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Description |
Geographic Range [top]
Range Description: This species is found in the western Pacific, breeding on the coast and on offshore islands of Japan, Russia, and on islands off the coasts of China, North Korea and South Korea. It migrates south during winter, being found off the coasts of Vietnam, New Guinea, the Philippines, Australia, southern India and Sri Lanka (del Hoyo et al. 1992, Praveen et al. 2013). The global population has been estimated to number c. 3,000,000 individuals (Brooke 2004). In Japan, where the majority of the species’s world population breeds, there are 11 islands that are each thought to be inhabited by more than 10,000 breeding pairs (Oka 2004). A recent survey on the island of Nakanokamishima estimated the population at 5,566 individuals and 2,783 nests (Yamamoto et al. 2015). According to islanders, the species appears to have been declining rapidly on Mikura-Jima, but quantitative data are not available (S. Uematsu in litt. 2012). The prevalence of threats from introduced predators suggests that the species is in overall decline; however, further data are required from throughout the species’s range to assess the current population trend.
Countries occurrence:
Native:
Australia; Brunei Darussalam; China; Guam; Indonesia; Japan; Korea, Democratic Peoples Republic of; Korea, Republic of; Malaysia; Micronesia, Federated States of ; Northern Mariana Islands; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Russian Federation (Eastern Asian Russia); Solomon Islands; Taiwan, Province of China; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Viet Nam
Vagrant:
India; Israel; Jordan; Maldives; Sri Lanka; United States
Present - origin uncertain:
Marshall Islands; Nauru; New Caledonia; Norfolk Island; Vanuatu
Additional data:
? Continuing decline in area of occupancy (AOO): Unknown
? Extreme fluctuations in area of occupancy (AOO): No ? Estimated extent of occurrence (EOO) - km2: 45800000
? Continuing decline in extent of occurrence (EOO): Unknown ? Extreme fluctuations in extent of occurrence (EOO): No
? Continuing decline in number of locations: Unknown
? Extreme fluctuations in the number of locations: No
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.
Population [top]
Population: Brooke (2004) estimated the global population to number c.3,000,000 individuals, while national population estimates include: c.100-10,000 breeding pairs, c.50-1,000 individuals on migration and c.50-1,000 wintering individuals in China; c.100,000-1,000,000 breeding pairs, c.10,000 individuals on migration and c.10,000 individuals on migration and c.50-1,000 wintering individuals in Japan and c.10,000-100,000 breeding pairs and c.1,000-10,000 individuals on migration in Russia (Brazil 2009).
Trend Justification: The population is suspected to be undergoing a moderately rapid decline, owing primarily to predation by introduced mammals (S. Uematsu in litt. 2012).
Current Population Trend: Decreasing
Additional data:
? Continuing decline of mature individuals: Unknown
? Extreme fluctuations: No ? Population severely fragmented: No
? Continuing decline in subpopulations: Unknown
? Extreme fluctuations in subpopulations: No ? All individuals in one subpopulation: No
Habitat and Ecology [top]
Habitat and Ecology: This marine species can be found over both pelagic and inshore waters. It feeds mainly on fish and squid which it catches by surface-seizing and shallow plunges. It often associates with other seabirds and will follow fishing boats. Breeding begins in March in colonies on offshore islands, occupying burrows on forested hills. It undergoes transequatorial migration (del Hoyo et al. 1992).
Systems: Terrestrial; Marine
Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat: Unknown
Generation Length (years): 19.3
Movement patterns: Full Migrant
Congregatory: Congregatory (and dispersive)
Threats [top]
Major Threat(s):
Introduced mammals poses the greatest threat to the population, with cats Felis catus and rats Rattus norvegicus and R. rattus being present throughout the species’s range. Rats have invaded at least three of the Japanese breeding islands, with current impacts largely unknown, but likely to affect fledgling success and egg predation (Lee 2010). The shearwaters appear to suffer significant impacts from rats on Mikura-Jima, which is populated by c.300 people and is popular with tourists, thus making an eradication programme problematic and the subsequent reintroduction of rats more likely (Oka et al. 2002, J. Croxall in litt. 2011). Feral cats may also be inflicting increasing mortality on the Mikura-Jima population through predation on chicks, young birds and adults (N. Oka per M. Sato in litt. 2012, S. Uematsu in litt. 2012). Efforts are being taken to capture and neuter feral cats, however due to pressure from the public, cats are hard to eliminate.
Currently, climate change is affecting foraging distribution and hence energetic budgets of adults. It is further predicted that whole colonies may be affected in the future as prey populations shift distribution in response to climate change.
In addition to these threats, the species is also susceptible to fisheries bycatch (Birds Korea 2010, J. Croxall in litt. 2011), but the impact has not been quantified.
Research suggests the Fukushima nuclear accident may have had negative impacts on birds breeding on Mikura Island, with reduced vitamin A levels detected in chicks following the release of radioactive material (Uematsu et al. 2014). The researchers suggest that additional negative impacts may be expected in the population in the future.
Conservation Actions [top]
Conservation Actions: Conservation and Research Actions Underway
On Mikura-Jima, some management actions have been carried out to control cats (both feral and domestic); these have included neutering and subsequent release (N. Oka per M. Sato in litt. 2012).
Conservation and Research Actions Proposed
Monitor population trends at selected breeding sites throughout its range. Quantify the impacts of introduced predators on all affected breeding islands, and study the potential impact of fisheries bycatch. Implement robust control measures and strengthen existing management actions to alleviate, and if possible eliminate, the threat of introduced predators on all affected breeding islands. Carry out awareness-raising activities on breeding islands to reduce the impacts of human disturbance and introduced mammals.
Citation: BirdLife International. 2018. Calonectris leucomelas. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22698172A132630766. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22698172A132630766.en. Downloaded on 25 March 2019.
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