| Indicator Definition | The number of breeding pairs of Southern Giant Petrels at Heard Island, the
McDonald Islands, and in colonies near Casey, Davis and Mawson stations.
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Responsible
Organisation |
Australian Antarctic Division (details)
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| Custodians |
ERIC WOEHLER
eric.woehler@aad.gov.au
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INVESTIGATOR
TECHNICAL CONTACT
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Australian Antarctic Division
203 Channel Highway
Kingston
Tasmania 7050
Australia
Ph +61 3 6232 3376
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| Theme Area |
Biodiversity
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| Indicator Type |
Condition
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Criteria the
Indicator Satisfies |
The following 13 out of 15 criteria
| 1. | Serve as a robust indicator of environmental change | | 2. | Reflect a fundamental or highly-valued aspect of the environment or an important environmental issue | | 3. | Be either national in scope or applicable to regional environmental issues of national significance | | 4. | Provide an early warning of potential problems | | 5. | Be capable of being monitored to provide statistically verifiable and reproducible data that shows trends over time and, preferably, apply to a broad range of environmental regions | | 6. | Be scientifically credible | | 7. | Be easy to understand | | 8. | Be monitored with relative ease | | 9. | Be cost-effective | | 10. | Have relevance to policy and management needs | | 11. | Contribute to monitoring of progress towards implementing commitments in nationally important environmental policies | | 13. | Contribute to the fulfillment of reporting obligations under international agreements | | 15. | Where possible and appropriate, be consistent and comparable with other countries’ and state and territory indicators |
For details of indicators, see the State of Environment Bibliography
entries 16336 and 16337
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| Date Input |
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| Monitoring Location |
Giganteus Island (details)
Hawker Island (details)
Frazier Islands (details)
Any Named places
Geographic Coverage is
Latitude (-70.0 to -50.0)
Longitude (50.0 to 110.0)
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| Rationale For Indicator Selection | The breeding population of Southern Giant Petrels is related to resource
availability (nesting space and food), behavioural mechanisms
(immigration/emigration and breeding effort/success) in addition to climate
change and human impacts (including fisheries and human disturbance).
Monitoring breeding populations and interpretation of the data provides
information on changes in the Antarctic and Subantarctic ecosystems.
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| Design and Strategy For Indicator Monitoring Program | Spatial scale: Colonies near Australian Stations -
Frazier Islands, Casey (lat 660 16' 54.5" S, long 1100 31' 39.4" E)
Hawker Island, Davis (lat 680 34' 35.8" S, long 770 58' 02.6" E)
Giganteus Island, Mawson (lat 670 36' 09.7" S, long 620 52' 25.7" E)
Heard Island - (lat 530 06' 00.0" S, long 730 31' 59.9" E)
McDonald Islands - (lat 530 02' 26.2" S, long 720 36' 00.0" E)
Frequency: Breeding Southern Giant Petrels are easily disturbed. Colonies are
visited every 3-5 years to minimise disturbance to breeding birds.
Measurement technique: All colonies are visited and breeding birds are counted
from outside the colonies by two personnel performing replicate counts. All
breeding individuals in a colony are counted. No birds are disturbed off their
nests.
Considerations regarding disturbance associated with census visits are also
incorporated into monitoring strategies. The lack of annual census data does
not reduce the value of these long-term monitoring programmes.
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| Research Issues | All Southern Giant Petrel breeding populations in the AAT and at HIMI
decreased following their discovery. Southern Giant Petrels breeding on
Indian Ocean islands are highly sensitive to human disturbance. Access to
breeding colonies is restricted, as are the types of activities permitted.
Disturbance from researchers has been implicated in the observed decreases in
these populations (Woehler et al. 2001, Woehler et al. in press). Analyses of
the long term AAT data suggest that the breeding populations at Hawker Is and
at the Frazier Is have recovered following the restrictions on access and
activities permitted on breeding islands.
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| Data |
Timespan: 1955/56 to 2001/02.
Number of data points: 41.
To view or download any of the data, you must be logged into the
Data Centre Portal.
If you return to this indicator, you will find a Search Data link that will allow you to view or extract
the data for this indicator.
Frazier Islands: Number of breeding pairs
Giganteus Island: Number of breeding pairs
Hawker Island: Number of breeding pairs
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Data Quality, Interpretation and
Analysis of Indicator Data |
Censuses of breeding adults are performed and long term trends are determined. Integration with other long term datasets is currently underway through international collaborations, allowing comparison among sites at regional and ecosystem scales. Some analyses and their interpretations have been published (see bibliography), and current analyses will examine population data as they are compiled.
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| Data Usage Constraints |
Some data are published, others are in press and/or under analyses. Contact data compiler for access and use (Dr Eric J Woehler, AAD).
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| Data Distribution |
ERIC WOEHLER
eric.woehler@aad.gov.au
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Australian Antarctic Division
203 Channel Highway
Kingston
Tasmania 7050
Australia
Ph +61 3 6232 3376
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| Data Access Constraints |
Some data are published, others are in press and/or under analyses. Contact data compiler for access and use (Dr Eric J Woehler, AAD).
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| Custodian Evaluation |
| Date entered | Evaluation |
| 23-May-2002 |
Human disturbance has been implicated in the observed decreases at all three Southern Giant Petrel breeding sites within the AAT. This disturbance arose primarily through early efforts (1950s-1970s) to band adults and chicks at the nest. Southern Giant Petrels breeding in the AAT are particularly sensitive to disturbance at the nest. Restrictions in activities permitted at breeding sites, including a prohibition of banding, were introduced in the mid-1980s (Woehler et al., in press).
Giganteus Island: The breeding population of Southen Giant Petrels has decreased from 24 breeding pairs in 1957 to 3 pairs in 1999.
Frazier Islands: The Southern Giant Petrel breeding population decreased following discovery by American personnel from Wilkes Station in the mid-1950s. As with other breeding locations, it is believed that restrictions imposed in the mid-1980s have contributed to the observed recovery.
Hawker Island: The Southern Giant Petrel breeding population decreased following discovery by Australian personnel from Davis Station in the early 1960s. While the population has not recovered to the same extent as that on the Frazier Islands, the population at Hawker Island is also showing signs of long-term recovery.
Reference:
Woehler, E.J., Riddle, M.J. and Ridic, C.R. (In press) Long-term population trends in Southern Giant Petrels in East Antarctica. Proceedings of the 8th SCAR Biology Symposium
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| 7-Nov-2002 |
| Condition scale - 4 - fair condition |
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| 1 - the environment degraded to the point where rehabilitation is impossible |
| 0
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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7 - the environment is pristine, in perfect condition, no anthropogenic influences |
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| State of Knowledge scale - 6 |
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1 - Poor |
| 0
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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7 - Excellent |
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For definitions of the Scale categories, consult the
Explanation of the Status Categories
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| Related resources |
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| Metadata
SOE_seabird_candidate_sp_SGP - Breeding populations of Southern Giant Petrels at Heard Island, the McDonald Islands and within the AAT |
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Scientific Bibliography 17296
- Woehler, E.J. (1990) The distribution of seabird biomass in the Australian Antarctic Territory: Implications for conservation Environmental Conservation 17, 256-261. |
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Scientific Bibliography 17297
- Woehler, E.J. & Johnstone, G.W. (1991) Status and conservation of the seabirds of the Australian Antarctic Territory In: Seabird status and conservation: a supplement. ed.Croxall, J.P., ICBP Technical Publication 11, 279-308. |
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Scientific Bibliography 17299
- Woehler, E.J. (1993) Antarctic seabirds: their status and conservation in the AAT. RAOU Conservation Statement 9, 8pp. |
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Scientific Bibliography 17301
- Woehler, E.J., Martin, M.R. & Johnstone, G.W. (1990) The status of Southern Giant-Petrels, Macronectes giganteus, at the Frazier Islands, Wilkes Land, East Antarctica. Corella 14, 101-106. |
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Scientific Bibliography 17303
- Woehler, E.J. (1991) Status and conservation of the seabirds of Heard Island and the McDonald Islands In: Seabird status and conservation: a supplement.ed. Croxall, J.P., ICBP Technical Publication 11, 263-277. |
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SOE Indicator 31
- Annual population estimates of Southern Elephant Seals at Macquarie Island |
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SOE Indicator 33
- Annual catch in tonnes of marine species harvested in Australian Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters |
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SOE Indicator 34
- Sea bird egg contamination |
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SOE Indicator 36
- Numbers of species protected at various levels of conservation status |
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SOE Indicator 37
- Species and numbers of species killed, taken or interfered with or disturbed in the Antarctic and the sub-Antarctic for the purpose of scientific research |
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SOE Indicator 45
- Monthly collections of marine debris from Sandell Bay beach on Macquarie Island (categories and mass) |
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SOE Indicator 75
- Seabird strikes at Australian Antarctic Stations and on ships |
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Taxonomy 1060 -
Macronectes giganteus Southern Giant Petrel |
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| Parameters |
The properties link can be used to view details of the parameters measured for this indicator.
| Parameter Name | Unit of measure | Properties |
| Number of breeding pairs |
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(properties) |
The following parameters and/or sensor notes are from the metadata record.
Parameters -
EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES > BIRDS
EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > COMMUNITY DYNAMICS
EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS
EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS
EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS
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