symposia and workshops descriptions
2026 Programme Now Available
The full programme for the 4th World Seabird Conference is now available to download. Inside you’ll find the complete five-day schedule for nipaluna / Hobart, 7–11 September 2026 — plenaries, the fourteen symposia, four workshops, every contributed talk and poster, plus the social programme, venue and local information, and the Hybrid Day for colleagues joining online.
The programme also has everything you need on the ground: how to download the conference app, the exhibitor floor plan, sunrise bird walks, the silent auction and the People’s Choice vote in the WSC4 Seabird Photo Contest.
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symposia
Symposium S01: Seabird Social Science
Conveners: Thomas Bodey (University of Aberdeen, UK), James Russell (University of Auckland, Aotearoa NZ)
People are central to seabird conservation, and engagement and capacity building with small or remote communities is a critical component for success – from biosecurity, access and threat management to surveying and collecting data. Understanding why individuals and communities are motivated to engage with projects, what drives preferences, enhances participatory involvement and acceptability, and ultimately maximises outcomes is therefore crucial for progress, particularly under increasing pressures from wider anthropogenic change. This symposium will bring together a range of scientists and practitioners in seabird and island conservation/restoration to reveal synergies and differences across contexts and cultures. Bridging these ‘knowing-doing’ gaps between community engagement, scientific understanding and applied management is essential for delivering co-ordinated, inclusive and cost-effective restoration for these iconic species and locations.
Symposium S02: Seabird tracking data and novel tools to guide marine conservation areas in the High Seas
Conveners: Stephanie Borrelle (BirdLife International), Tammy Davies, (BirdLife International), Lindsay Young (National Geographic Pristine Seas)
Seabird tracking is a powerful tool for marine spatial planning, offering insights into biodiversity, connectivity, and conservation priorities. A significant increase in published studies, and data availability, has been made possible by major advancements in tracking technology. Satellite tags are now much smaller and lighter, allowing for more extensive tracking studies across a wider range of species and colonies. Seabird tracking data has guided the identification and protection of important marine areas (e.g. the North Atlantic Current and Evlanov Sea basin Marine Protected Area in the high seas of the North Atlantic). Current efforts reveal a substantial increase in seabird tracking data compared to 2011, encompassing more species and countries. This symposium will highlight new tracking data and analytical methods that can provide a robust data-driven approach to marine conservation, in addition to identifying national linkages to important areas via species movements, which is a powerful driver of governments’ support for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) within and beyond national waters. This symposium will also highlight tracking priorities for the Pacific region that would be useful to inform future conservation efforts.
Symposium S03-04: Seabird Health and Disease: Lessons from Bird Flu and Beyond
Conveners: Patricia Serafini (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil), Amandine Gamble (Cornell University, USA), Jana Jeglinski (Aarhus University, Denmark), Jude Lane (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, UK)
Infectious diseases are an increasingly urgent threat to wildlife populations worldwide, particularly to colonial, long-lived species such as seabirds. Once considered largely insulated from pathogens due to their remote breeding locations and limited interaction with human activities, seabirds are now facing growing disease risks driven by globalisation, climate change, and expanding human activities. The recent panzootic of high pathogenicity avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) has highlighted and illustrated the devastating effects novel disease can have on naïve populations of seabirds. Mass mortality events and reproductive failures due to disease occurrence have already been reported across multiple species and continents, including several breeding colonies. This symposium will provide a platform for sharing current knowledge and recent developments in disease monitoring, data collection, standardisation and sharing, impact assessment, and management strategies for seabird populations. Presentations will foster collaboration across disciplines and regions to improve seabird disease preparedness and conservation outcomes in the face of emerging infectious threats.
Symposium S05: Bridging the implementation gap between seabird and seabird-bycatch mitigation research and fisheries management
Conveners: Johannes Fischer (Department of Conservation, Aotearoa NZ), Richard Phillips (British Antarctic Survey, UK)
Bycatch in commercial fisheries is a major driver of seabird declines globally, particularly for albatrosses and petrels. A substantial body of evidence is available highlighting seabird declines due to fisheries, underlying drivers and threats, and the effectiveness of bycatch mitigation, but this is rarely able to be resolved in a coordinated manner. Despite the compelling conservation rationale, seabird-bycatch mitigation requirements around the world, particularly in Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, are yet to fully adopt the standards set out in the best-practice advice developed by the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP). In addition, the burden of evidence imposed by fisheries managers before they are prepared to improve seabird-bycatch regulations appears be increasing. To address the challenge of improving the conservation status of seabirds, especially for albatrosses and petrels, researchers need to better target their studies and outputs to drive real-world policy applications. By 1) showcasing the weight of the current evidence, and 2) highlighting future research opportunities, this symposium seeks to achieve further coherence within the community and bridge the gap between research and fisheries management for seabird conservation.
Symposium S06: From fledging to recruitment: Tracking the movements and migrations of juvenile and immature seabirds
Conveners: Akinori Takahashi (National Institute of Polar Research, Japan), Richard Phillips (British Antarctic Survey, UK), Maria Dias (University of Lisbon, Portugal)
Research on the movements and migrations of juvenile and immature seabirds can reveal key intrinsic and extrinsic drivers. It is also critical for evaluating how seabird populations may respond or adapt to climate change through changes in recruitment. Recent advances in tracking technologies now make it possible to study these early life stages in unprecedented detail, offering new insights into their spatial ecology, energetics, moult, prospecting and recruitment behaviour. In this symposium, we aim to showcase current research on juvenile and immature seabirds and its contribution to our understanding of population processes in changing marine environments.
Symposium S07: Antarctic seabirds in a rapidly changing climate
Conveners: Yuna Kim (BirdLife Australia), Julie McInnes (Australian Antarctic Division)
Antarctic seabirds are powerful indicators of ecosystem change in the Southern Ocean, one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth. As climate change alters sea ice dynamics, prey availability, and breeding conditions, these species are experiencing significant shifts in distribution, phenology, and population viability. This symposium will showcase long-term monitoring programs, emerging technologies, and international collaborations that are deeping our understanding of seabird responses to climate change. It will highlight monitoring efforts across the Antarctic continent and sub-Antarctic islands, representing diverse geographies. It will foster the discussion on how seabird research can inform conservation management between researchers, conservation practitioners, and policy-makers working across polar science, climate adaptation, and international conservation frameworks such as CCAMLR and SCAR.
Symposium S08: Scorched seas: Conservation physiology in the age of marine heat waves
Conveners: Brendon Dunphy (University of Auckland, Aoetearoa NZ), Kyle Elliott (McGill University), Akiko Shoji (Nagoya University), Rochelle Constantine (University of Auckland), Edin Whitehead (University of Auckland/Northern New Zealand Seabird Trust, Aoetearoa NZ)
Seabirds exhibit multiple behavioural and physiological traits to offset environmental change, and those traits can often function as early warning signals of environmental change. This symposium will take a broad integrative definition of conservation physiology to understand how seabirds cope with a rapidly changing world. A key focus will be the impact of marine heatwave (MHW’s) events on individuals and the challenge they pose for seabird population viability into the future. MHWs are inherently transboundary issues, and mitigation of MHW’s needs an internationally coordinated approach to share best practice, hence this symposium will appeal to seabird researchers, conservation groups, and resource managers.
Symposium S09: Dispersal in seabirds: Mechanisms, models, and metapopulations
Conveners : Christophe Barbraud (Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, France), Daniel Oro (Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes, Spain), Catharine Horswill (University College London, UK)
Dispersal is a crucial driver of ecological and evolutionary patterns because of its direct implication on processes such as gene flow, genetic drift, local adaptation, inbreeding, colonization and viability of populations and species. Measuring dispersal between seabird populations remains complicated by the logistic requirements of data collection at several sites, with large samples needed at each site as rates of dispersal (especially breeding dispersal) are typically low. Recent advances in demographic, individual-based and mechanistic models combined with long-term population and genetic data now make it possible to estimate dispersal and its fitness consequences, potentially offering new insights on seabird metapopulation dynamics at contemporary time scales. In this symposium, we aim to showcase current research on dispersal in seabirds to emphasize its significance for understanding population processes in changing marine environments.
Symposium S10: Wind, waves and the world’s seabirds: Furthering knowledge of key drivers of seabird movement and energetics
Conveners: Lesley Thorne (Stony Brook University, USA), Francesco Ventura, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA), Richard Phillips (British Antarctic Survey, UK), Madeleine Hallet (Stony Brook University, USA)
Wind and waves are key drivers of seabird movement, energetics and life history. Improving our understanding of how these factors influence seabird populations is central to our ability to assess and predict the impacts of global change, and to identify priority regions for conservation and management. This symposium welcomes recent studies addressing gaps in our knowledge of how wind and waves influence seabirds, including (but not limited to) their role in energetically efficient movement; wind as a selective pressure in seabird evolution; population-level impacts; and implications for flyways and seabird conservation.
Symposium S11: Alcids in a changing climate
Conveners: Amelia DuVall, Sarah Converse (University of Washington, USA)
Members of the Alcidae, as a group, differ from many other seabirds in that they tend to be tied to continental breeding habitats and have relatively fast life histories compared to, e.g., Procellarids. As a result, they provide a relatively tractable opportunity to understand how seabirds are responding to a changing climate, although some life history characteristics, such as burrow-nesting, do present challenges. Across their range, Alcids are showing a wide range of climate-linked responses, from shifts in phenology to foraging behavior to declines in productivity and survival. However, no comprehensive synthesis of these patterns across this important taxonomic group exists. This symposium will explore the diversity of responses and begin to synthesize both what we are seeing, and what we may see in the future.
Symposium S12: Co-existing in a changing climate: Seabirds and offshore wind
Conveners: Kirsty Franklin (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, UK); Stephen Vickers (Bioinformatics and Statistics Scotland, UK); Ally Lemon (NatureScot, UK); Bethany Clark (BirdLife International, UK); Grant Humphries (Black Bawks Data Science, UK); Yuna Kim (BirdLife Australia); Grainne Maguire (BirdLife Australia
Offshore wind energy is experiencing accelerated growth worldwide to support global net zero ambitions. To ensure responsible development, it is essential to understand and mitigate the potential impacts on wildlife, particularly on seabirds. Some regions have extensive experience with marine renewables, while others are just beginning—making it especially important to share lessons learned and emerging best practices. This symposium will therefore provide a platform for seabird ecologists, statisticians, industry stakeholders, and policymakers to discuss tools and approaches for assessing, predicting and mitigating the impacts of marine renewables on seabirds. Topics will include advances in tracking technologies, statistical and spatial modelling, sensitivity mapping, and risk assessment tools (e.g., AVISTEP), as well as cumulative impact evaluation and marine spatial planning. In cases where impacts cannot be fully avoided, the symposium will also explore how compensation and biodiversity net gain frameworks are being developed and implemented globally. By sharing lessons from both experienced and emerging offshore wind regions, this session will support standardised, science-based approaches that align renewable energy deployment with seabird conservation in a changing climate.
Symposium S13: A Lack of Fidelity to Fidelity Metrics in Seabird Foraging Studies
Conveners: Natasha Gownaris (Gettysburg College, USA), Kyle Elliot (McGill University, Canada)
Behavioral plasticity is a particularly important “hold-over” mechanism for long-lived species, yet many seabirds exhibit strong foraging site fidelity that constrains their potential for plasticity. Such fidelity can lead to ecological traps, whereby previously gained knowledge of productive foraging sites becomes maladaptive under rapid environmental change. While understanding the mechanisms that drive foraging site fidelity is key to predicting species’ persistence, fidelity is currently defined and quantified inconsistently across studies, limiting cross-system and cross-species comparisons. Additionally, fidelity is just one of many related terms in the literature (“repeatability”, “plasticity”, “consistency”), all of which are poorly defined. The goal of this session is to bring together researchers studying foraging site fidelity and to work towards a more unified framework and methodology for defining and quantifying fidelity. After an introductory overview, eight brief talks (10 minutes each) will highlight the diverse ways in which fidelity has been defined and measured. These talks will cover an array of seabird species, non-breeding and breeding season studies, and potential mechanisms of foraging fidelity. A panel discussion will follow, leading into structured breakout groups focused on: 1) developing a consensus on how the interrelated terms above are defined, 2) cataloging the ways in which fidelity has been measured in the scientific literature. Session participants will be invited to contribute to post-meeting outputs (a paper and an R package).
Symposium S14: Global perspectives on seabird restoration
Conveners: Nick Holmes, Alex Wegmann, Juliet Lamb (The Nature Conservancy, USA); Chris Gaskin, Edin Whitehead (The Seabird Trust, Aotearoa NZ); Stephanie Borrelle, Steve Cranwell (BirdLife International); Yuliana Bedolla Guzmán, Federico Alfonso Méndez Sánchez (Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, Mexico)
Seabird restoration projects around the world have yielded remarkable results, including increasing the quality or extent of existing breeding habitats, creating new colonies, restoring seabirds to areas where they had previously been extirpated, improving population trajectories of imperiled species, and benefits to nearshore marine ecosystems through nutrient cycling. As a result, restoration or creation of seabird breeding habitat is often promoted as a principal component of mitigation efforts to help offset the effect of human activity in marine and coastal systems. Success of seabird restoration projects depends on the presence of enabling conditions including both ecological (e.g., local environment and topography, target species characteristics) and anthropogenic (e.g., governance, staffing, funding) factors. Despite successes to date, there remains significant need to implement more seabird restoration, to prevent extinction, and restore the role of seabirds in ecosystems. This symposium will take a global view of this topic by bringing together experts currently working on restoration projects around the world to share recent work and strengthen shared knowledge for designing effective seabird restoration.
workshops
Workshop W01: Using bioacoustics to turn seabird calls into discovery
Conveners: Rebecca Stock, Lisa Cawthen (Faunatech, Australia)
Seabirds can be highly vocal and inhabit remote, often difficult-to-access environments—making bioacoustics a powerful, non-invasive tool for monitoring their presence, behaviour, and responses to environmental change. This workshop will introduce participants to the world of bioacoustics and its applications before moving on to a hands-on session where we’ll demonstrate the Song Meter range of acoustic recorders, and how to set up and configure a Song Meter Micro 2. These recorders have been deployed in seabird-specific contexts for over a decade, and our workshop can provide information on how our acoustic recorders are developed for surveying wildlife in extreme conditions, including high winds and dealing with noisy environments. Once participants are comfortable with the key skills for deploying the recorders, we’ll go through how to download files and open recordings in kaleidoscope, to view spectrograms, and extract useful data for further analysis.
Workshop W02: Next-generation seabird monitoring: from technology and machine learning to conservation best practice
Conveners: Anna Vallery (Audubon Washington, USA), Wade Sedgwick (Island Foundation, USA), Matt Wood (University of Gloucestershire, UK), Alice Edney (National Trust Scotland, UK)
Emerging technologies are transforming how we monitor seabirds, providing critical insights into responses to threats such as climate change, habitat loss, and other environmental changes. Seabird monitoring programs around the globe are rapidly accumulating large datasets from drones, satellites, cameras, and other automated sensors, but refined protocols for managing and analyzing these datasets lag behind, limiting comparability and slowing adoption of new tools across programs and regions worldwide. This session will bring together experts in applications of these tools and machine learning in ecology to assess how technology can best support evidence-based management, sharing successes, pitfalls, and future plans while balancing innovation with realism about the limitations of technology in the field. The symposium will provide an opportunity for participants to learn about available tools and current work in this field. By bridging cutting-edge science and policy needs, the workshop will then provide an opportunity for those interested to collaboratively draft best-practice guidelines to ensure robustness, accessibility, reproducibility, and cost-effectiveness of next-generation seabird monitoring efforts, strengthening conservation planning while ensuring seabird monitoring remains robust into the next decade.
Workshop W03: Reducing seabird mortality from fisheries: case studies on data collection, mitigation measures and fisheries engagement and how to merge forces globally to progress further
Conveners: Antonio Vulcano (BirdLife International, UK), Yann Rouxel (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, UK)
Bycatch in fisheries is a major driver of seabird declines globally. In the last decades, BirdLife partners have worked on the topic of seabird bycatch in different areas, reaching important results under the Albatross Task Force (ATF) especially in Southern Africa and South America, including building trusting and long-lasting relationships with fishers and fisheries’ managers. In Europe, the work of the BirdLife European Marine Task Force has been pivotal in ensuring knowledge transfer and capacity building across the partnership in the region, and an updated regional review has been produced, with an estimated 195,000 birds dying annually, making it a major contributor to population declines for several seabird species, some of which are threatened with extinction. Similar reviews are needed in other regions, to update global estimates, identify hotspots, key species affected and knowledge gaps. This workshop will bring to the table participants from across the world to develop a framework for the next ten years, promote standardized regional reviews, and create powerful alliances to obtain a substantial reduction of seabird bycatch. Additionally, as climate change and shifting ocean dynamics are predicted to increase spatial overlap between seabirds and fishing operations in some species, we would like to engage spatial scientists and planners in a collaborative effort to map potential bycatch hotspots in the future. This workshop will include presentations and interventions on recent updates and case studies on bycatch estimates in different regions of the world, and applications of novel tools, such as the use of REM and seabird and vessels tracking data to identify bycatch hotspots globally and, ultimately, support marine conservation.
Workshop W04: Long-term device attachment in seabirds: Methods, outcomes, and challenges
Conveners: Juliet Lamb (The Nature Conservancy, USA), Jacob Gonzalez-Solis (University of Barcelona, Spain)
Tracking seabirds throughout the annual cycle provides crucial data to address pressing conservation challenges, including understanding habitat use, energetic requirements and interactions with anthropogenic threats during the migratory and non-breeding periods. For the past several decades, light-level geolocations have proven valuable for identifying migratory phenology, flyways and broad-scale non-breeding areas. More recently, high-resolution GPS or satellite PTT data is critical for pinpointing important marine areas and addressing specific threats, such as the interactions with fisheries of offshore wind farms. However, the success of long-term, multi-seasonal device attachments varies widely among species, taxa, locations, and methodologies. Unsuccessful trials are often underrepresented in published literature, hindering the ability to evaluate the true effectiveness of different approaches and identify optimal techniques for future projects. Learning from failures is just as important as learning from successes; it is key to comparing studies, understanding why certain methods fail, and identifying strategies for improvement. This workshop will synthesize current knowledge on long-term (i.e., > 2 months) attachment methods, including back and leg-loop harnesses, back suturing, ring deployments, and feather attachments, and their effects across a variety of seabird taxa worldwide. It will include a review of successful and failed techniques, hands-on demonstrations of different methods, and a group discussion of how tag types, attachment materials/methods, species-specific sensitivity, and habitat use influence the success and duration of device deployments. Ultimately, the workshop aims to contribute to a comprehensive review describing best practices for long-term tracking seabirds and to outline avenues for further study.
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