Local extinction imminent for southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina at their northernmost breeding site, Gough Island-South Atlantic Ocean

The continued decline in the small breeding population of southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina at Gough Island (40°19′S, 9°57′W) over a period of 46 years (1973–2019) signals the likely extirpation of the species at the northernmost extent of its breeding range in the Southern Ocean. The estimated number of births declined from a high (n = 38) in 1975 to a low (n = 2) in 2019, a 95% reduction at an average decrease of 2.15% per annum. The estimated mean time to extinction of this population from a linear regression model is 2 years (95% CI: 0–23 years). This decline is consistent with observed or forecasted population trends of some other marine top predators at the northern extent of their breeding ranges in the Southern Ocean; adding to the prevailing evidence that environmental change is the most plausible hypothesis explaining the range reduction of these marine species limited by a paucity of breeding grounds.http://link.springer.com/journal/3002021-05-18hj2020Mammal Research InstituteZoology and Entomolog

First record of a leucistic sub-Antarctic fur seal

Anomalous pelage colourations have been reported to occur in several pinniped species and can potentially be used to assess gene flow amongst conspecific populations. Aberrant pelage colour has not been documented in sub-Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus tropicalis older than pups. Sub-Antarctic fur seals were inspected on two of the beaches at Gough Island, South Atlantic Ocean, in the austral summer of 2018/19. A leucistic adult male was sighted on 09 January 2019, the first recorded leucistic individual for the species. Given the apparent extreme rarity of leucism in this sub-Antarctic pinniped species, it is unlikely to contribute to assessment of gene flow amongst conspecific populations.The South African Department of Environmental Affairs through the South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP), the National Research Foundation (South Africa), the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology (University of Cape Town), Mammal Research Institute (University of Pretoria) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).http://link.springer.com/journal/3002020-06-01hj2019Mammal Research InstituteZoology and Entomolog

Three new seabird species recorded at Tristan da Cunha archipelago.

The Tristan da Cunha archipelago comprises three main islands: Tristan, Inaccessible and Nightingale at 37ºS 12ºW, with Gough Island (40ºS 10ºW) the only other temperate oceanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean (Ryan 2007). Tristan and Gough are important breeding sites for 25 species of seabirds (Ryan 2008; Ryan et al. 2014; 2015; Robertson et al. 2016), and a further 30 species of non-breeding seabirds have been reported from the islands (Ryan 2007; Visser et al. 2009; Ryan 2010). We report three additional species from the islands based on observations from 2017 to 2019

Cryptic population decrease due to invasive species predation in a long‐lived seabird supports need for eradication

SUMMARY 1. Invasive species are one of the greatest drivers of biodiversity loss worldwide, but the eradication of invasive species from islands is a highly efficient management strategy. Because eradication operations require large financial investments, uncertainty over the magnitude of impacts of both invasive species and their removal can impede the willingness of decision makers to invest in eradication. Such uncertainty is prevalent for long-lived species that display an inherent lag between life stages affected by invasive species and those used for population status assessments. 2. Albatrosses are among the longest-living bird species and are threatened on land by invasive species and at sea by industrial fisheries. As in many seabird species, usually only a segment of the population (breeding adults) is used for status assessments, making it difficult to assess their population trends and the potential benefit of conservation action, such as the management of predatory invasive species. 3. We used population monitoring and mark-recapture data to estimate the past population trajectory of the Critically Endangered Tristan Albatross (Diomedea dabbenena) by accounting for unobservable birds at sea in an integrated population model. We then projected the future population trajectory for scenarios with or without predation by invasive house mice (Mus musculus) on their main site, Gough Island. 4. The adult breeding population remained stable between 2004 and 2021, but breeding success was low (31%) and our model indicated that the total population (including unobservable immature birds) decreased from a median estimate of 9795 to 7752 birds. Eradicating invasive mice leading to a two-fold increase in breeding success would result in a 1.8–7.6 times higher albatross population by 2050 (median estimate 10 352 individuals) than without this intervention. 5. Low reproductive output for long-lived species may lead to a cryptic population decrease, which can be obscured from readily available counts of breeding pairs by changes in the breeding population. Mouse eradication is necessary to revert the ongoing population decrease, even if this decrease is not yet apparent in the breeding population size.Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. This document is the author’s submitted version of the journal article. You are advised to consult the published version if you wish to cite from it

Cryptic population decrease due to invasive species predation in a long‐lived seabird supports need for eradication

Invasive species are one of the greatest drivers of biodiversity loss worldwide, and the eradication of invasive species from islands is a highly efficient management strategy. Because eradication operations require large financial investments, uncertainty over the magnitude of impacts of both invasive species and their removal can impede the willingness of decision makers to invest in eradication. Such uncertainty is prevalent for long-lived species that display an inherent lag between life stages affected by invasive species and those used for population status assessments. Albatrosses are amongst the longest-living bird species and are threatened on land by invasive species and at sea by industrial fisheries. As in many seabird species, usually only a segment of the population (breeding adults) is used for status assessments, making it difficult to assess albatross population trends and the potential benefit of conservation action, such as the management of predatory invasive species. We used population monitoring and mark-recapture data to estimate the past population trajectory of the critically endangered Tristan albatross Diomedea dabbenena by accounting for unobservable birds at sea in an integrated population model. We then projected the future population trajectory of Tristan albatrosses for scenarios with or without predation by invasive house mice Mus musculus on their main breeding site, Gough Island. The adult breeding population remained stable between 2004 and 2021, but breeding success was low (31%) and our model indicated that the total population (including unobservable immature birds) decreased from a median estimate of 9,795 to 7,752 birds. Eradicating invasive mice leading to a two-fold increase in breeding success would result in a 1.8–7.6 times higher albatross population by 2050 (median estimate 10,352 individuals) than without this intervention. Low reproductive output for long-lived species may lead to a cryptic population decrease, which can be obscured from readily available counts of breeding pairs by changes in the population structure. Mouse eradication is necessary to halt the ongoing population decrease of the Tristan albatross, even if this decrease is not yet apparent in the breeding population size

The Special Pathogens Research Network: Enabling Research Readiness.

The 2013-2016 epidemic of Ebola virus disease (EVD) that originated in West Africa underscored many of the challenges to conducting clinical research during an ongoing infectious disease epidemic, both in the most affected countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, as well as in the United States and Europe, where a total of 27 patients with EVD received care in biocontainment units. The Special Pathogens Research Network (SPRN) was established in the United States in November 2016 to provide an organizational structure to leverage the expertise of the 10 Regional Ebola and Other Special Pathogen Treatment Centers (RESPTCs); it was intended to develop and support infrastructure to improve readiness to conduct clinical research in the United States. The network enables the rapid activation and coordination of clinical research in the event of an epidemic and facilitates opportunities for multicenter research when the RESPTCs are actively caring for patients requiring a biocontainment unit. Here we provide an overview of opportunities identified in the clinical research infrastructure during the West Africa EVD epidemic and the SPRN activities to meet the ongoing challenges in the context of Ebola virus and other special pathogens