Australasian Seabird Group (ASG)
The ASG, the oldest of Birdlife Australia's Special Interest Groups, was formed in 1971. Its objectives are to promote seabird research and conservation in Australasia. The Group pursues its objectives through the co-ordination of the beach patrol project, publication of the bulletin and other seabird material (Seabird Atlas, Journal of Marine Ornithology), organisation of symposia of issues affecting seabirds and presents expert opinion on the management and conservation of seabird populations in Australasia.
Winter Latest News
5th International Albatross and Petrel Conference (IAPC), Wellington New Zealand.
ASG is a co-sponsor of the IAPC to be held at Te Papa Museum of Wellington,
August 12th to 17th 2012. The conference will also be the location of the next general meeting of the ASG membership.
It will be an open meeting to allow inclusion of interested parties from New Zealand who have not previously been
associated with our special interest group.
Congratulations for funding recipients
Fiona McDuie, from James Cook University Queensland, received a student travel award to attend the
5IAPC as part of the ASG sponsorship of the conference. She will be presenting the initial findings
from her research on Wedge-tailed Shearwaters. Alan Tennyson, Stephen Totterman, Colin Miskelly and
Lara Shepherd are part of a research team associated with Te Papa in Wellington who are the successful
recipients of the ASG project grant for 2012. They propose to clarify the taxonomic status of the
Vanuatu petrel through genetic analyses which will allow for the application of an appropriate conservation
strategy for this taxon.
Potential funding for the conservation of seabirds on Christmas Island
Through the generosity of the Australian Geographic a fund-raiser for the protection of
seabirds on Christmas Island (CI), off Western Australia, has been launch. A committee of ASG
representatives and CI researchers will be formed to steer the funds through a trust
account managed by Birdlife Australia. A call for applicants will be made through the ASG
membership and Birdlife Australia.
New Student representative for ASG
Fiona McDuie (fiona.mcduie@my.jcu.edu.au) has taken up the position of Student
representative on the ASG committee. This position acts as a liaison between
student members and the Executive Committee and reports on student activities
in the Australasian Seabird Bulletin. If you are a student and want to send
Fiona a blurb on what your research project is about, the ASG members would
be most interested in hearing about your work.
Conservation
There are many serious problems facing seabirds today. One of the most urgent of these is the catastrophic decline of some albatross populations in the Southern Ocean as a direct result of mortality from the Southern Bluefin Tuna longline fishery. Some breeding populations, and possibly entire species, face extinction within a few years if nothing is done to prevent birds being hooked and drowned on the tuna longlines.
Other problems include marine pollution, human persecution and disturbance, and the introduction of feral predators to breeding islands. A more long-term concern is that global climate change may affect the numbers and distribution of prey. One of the most important tasks of the new ASG will be to make governments and the community aware of such threats and to recommend ways of dealing with them.
Many seabirds are threatened on the open seas, outside the jurisdiction or capability of national governments to protect them. Seabirds form a group that requires global cooperation between governments and NGOs to conserve them.
Journal of
Marine Ornithology
The ASG, along with the Pacific Seabird Group, the African Seabird Group and the Dutch Seabird Group publishes a scientific journal on the research and management of seabirds. The journal of Marine Ornithology has grown to become an important contribution to our knowledge of the world's seabirds.
The ASG
Bulletin
Since 1993 ASG has been
publishing the Australasian Seabird Group Bulletin twice a year. The Bulletin went
paperless in 2011 and it is now published more often in electronic version. The ASG Bulletin
contains long articles and short notes relevant to seabirds in our region, behavioural observations,
reviews, recent theses and news on seabirds around the world. References to the
ASG Newsletter in the first volume of
the Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds
(HANZAB)
pay tribute to the wealth of original data garnered by Group members.
Some numbers of the ASG Bulletin are available as back issues.
Costs (subject to review), including postage, are A$11 each. Contributions are more than welcome
at any time of the year. Please contact the Editor for details.
Join
ASG Membership of the ASG is
open to anyone interested in the conservation and research of seabirds in the
Australasian and Antarctic regions and adjacent oceans. Your membership entitles
you to receive the ASG Bulletin. By becoming a member of the
ASG you are contributing to the conservation of global biodiversity and our natural
environment. Subscriptions
( Individuals A$22.00 Concession A$16.50 Institutions A$28.00 Donations Donations of time, effort
and money are vitally important for our research program. All monetary donations of
over A$2.00 are tax-deductible when paid through the Birdlife Australia.
Honorary
Executive Committee
Barry Baker (Convenor), Matt Rayner (Treasurer),
Nicholas Carlile (Secretary),
Andre Chiaradia (Bulletin Editor),
David Nicholls (Beach Patrol Convenor - Australia), Fiona McDuie (Student representative),
Susan Waugh-Filippi, Nick Dunlop, Mark Carey, Kerry-Jayne Wilson (assist Editor), Eric Woehler,
David Priddel and Peter Dann.
Subscription/membership
enquiries