Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2021
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster E84
Höfundar / Authors: Stephen Hurling
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: Landbúnaðarháskóli Íslands / Agricultural University of Iceland
Kynnir / Presenter: Stephen Hurling
Establishing accurate population data is essential to determine the conservation status of any species; however, nocturnal burrow-nesting seabirds remain markedly difficult to census. Three such species breed in Iceland: Leach’s storm petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous), European storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus) and Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus). All three species are locally red-listed with Leach’s Storm-petrel recently classified as globally vulnerable, yet Icelandic population data used to determine their conservation status dates from 1991-92. To address this issue, a new national census is currently underway (due to be completed in 2022), which makes use of a variety of contemporary survey techniques. Three methodologies used in the study will be presented: playback, mark-recapture, and use of thermal imaging cameras. Though playback and mark-recapture are relatively established, the latter will be used as the basis for a novel hierarchical distance sampling approach, while thermal imaging cameras have to date only been used in trials. These three methodologies will be compared with attention to issues such as: survey design, timing, sampling effort, repeatability, potential biases, potential sources of error, and overall utility in the survey-specific context of south Iceland. It is hoped that insights gained during the census will inform future studies and help work towards ‘best practice’ in survey methods for nocturnal seabirds in Iceland and beyond.