https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7207-8294
Seabirds are faced with population declines worldwide, and many species are globally threatened (Paleczny et al. 2015, Dias et al. 2019). Conservation of Marine Birds by Lindsay Young and Eric VanderWerf gives a detailed description of those threats, but most importantly, the book offers strategies from various approaches to advance the conservation of those ocean sentinels.
I am not sure that many books dedicated to parrots start with the question, “What is a parrot?” But most, if not all books related to seabirds start with the same statement, “What is a seabird?” Conservation of Marine Birds is a no exception. After a first chapter that acts as a reminder of the basics of seabird ecology, the second chapter offers an overview of the different threats faced by seabirds and is a good companion to Rodríguez et al. (2019) that focused on petrels and shearwaters. The chapters that follow (3 through 8) provide expert-led reviews of each threat or group of threats. Each of those chapters, which are not necessarily presented in order of importance, offers a good synthesis on the subject. For several threats (eg, bycatch, disease, light pollution), the actual numbers of birds succumbing to them are often hard to estimate, and we might be underestimating their severity.
While each is treated individually, it is evident while reading Conservation of Marine Birds that many threats are often intertwined. For example, climate change might increase the number of introduced species that will become invasive, and in turn, invasive species can be the vectors of diseases. Consequently, diseases may thrive in new areas because of climate change. In addition, stranding due to light pollution may increase predation of certain seabirds. Climate change will change the contaminants exposure pathways. Within most of these threat chapters, the authors have provided sections on knowledge gaps and future research, which offer potential study directions for many students and researchers for the coming years.
After the grim but accurate description of the current situation faced by seabirds, chapter 9 (Introduction and Historical Approaches to Seabird Conservation) acts as an introduction for the second section of the book (chapters 10 through 20), which offers solutions and hope to protect seabirds both on land and at sea. Chapter 10 (Legal and Cooperative Mechanisms for Conserving Marine Birds) is a little thick in acronyms, but if the reader overcomes this necessary hurdle, it reviews important information on regulatory framework to facilitate a better understanding of the national and international laws and treaties that protect seabirds. Of course, law enforcement is still a major issue and difficult task in remote marine areas. Successful efforts to conserve and manage seabirds should be done in consultation with all parties involved for their views, knowledge, and perspective of nature in general and seabirds in particular. This includes not only indigenous peoples and local communities (chapter 11: Cultural Aspects of Seabird Conservation), but also harvesters, for subsistence, recreational, or commercial reasons (chapter 12: Managing Harvests of Seabirds and Their Eggs).
While light attraction is treated in the solutions section (chapter 13: Mitigating Light Attraction), as well as in the threat section (chapter 6: Pollution—Lights, Plastics, Oil, and Contaminants), other threats, just like climate change, are not, probably because they are global issues and seabird conservation is perhaps not the most effective way to tackle those overwhelming threats. Chapter 14 (Reducing Collisions with Structures) mostly focusses on seabird collisions with powerlines and less so with offshore wind farms, which I would think is just as problematic. Chapter 15 (Conservation of Marine Birds: Biosecurity, Control, and Eradication of Invasive Species Threats) describes Mexico’s island restoration projects as an example of the many success stories of seabird conservation presented throughout this book. Yuliana Bedolla, of the NGO Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas (GECI), received the 2023 Whitley Award in recognition of this important conservation work.
The issue related to fisheries is twofold, so it is normal that the book devotes two chapters to this threat: one concerns fisheries targeting the same fish as seabirds (Fisheries Regulation and Conserving Prey Bases), and the other one focuses on bycatch (Bycatch Reduction). In chapter 18 (Protecting Marine Habitats: Spatial Conservation Measures for Seabirds at Sea), the authors provide examples that detail why, what, and where to protect marine habitats, highlighting the complex and varied life histories of seabirds.
The final chapter (Restoration: Social Attraction and Translocation) provides hope with the presentation of case studies of successful restoration. It was brilliant to end the book with some positive vibes, as this very informative book can be gloomy at times because of the gravity, the enormity, and urgency of the subject at hand.
Conservation of Marine Birds is geared towards a wide audience. I highly recommend graduate students in conservation, ecology, or ornithology to read this book. Researchers, practitioners, and anyone involved in marine and conservation management will also benefit from it. The book provides optimistic insights and specific recommendations that we can act at least to limit seabird populations decline, if not to reverse the trend. Concrete actions must be put in place to follow the international agreements, and continued monitoring of seabird populations is required to quantify the progress accomplished. Conservation of Marine Birds will find a cherished place on my bookcase, next to Biology of Marine Birds by Schreiber and Burger (2001).
Book Review Editor: Jay Mager, [email protected]
