Procellaria cinerea

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	PROCELLARIIFORMES	PROCELLARIIDAE

Scientific Name:

Procellaria cinerea

Species Authority:

Gmelin, 1789

Common Name/s:

English	–	Gray Petrel, Grey Petrel, Grey Shearwater, Pediunker
French	–	Puffin gris
Spanish	–	Pardela Gris

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Near Threatened ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2010

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Calvert, R., Butchart, S., Bird, J.

Contributor/s:

Stahl, J., Taylor, G., Garnett, S., Bartle, S., Cuthbert, R.

Justification:
Although there are no current trend data, this species is susceptible to introduced mammalian predators, having been extirpated from Macquarie Island by cats and rats, and today it is the most commonly caught bycatch species in longline fisheries in New Zealand waters. Evidence from Gough Island, formerly thought to contain the largest population of this species, suggest that the species is likely to be subjected to considerable predation from introduced mice that are a major predator on other winter-breeding seabirds. The population on the Kerguelen Islands may also be in decline due to fishery bycatch. Based on these data a moderately rapid decline is suspected and as such the species is listed as Near Threatened, but further data are urgently required in order to more accurately assess its population numbers and trends.

History:

2008	–	Near Threatened
2004	–	Near Threatened

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species has a circumpolar distribution between 32-58 degrees South, but somewhat to the north in the Humboldt Current and off the east coast of South America¹⁵. It breeds on Gough and other islands in the Tristan da Cunha group (St Helena, to UK), Prince Edward and Marion islands (South Africa), Crozet, Kerguelen and Amsterdam islands (French Southern Territories), Campbell and the Antipodes islands (New Zealand), and Macquarie Island (Australia). Its total population size is poorly known. Its largest breeding populations was believed to be in the Tristan da Cunha group: in the early 1970s, hundreds of thousands were guessed to breed at Gough Island⁸. However, the most recent estimate for Gough suggest a population of >10,000 pairs²¹, with pairs only sparse in the uplands⁶, and that the population on Gough may be far lower than on the Antipodes¹⁶. The largest population is therefore likely to be on the Antipodes Islands, with 53,000 pairs estimated in 2001¹⁴. In addition, several thousand pairs are estimated at Prince Edward, Crozet and Kerguelen islands, a few hundred on Campbell Island (up to 100 pairs on the main island, and possibly a few hundred on offshore stacks)¹⁰, and at least 59-80 pairs on Macquarie¹². One recent estimate on the Kerguelen Islands gave a figure of 1,900-5,600 breeding pairs, though some nesting sites were not sampled. Only c.10 pairs breed on Amsterdam Island⁹, although the fossil record indicates that one of the world's largest colonies probably occurred there¹¹. There is no population trend data for most of the sites, but based on a population model and data from fisheries, this population may be in decline due to bycatch²².
Countries:	Native: Argentina; Chile; Falkland Islands (Malvinas); French Southern Territories (the); New Zealand; Peru; Saint Helena; South Africa; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Uruguay Vagrant: Antarctica; Brazil; Mozambique; Namibia Present - origin uncertain: Bouvet Island; Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Figures suggest a very tentative world population around 400,000 individuals, a figure that could be incorrect by a factor of 2-3 either way (Brooke 2004).
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Population:

Figures suggest a very tentative world population around 400,000 individuals, a figure that could be incorrect by a factor of 2-3 either way (Brooke 2004).

Population Trend:

Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour Birds return to the breeding colonies in the austral autumn, first appearing in February and March and often flying in to land during diurnal hours. Eggs are laid in late March and early April, and chicks fledge in late September to early December. The asynchrony in fledging dates within sites and years is thought to reflect food scarcity and variability during the winter rather than asynchrony in laying. The age of first breeding is not known. The species typically forages alone or in groups of three or four, but also occaisionally in larger flocks over 50 birds²³. Habitat Breeding It nests in burrows on well-drained areas, often dominated by Poa tussock grass, where the ground may be steep. Diet Its diet has been documented by once study in which cephalopods were the main prey item, followed by fish remains²³. Foraging range Data obtained from seabird bycatch suggest that during the breeding season (austral winter), females forage further north than males, in waters north of the Subtropical Convergence, up to 1,460 km from their colonies on subantarctic islands²³.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour Birds return to the breeding colonies in the austral autumn, first appearing in February and March and often flying in to land during diurnal hours. Eggs are laid in late March and early April, and chicks fledge in late September to early December. The asynchrony in fledging dates within sites and years is thought to reflect food scarcity and variability during the winter rather than asynchrony in laying. The age of first breeding is not known. The species typically forages alone or in groups of three or four, but also occaisionally in larger flocks over 50 birds²³. Habitat Breeding It nests in burrows on well-drained areas, often dominated by Poa tussock grass, where the ground may be steep. Diet Its diet has been documented by once study in which cephalopods were the main prey item, followed by fish remains²³. Foraging range Data obtained from seabird bycatch suggest that during the breeding season (austral winter), females forage further north than males, in waters north of the Subtropical Convergence, up to 1,460 km from their colonies on subantarctic islands²³.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	In New Zealand waters, it is the most frequently killed species by the tuna-longline fishery (c.45,000 birds in total could have been caught in the last 20 years²)and the selective mortality of adult females could be having an disproportionate impact on the breeding population^1,7,10. Substantial incidental mortality has also been recorded in fisheries off Australia, and it may be caught in significant numbers in international waters in the southern Indian Ocean, for which little seabird bycatch information exists⁵. Any additional source of mortality that approaches 300 individuals was predicted to result in a population decline at the Kerguelen Islands, well below the strict minimum of 755 taken in the Patagonian fisheries operating around the islands²². Introduced predators on the breeding islands are a further serious threat, for example, cats and black rat Rattus rattus on Crozet and Kerguelen, and, until their fairly recent eradication, cats on Marion Island. Brown rats Rattus norvegicus were eradicated from Campbell Island in 2001. The introduction of rats to Antipodes Island would be a major threat¹⁰. Cats and Weka Gallirallus australis were probably responsible for extinction from Macquarie Island and brown rat and cats for its near extinction on Amsterdam. On Gough Island, recent evidence has indicated that introduced house mice Mus musculus are a significant predator of winter-breeding seabirds and are driving population declines of at least two species^{17, 18}. A review of impacts of mice on Gough Island concludes that petrels are probably predated by mice¹⁹. Although the impact of this on the population is currently unknown, if predation rates are similar to other winter breeding albatrosses and petrels on Gough then the population is likely to be declining. On Macquarie Island, high rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus numbers have destroyed vegetation and caused soil erosion at nesting sites. Rabbits may also disturb birds in burrows when nesting¹⁹.

Major Threat(s):

In New Zealand waters, it is the most frequently killed species by the tuna-longline fishery (c.45,000 birds in total could have been caught in the last 20 years²)and the selective mortality of adult females could be having an disproportionate impact on the breeding population^1,7,10. Substantial incidental mortality has also been recorded in fisheries off Australia, and it may be caught in significant numbers in international waters in the southern Indian Ocean, for which little seabird bycatch information exists⁵. Any additional source of mortality that approaches 300 individuals was predicted to result in a population decline at the Kerguelen Islands, well below the strict minimum of 755 taken in the Patagonian fisheries operating around the islands²². Introduced predators on the breeding islands are a further serious threat, for example, cats and black rat Rattus rattus on Crozet and Kerguelen, and, until their fairly recent eradication, cats on Marion Island. Brown rats Rattus norvegicus were eradicated from Campbell Island in 2001. The introduction of rats to Antipodes Island would be a major threat¹⁰. Cats and Weka Gallirallus australis were probably responsible for extinction from Macquarie Island and brown rat and cats for its near extinction on Amsterdam. On Gough Island, recent evidence has indicated that introduced house mice Mus musculus are a significant predator of winter-breeding seabirds and are driving population declines of at least two species^{17, 18}. A review of impacts of mice on Gough Island concludes that petrels are probably predated by mice¹⁹. Although the impact of this on the population is currently unknown, if predation rates are similar to other winter breeding albatrosses and petrels on Gough then the population is likely to be declining. On Macquarie Island, high rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus numbers have destroyed vegetation and caused soil erosion at nesting sites. Rabbits may also disturb birds in burrows when nesting¹⁹.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation Actions Underway CMS Appendix II and ACAP Annex 1. Gough Island is a World Heritage Site. In 2001, a study was conducted on the Antipodes Islands on the feasibility of establishing long term monitoring plots. Brown rats were eradicated from Campbell Island in 2001. In 2006, the South East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (SEAFO) passed a resolution to require all its longline vessels to use a tori line and to set lines at night. In 2007, the New Zealand government began a five year study of Procellaria petrels on Antipodes Island which will investigate issues such as population size and trends, annual survival rates of adults and breeding frequency. Geolocation loggers and other tracking devices will be applied to birds to determine foraging zones and migration routes²⁰. Conservation Actions Proposed Census the population on all the breeding islands. Conduct regular monitoring of a representative proportion of the population. Determine if predation by mice is a serious threat on Gough Island. Determine the at-sea distribution of the species through tracking studies and the interaction with longline fisheries. Promote the adoption of a) monitoring of seabird bycatch associated with longline fishing and b) best-practice mitigation measures in all fisheries within the species's range, particularly via intergovernmental mechanisms such as ACAP, the FAO, and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations.

Conservation Actions:

Conservation Actions Underway
CMS Appendix II and ACAP Annex 1. Gough Island is a World Heritage Site. In 2001, a study was conducted on the Antipodes Islands on the feasibility of establishing long term monitoring plots. Brown rats were eradicated from Campbell Island in 2001. In 2006, the South East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (SEAFO) passed a resolution to require all its longline vessels to use a tori line and to set lines at night. In 2007, the New Zealand government began a five year study of Procellaria petrels on Antipodes Island which will investigate issues such as population size and trends, annual survival rates of adults and breeding frequency. Geolocation loggers and other tracking devices will be applied to birds to determine foraging zones and migration routes²⁰.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Census the population on all the breeding islands. Conduct regular monitoring of a representative proportion of the population. Determine if predation by mice is a serious threat on Gough Island. Determine the at-sea distribution of the species through tracking studies and the interaction with longline fisheries. Promote the adoption of a) monitoring of seabird bycatch associated with longline fishing and b) best-practice mitigation measures in all fisheries within the species's range, particularly via intergovernmental mechanisms such as ACAP, the FAO, and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2010. Procellaria cinerea. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 08 February 2012.
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