The rime of the modern mariner: evidence for capture of yellow-nosed albatross from Amsterdam Island in Indian Ocean longline fisheries

International audienceCommercial fisheries currently pose a seriousthreat at sea to the conservation of a number of pelagicseabirds. However, these interactions are complex, andreports on population-specific bycatch in the high seas arescarce. Here we report the case of an Indian yellow-nosedalbatross Thalassarche carteri re-sighted on AmsterdamIsland after an apparent capture by an Indonesian longliner,as indicated by a message attached to the bird. Thisrecord demonstrates that Amsterdam birds may interactwith long-liners indeed, at least during winter, and thatsuch interactions are not systematically lethal. We suggestthat bycatch sub-lethal effects should be investigated atcolonies with high risks of individual capture at sea

Caractérisation de l'Évolution des communautés d'Oiseaux sur les causses méridionaux du Massif central

International audienceOpen habitat bird species of Southern Massif Central (France) are highly dependent of traditional land uses such as extensive livestock farming. These practices have however largely declined other the last decades. Despite the high conservation value of these species at the national level, little is known about their recent trends in this region. In this study, we aimed to monitor changes in the occurrence of bird species of southern Massif Central. Our study relied on 167 point-counts repeated exactly at the same locations in 1995 and 2017. We specifically focused on four target species related to open habitat: the Tawny Pipit, the Ortolan Bunting, the Woodlark, and the Dartford Warbler. We observed a strong negative trend for species strongly associated with open habitat, while forest and generalist species showed stable or positive trends. This study is the first to quantify trends in bird occurrence in this study area based on repeatable and standardized methods. Alarming trends observed for open habitat specialist species call for the urgent need to implement conservation actions for thèse species and their habitats throughout the study are

Eradication des rats sur l'îlot Teuaua (Ua Huka, Marquises)

Eradication des rats sur l'îlot Teuaua (Ua Huka, Marquises

Distribution des grenouilles vertes du système perezi-grafi et des autres espèces du genre Pelophylax (Amphibia : Ranidae) dans leur aire méditerranéenne française à l'ouest du Rhône

International audienceWe present here the most up to date information on the distribution of green frogs (genus Pelophylax) in their French Mediterranean range west of the Rhône river (departments of Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude, Hérault, Gard). For the perezi-grafi (PG) system, we also report the record known for the department of Ardèche in order to provide an exhaustive synthesis on the distribution of this system between the Rhône river and the former Midi-Pyrénées region. We have only retained records based on genetic or bioacoustics data, which are currently the only techniques allowing a reliable distinction between the Marsh Frog Pelophylax ridibundus and the PG system. The PG system represents almost all green frog populations between the Hérault River, the Spanish border, the upper Aude valley west of the Corbières and the Mediterranean side of the Montagne Noire (Minervois), where the Marsh Frog is very scarce. In contrast, from the Hérault valley eastward, the Marsh Frog is almost ubiquitous and the PG system persists only in coastal marshes or in a few isolates in Mediterranean garrigue landscape, some of which have disappeared during the study period (since 1996). We briefly discuss the implications of these results for the conservation of the PG system.Nous présentons ici l’ensemble des connaissances disponibles sur la distribution des grenouilles vertes (genre Pelophylax) dans leur aire méditerranéenne française à l’ouest du Rhône (départements des Pyrénées-Orientales, de l’Aude, de l’Hérault, du Gard). Pour le système perezi-grafi (PG), nous donnons aussi les informations disponibles pour le département de l’Ardèche afin de fournir une synthèse exhaustive sur la distribution de ce système entre le fleuve Rhône et l’ex-région Midi-Pyrénées. Nous n’avons retenu que des données basées sur la génétique ou la bioacoustique qui sont les seules techniques permettant actuellement une séparation fiable des Grenouilles rieuses et des grenouilles du système PG. Le système PG représente la quasi-totalité des populations de grenouilles vertes entre le fleuve Hérault, la frontière espagnole, la haute vallée de l’Aude à l’ouest des Corbières et le versant méditerranéen de la montagne Noire (Minervois), où la Grenouille rieuse n’est présente que de manière localisée. A l’opposé, à partir de la vallée de l’Hérault en allant vers l’est, la Grenouille rieuse domine et le système PG persiste uniquement dans les marais littoraux ou dans quelques isolats en garrigue dont certains ont disparu durant la période d’étude (depuis 1996). Nous discutons brièvement les implications de ces résultats pour la conservation du système PG