Michelle G. Fitzsimmons Pierre C. Ryan Gregory J. Robertson
author_sort	Sabina I. Wilhelm
title	Effects of land-based light pollution on two species of burrow-nesting seabirds in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
title_short	Effects of land-based light pollution on two species of burrow-nesting seabirds in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
title_full	Effects of land-based light pollution on two species of burrow-nesting seabirds in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
title_fullStr	Effects of land-based light pollution on two species of burrow-nesting seabirds in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
title_full_unstemmed	Effects of land-based light pollution on two species of burrow-nesting seabirds in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
title_sort	effects of land-based light pollution on two species of burrow-nesting seabirds in newfoundland and labrador, canada
publisher	Resilience Alliance
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/b7e6592a096c44eca7d3cb7ab7ff95ee
work_keys_str_mv	AT sabinaiwilhelm effectsoflandbasedlightpollutionontwospeciesofburrownestingseabirdsinnewfoundlandandlabradorcanada AT suzannemdooley effectsoflandbasedlightpollutionontwospeciesofburrownestingseabirdsinnewfoundlandandlabradorcanada AT emmapcorbett effectsoflandbasedlightpollutionontwospeciesofburrownestingseabirdsinnewfoundlandandlabradorcanada AT michellegfitzsimmons effectsoflandbasedlightpollutionontwospeciesofburrownestingseabirdsinnewfoundlandandlabradorcanada AT pierrecryan effectsoflandbasedlightpollutionontwospeciesofburrownestingseabirdsinnewfoundlandandlabradorcanada AT gregoryjrobertson effectsoflandbasedlightpollutionontwospeciesofburrownestingseabirdsinnewfoundlandandlabradorcanada
_version_	1718426926734901248

Effects of land-based light pollution on two species of burrow-nesting seabirds in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Ejemplares similares