Abstract
In recent decades, several seabird populations have declined globally due to anthropogenic activities. In Brazil, 14 seabird species breed at four oceanic islands and one atoll: the Abrolhos, Fernando de Noronha, and São Pedro and São Paulo (SPSPA) archipelagos; the Trindade/Martin Vaz Islands; and the Atol das Rocas. Seven species are listed as nationally threatened by extinction. This study aimed to present new information on breeding seabird populations in Brazilian oceanic islands, compile all available data previously published and, when possible, to provide updated information on population estimates from censuses carried out sporadically at different islands between 2006 and 2013. Based on new data and the thorough review provided here, of the 35 seabird breeding populations analysed, 14% were increasing (as Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus, Magnificent Frigatebird Fregata magnificens and Brown Noddy Anous stolidus in Abrolhos), 11 % were decreasing (as Brown Booby Sula leucogaster in Atol das Rocas and Great Frigatebird Fregata minor in Trindade Island), 23% were stable (as White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus in Fernando de Noronha and Brown Noddy and Black Noddy Anous minutus in São Pedro and São Paulo Archipelago), and the remaining 49% were unknown or not possible to evaluate. The Red-footed Booby (Sula sula) is locally extinct in Trindade Island, however there are colonies of only a few individuals of other species, such as the Audubon’s Shearwater Puffinus lherminieri and Red-billed Tropicbird in Noronha, Black Noddy in Martin Vaz, and Great (Fregata ariel trinitatis) and Lesser (F m. nieolli) Frigatebirds in Trindade, that may become extinct soon. Censuses at distinct periods of the breeding cycles and protocols were highly variable, making temporal comparisons difficult. These results indicate an urgent need for long-term studies to improve the scenario to assess seabird population trends based on comparable methodologies, in order to determine trends in the future.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Altizer, S.; Ostfeld, R. S.; Johnson, P. T. J.; Kutz, S. & Harvell, D. 2013. Climate change and infectious diseases: from evidence to a predictive framework. Science, 341: 514–519.
Alves, R. J. V. 1998. Ilha da Trindade e Arquipélago Martin Vaz - um ensaio geobotânico. Niteroi: Serviço de Documentação, Diretoria de Hidrografia e Navegação, Marinha do Brasil.
Alves, V. S.; Soares, A. B. A.; Couto, G. S.; Efe, M. A. & Ribeiro, A. B. B. 2004. Aves marinhas de Abrolhos - Bahia, Brasil. p. 213–232. In: Branco, J. O. (ed.). Aves marinhas e insulares brasileiras, bioecologia e conservacao. Itajai: Univali Editora.
Alves, V. S.; Soares, A. B. A.; Couto, G. S.; Ribeiro, A. B. B. & Efe, M. A. 2000. As aves do Arquipelago de Abrolhos (Bahia, Brasil). Brasilia: IBAMA.
Alves, V. S.; Soares, A. B. A.; Couto, G. S.; Ribeiro, A. B. B. & Efe, M. A. 1997. Aves do Arquipelago dos Abrolhos, Bahia, Brasil. Ararajuba, 5: 209–218.
Antas, P. T. Z. 1991. Status and conservation of seabirds breeding in Brazilian waters, p. 141–158. In: Croxall, J. P. (ed.). Seabird status and conservation: a supplement. Cambridge: International Council for Bird Preservation.
Barbosa-Filho, R. & Vooren, C. M. 2010. Abundancia, estrutura etaria e razao sexual do Atoba-marrom Sula leucogaster (Pelecaniformes: Sulidae) no Arquipelago de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 18: 157–163.
Barbosa-Filho, R. C.; Sousa, A. E. B. A.; Freitas, G. L.; Nunes, M. F. C; Souza, E. A. & Zeppelini-Filho, D. 2009. A Garca-vaqueira (Bulbucus ibis Linnaeus, 1758) e o Atoba-de-pe-vermelho (Sula sula Linnaeus, 1766) no Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha: uma abordagem ecologica comparativa. Ornithologia, 3: 101–114.
Bibby, C.; Jones, M. & Marsden, S. 1998. Expedition field techniques: bird surveys. London: Royal Geographical Society.
BirdLife International. 2015. IUCN Red List for birds. http://www.birdlife.org(access on 09 February 2015).
Both, R. & Freitas, T. O. R. 2004. Aves marinhas no Arquipelago de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo, p. 193–212. In: Branco, J. O. (ed.). Aves marinhas e insulares brasileiras, bioecologia e conservação. Itajai: Univali Editora.
Brooke, M. L. 2004. Albatrosses and petrels across the world. Bird families of the world. New York: Oxford University Press.
Brown, R. M.; Nichols, R. A.; Faulkes, C. G.; Jones, C. G.; Bugoni, L.; Tatayah, V.; Gottelli, D. & Jordan, W. C. 2010. Range expansion and hybridization in Round Island petrels (Pterodroma spp.): evidence from microsatellite genotypes. Molecular Ecology, 19: 3157–3170.
Brown, R. M.; Jordan, W. C.; Faulkes, C. G.; Jones, C. G.; Bugoni, L.; Tatayah, V.; Palma, R. L. & Nichols, R. A. 2011. Phylogenetic relationships in Pterodroma petrels are obscured by recent secondary contact and hybridization. PLoS ONE, 6: e20350.
Bugoni, L. & Vooren, C. M. 2005. Distribution and abundance of six tern species in southern Brazil. Waterbirds, 28: 110–119.
Buxton, R. T. & Jones, I. L. 2012. Measuring nocturnal seabird activity and status using acoustic recording devices: applications for island restoration. Journal of Field Ornithology, 83: 47–60.
Buxton, R. T.; Major, H. L.; Jones, I. L. & Williams, J. C. 2013. Examining patterns in nocturnal seabird activity and recovery across the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska, using automated acoustic recording. Auk, 130: 331–341.
Camphuysen, K. C. J.; Fox, T. A. D.; Leopold, M. M. F. & Peterson, I. K. 2004. Towards standardised seabirds at sea census techniques in connection with environmental impact assessments for offshore wind farms in the U.K. Amsterdam: Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research.
Carboneras, C.; Jutglar, F. & Kirwan, G. M. 2014. Audubon’s Shearwater (Puffinus Iherminieri). In: del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D. A. & Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the birds of the world alive. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. http://www.hbw.com/node/52580} (access on 28 October 2014).
Coelho, A. G. M. 1981. Observacoes sobre a avifauna do Arquipelago dos Abrolhos, Bahia. Publicações Avulsas UFPE, 1: 1–7.
Croxall, J. P. 2008. Seabird mortality and trawl fisheries. Animal Conservation, 11: 255–256.
del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. 1992. Handbook of the birds of the world, v. 1. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
Croxall, J. P.; Butchart, S. H. M.; Lascelles, B.; Stattersfield, A. J.; Sullivan, B.; Symes, A. & Taylor, P. 2012. Seabird conservation status, threats and priority actions: a global assessment. Bird Conservation International 22: 1–34.
Darwin, C. R. 2008. O diário do Beagle. Curitiba: Editora da UFPR
Edwards, A. J.; Wilson, K. & Hubbock, H. 1981. The seabird populations of St. Paul’s Rocks. Ibis, 123: 233–238.
Efe, M. A.; Oliveira, A. C.; Kanegae, M. F.; Alves, V. S.; Rosário, L. A. & Scherer-Neto, P. 2006. Analise dos dados de recuperacao de Sula spp. (Pelecaniformes, Sulidae) ocorridas no Brasil entre 1981 e2000. Ornithologia, 1: 125–133.
Efe, M. A. & Musso, C. M. 2001. Primeiro registro de Puffinus Iherminieri Lesson, 1839 no Brasil. Nattereria, 2: 21–23.
Fonseca-Neto, F. P. 2004. Aves marinhas da ilha Trindade. p. 119–146. In: Branco, J. O. (ed.). Aves marinhas e insulares brasileiras, bioecologia e conservacao. Itajai: Univali Editora.
Furness, R. W. & Camphuysen, K. C. J. 1997. Seabirds as monitors of the marine environment. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 54: 726–737.
Gremillet, D. & Boulinier, T. 2009. Spatial ecology and conservation of seabirds facing global climate change: a review. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 391: 121–137.
Hamilton, S. 2000. How precise and accurate are data obtained using an infra-red scope on burrow nesting Sooty Shearwaters Puffinus griseus? Marine Ornithology, 28: 1–6.
Heard, M. J.; Smith, K. F.; Ripp, K. J.; Berger, M.; Chen, J.; Dittmeier, J.; Goter, M.; McGarvey, S. T. & Ryan, E. 2013. The threat of disease increases as species move toward extinction. Conservation Biology, 27: 1378–1388.
Hutchinson, A. E. 1979. Estimating numbers of colonial nesting seabirds: a comparison of techniques. Proceedings of the Colonial Waterbird Group, 3: 235–244.
IUCN. 2014. Red list of threatened species, v. 2014.2. http://www.iucnredlist.org (access on 28 September 2014).
Kohlrausch, A. B. 2003. Biologia reprodutiva, comportamento e ecologia de Atobás (Sulidae): implicações para a evolução do dimorfismo sexual no tamanho. Ph.D. Thesis. São Paulo: Universidade de Sao Paulo.
Lewison, R.; Oro, D.; Godley, B. J.; Underhill, L.; Bearhop, S.; Wilson, R. P.; Ainley, D.; Arcos, J. M.; Boersma, P. D.; Borboroglu, P. G.; Boulinier, T.; Frederiksen, M.; Genovart, M.; González-Solís, J.; Green, J. A.; Grémillet, D.; Hamer, K. C.; Hilton, G. M.; Hyrenbach, K. D.; Martínez-Abraín, A.; Montevecchi, W. A.; Phillips, R. A.; Ryan, P. G.; Sagar, P.; Sydeman, W. J.; Wanless, S.; Watanuki, Y.; Weimerskirch, H. & Yorio, P. 2012. Research priorities for seabirds: improving conservation and management in the 21st century. Endangered Species Research, 17: 93–121.
Luigi, G.; Bugoni, L.; Fonseca-Neto, F. P. & Teixeira, D. M. 2009. Biologia e conservacao do Petrel-de-trindade, Pterodroma arminjoniana, na Ilha da Trindade, Atlântico sul. p. 223–263. In: Mohr, L. V.; Castro, J. W. A.; Costa, P. M. S. & Alves, R. J. V. (eds.). Ilhas oceânicas brasileiras, da pesquisa ao manejo, v. 2. Brasília: MMA/Secretaria de Biodiversidade e Florestas.
Luigi, G. 1992. Consideracoes sobre a avifauna da Ilha da Trindade, ES. p. 85, In: II Congresso Brasileiro de Ornitologia, Campo Grande: SOB/UFMS.
Mackinnon, R. S. 1962. Bird life on St Paul’s Rocks. Sea Swallow, 15: 53–55.
Martins, F. C. 2004. Estimativas populacionais e considerações para a conservação da avifauna marinha e aquatica em Fernando de Noronha. Pp. 40, In: XXV Congresso Brasileiro de Zoologia, Brasilia: UnB.
Masch, D. 1966. Life on the rocks. Oceanus, 12: 5–7.
Mestre, L. A. M.; Ross, A. L. & Nascimento, J. L. X. 2009. Dados biologicos de Pufjinus lherminieri anilhados em Fernando de Noronha em 2005 e 2006. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 17: 65–69.
Murphy, R. C. 1936. Oceanic birds of South America. New York: Macmillam and America Museum of Natural History.
MMA (Ministerio do Meio Ambiente). 2014. Portaria N°. 444, 17/12/2014. Dispoe sobre as especies da fauna brasileira ameacadas de extincao. p. 121–126 In: Diario Oficial da Uniao, Brasilia, DF, N 245 publicado em 18/12/2014, Secao 1.
Morse, S. S. 1995. Factors in the emergence of infectious diseases. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 1: 7–15.
Nacinovic, J. B. & Teixeira, D. M. 1989. As aves de Fernando de Noronha: uma lista sistematica anotada. Revista Brasileira de Biologia, 49: 709–729.
Nacinovic, J. B.; Luigi, G.; Teixeira, D. M.; Kischlat, E. & Novelli, R. 1989. Observacoes sobre a avifauna da Ilha de Trindade e Martin Vaz. p. 135 In: Abstracts of the XVI Congresso Brasileiro de Zoologia, João Pessoa.
Nelson, B. J. 2005. Pelicans, cormorants, and their relatives: the Pelecaniformes. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nunes, G. T 2012. Dimorfismo sexual de tamanho, variabilidade genetica e conectividade intraespecífica de Phaethon aethereus and Phaethon lepturus no Brasil. MSc. Dissertation. Rio Grande: Universidade Federal de Rio Grande - FURG.
Olson, S. L. 1981. Natural history of vertebrates on the Brazilian islands of the mid South Atlantic. National Geographic Society Research Report, 13: 481–492.
Oppel, S.; Hervías, S.; Oliveira, N.; Pipa, T; Silva, G; Geraldes, P.; Goh, M.; Immler, E. & McKown, M. 2014. Estimating population size of a nocturnal burrow-nesting seabird using acoustic monitoring and habitat mapping. Journal of Nature Conservation, 7: 1–13.
Oren, D. C. 1982. Avifauna do Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Serie Zoologia, 118: 1–22.
Oren, D. C. 1984. Resultados de uma nova Expedicao Zoologica a Fernando de Noronha. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Serie Zoologia, 1: 19–44.
Orta, J.; Christie, D. A; Garcia, E. F. J. & Boesman, P. 2014a. Magnificent Frigatebird (Eregata magnificens). In: del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D. A. & Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the birds of the world alive. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. http://www.hbw.com/node/52669 (access on 28 October 2014).
Orta, J.; Garcia, E. F. J.; Kirwan, G.M. & Boesman, P. 2014b. Lesser Frigatebird (Fregata ariel). In: del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D. A. & Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the birds of the world alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. http://www.hbw.com/node/52671 (access on 28 October 2014).
Orta, J.; Kirwan, G. M.; Garcia, E. F. J. & Boesman, P. 2014c. Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor). In: del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D. A. & Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the birds of the world alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. http://www.hbw.com/node/52670 (access on 28 October 2014).
Paleczny, M.; Hammill, E.; Karpouzi, V. & Pauly, D. 2015. Population trend of the world’s monitored seabirds, 1950–2010. PLoS ONE, 10: e0129342.2.
Piacentini, V. Q.; Aleixo, A.; Agne, C. E.; Mauricio, G. N.; Pacheco, J. E; Bravo, G. A.; Brito, G. R. R, Naka, L. N.; Olmos, F.; Posso, S.; Silveira, L. F.; Betini, G. S.; Carrano, E.; Franz, I.; Lees, A. C; Lima, L. M.; Pioli, D.; Schunck, F.; Amaral, F. R.; Bencke, G. A.; Cohn-Haft, M.; Figueiredo, L. F. A.; Straube, F. C. & Cesari, E. 2015. Annotated checklist of the birds of Brazil by the Brazilian Ornithological Records Committee. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 23: 91–298.
Quillfeldt, P. & Masello, J. F. 2013. Impacts of climate variation and potential effects of climate change on South American seabirds - a review. Marine Biology Research, 9: 337–357.
Sarmento, R; Brito, D.; Ladle, R. J.; Leal, G. R. & Efe, M. A. 2014. Invasive House (Rattus rattus) and Brown Rats (Rattus norvegicus) threaten the viability of Red-billed Tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus) in Abrolhos National Park, Brazil. Tropical Conservation Science, 7: 614–627.
Schreiber, E. A. & Burger, J. 2002. Biology of marine birds. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Schulz-Neto, A. 1995. Observando aves no Parque Nacional Marinho de Fernando de Noronha: guia de campo. Brasilia: Institute Brasileiro dos Recursos Naturais Renovaveis.
Schulz-Neto, A. 1998. Aspectos biologicos da avifauna marinha na Reserva Biologica do Atol das Rocas, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil. Hornero, 15: 17–28.
Schulz-Neto, A. 2004. Aves marinhas do Atol das Rocas. p. 169–192. In: Branco, J. O. (ed.). Aves marinhas e insulares brasileiras: bioecologia e conservação. Itajaí: Univali Editora.
Scott, D.; Moller, H.; Fletcher, D.; Newman, J.; Aryal, J.; Bragg, C. & Charleton, K. 2009. Predictive habitat modelling to estimate petrel breeding colony sizes: Sooty Shearwaters (Puffinus griseus) and Mottled Petrels (Pterodroma inexpectata) on Whenua Hou Island. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 36: 291–306.
Sick, H. 1997. Ornitologia brasileira. Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira.
Silva-e-Silva, R. 2008. Aves de Fernando de Noronha. Sao Paulo: Avis Brasil is.
Silva-e-Silva, R. & Olmos, F. 2010. Notes on the biology and morphology of Audubon’s Shearwaters Puffinus Iherminieri (Procellariiformes: Procellariidae) from Fernando de Noronha, northeast Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 18: 139–145.
Smith, H. G.; Hardy, P.; Leith, I. M.; Spaull, V. W. & Twelves, E. L. 1974. A biological survey of St Paul’s Rocks in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 6: 794–800.
Soto, J. & Filippini, A. 2003. Ocorrência e reprodução da Pardela- de-Audubon, P. Iherminieri Lesson, 1839 (Procellariiformes, Procellariidae), no Arquipelago Fernando de Noronha, com revisao dos registros de P. Iherminieri e P. assimilis no Brasil. Ararajuba, 11: 112–115.
Spatz, D. R; Newton, K. M.; Heinz, R; Tershy, B.; Holmes, N. D.; Butchart, S. H. M. & Croll, D. A. 2014. The biogeography of globally threatened seabirds and island conservation opportunities. Conservation Biology, 28: 1282–1290.
van Franeker, J. A. 1994. A comparison of methods for counting seabirds at sea in the Southern Ocean. Journal of Field Ornithology, 65: 96–108.
Vas, E.; Lescroel, A.; Driez, O.; Boguszewski, G. & Gremillet, D. 2015. Approaching birds with drones: first experiments and ethical guidelines. Biology Letters, 11: 20140754.
Vooren, C. M. & Brusque, L. F. 1999. As lives do ambiente costeiro do Brasil: biodiversida.de e conservacdo, v. 1. Rio de Janeiro: FUNBIO.
Vooren, C. M. & Chiaradia, A. 1990. Seasonal abundance and behaviour of coastal birds on Cassino Beach, Brazil. Ornitología Neotropical 1: 9–14.
Wilcox, C.; van Sebille, E. & Hardesty, B. D. 2015. Threat of plastic pollution to seabirds is global, pervasive, and increasing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112: 11899–11904.
Woehler, E.J. 1996. Concurrent decreases in five species of Southern Ocean seabirds in Prydz Bay. Polar Biology, 16: 379–382.
Yorio, P.; Frere, E.; Gandini, P. & Schiavini, A. 2001. Tourism and recreation at seabird breeding sites in Patagonia, Argentina: current concerns and future prospects. Bird Conservation International 11: 231–245.
Yorio, P.; Quintana, F.; Campagna, C. & Harris, G. 1994. Diversidad, abundancia y dinamica espacio-temporal de la colonia mixta de aves marinas em Punta Leon, Patagonia. Ornitologia Neotropical, 5: 69–77.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
About this article
Cite this article
Mancini, P.L., Serafini, P.P. & Bugoni, L. Breeding seabird populations in Brazilian oceanic islands: historical review, update and a call for census standardization. Rev. Bras. Ornitol. 24, 94–115 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03544338
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03544338