Page 10 - Atlas Sea Birds Ver1

1. Introduction

Authors: AB Makhado, A Amaro, RJM Crawford, TR Gottlieb, M Morais, DN Mwaala, L Nghimwatya,
M Seakamela, DB Tom, PA Whittington and M Witteveen
At a meeting in Windhoek, Namibia in December 2019, the Benguela Current Commission’s working
group on marine top predators (BECUMATOP) prioritised research for predators in the Benguela Cur-
rent Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME). The first objective was to undertake Red List assessments
for flagship top predators, and the second was to use predators to inform marine spatial planning
(MSP) in the region. It was recognised that estimates of population sizes and trends for species
breeding in the BCLME were needed to assess their conservation status. Additionally, information
on the distributions of breeding localities of land-breeding predators, together with data on at-sea
areas used by predators breeding in or visiting the BCLME, would contribute to MSP. Accordingly, it
was determined to develop an atlas of marine turtles, seabirds and seals in the BCLME and adjacent
regions, which would include those portions of the coast that fell to the north of the BCLME in Angola
and to the east of it in South Africa. The BCLME ranges from approximately Benguela in southern
Angola to the east of Algoa Bay on South Africa’s south coast, being bounded in the north and east
by the warm Angola and Agulhas currents, respectively (Figure 1; Makhado et al. 2021).
Four species of marine turtles have bred in Angola to the north, or in South Africa to the east,
of the BLCME: Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), Green (Chelonia mydas), Olive Ridley
(Lepidochelys olivacea), and Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) (Bachoo 2024, Morais 2024). They
nested on suitable beaches in these areas that were mapped and, where possible, the extent of
their use of different beaches was indicated (Bachoo 2024, Morais 2024). None of the four species
is endemic to the region. Fifteen species of seabird have bred around the coasts of Angola, South
Africa and Namibia: African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), Leach’s Storm Petrel (Hydrobates
leucorhous), Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), Cape Gannet (Morus capensis), Cape
Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis), Bank Cormorant (P. neglectus), White-breasted Cormorant
(P. lucidus), Crowned Cormorant (Microcarbo coronatus), Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus), Hartlaub’s
Gull (Chroicocephalus hartlaubii), Grey-headed Gull (C. cirrocephalus), Greater Crested (Swift)
Tern (Thalasseus bregii), Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia), Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii), and
Damara Tern (Sternula balaenarum). Seven of these species breed only within the BCLME: African
Penguin, Cape Gannet, Cape, Bank, and Crowned cormorants, Hartlaub’s Gull, and Damara Tern.
Two subspecies, vetula of Kelp Gull and bergii of Greater Crested Tern, also are restricted to the
BCLME. The other six species breed within and beyond the BCLME. Four of these, Great White
Pelican, White-breasted Cormorant, Grey-headed Gull, and Caspian Tern, breed at inland as well
as coastal localities (Makhado et al. 2021).
Between them these 15 seabirds bred (or attempted to) at 369 different coastal localities (or
sites – these two words are used interchangeably in the Atlas) in the region, four in Angola, 117 in
Namibia, and 248 in South Africa (Table 1), and there were 11,147 annual records of their breeding
at different localities. Brief descriptions of each of the known breeding localities were compiled. The
least number of coastal localities used by a seabird for breeding in the region was three (possibly
four) for Leach’s Storm Petrel. Roseate Tern bred at six sites, Cape Gannet at 10, Great White Pelican
at 14, Grey-headed Gull at 29, Greater Crested Tern at 36, Caspian Tern at 38, African Penguin
at 39, Bank Cormorant at 59, Hartlaub’s Gull at 67, Damara Tern at 73, Crowned Cormorant
at 72, Cape Cormorant at 95, Kelp Gull at 127, and White-breasted Cormorant at 165. Records of
breeding and published literature were used to gauge sizes and trends in coastal populations of
these seabirds in order to make preliminary estimates of their present conservation status. This will
assist the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and national authorities with updat-
ing assessments, and to identify Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) for their breeding. Brief
overviews of threats to the different seabirds were compiled. In particular, eggs of African Penguins and
guano deposited by seabirds were, or continue to be, harvested commercially. Records of harvests
were put together for both these industries (Makhado et al. 2024, Tom et al. 2024).
Cape Fur Seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) is the only seal known to have bred in the region.
The 61 localities at which pups were born (Table 2) were briefly described and numbers of pups were
collated per site to provide an indication of trends in the species’ abundance at different localities and
overall (Mwaala et al. 2024, Seakamela et al. 2024). The Cape Fur Seal’s conservation status, use,
and threats were summarised.
Marine ecotourism is expanding in southern Africa but information of this use of turtles, birds and
mammals in the region has yet to be rigorously collated, although such a compilation of information
would have considerable value. Furthermore, identification of at-sea IBAs, based upon tracking of
these animals at sea will complement this atlas, which has concentrated on breeding IBAs.
In the text, coordinates of localities are indicated in decimal format. All latitudes are south (the
negative format is not used).

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