Chapter 2 – Conservation status and overview of threats to seabirds

Seabirds are among the most threatened of all vertebrate groups. Here we review their conservation status and key aspects of the main threats and some emerging threats. Bycatch in fisheries and overfishing are pervasive, but potentially soluble with improved governance. Invasive alien species at breeding sites remain a major threat despite notable recent successes in eradication campaigns. Changing climatic conditions continue to have multiple, increasing, direct and indirect effects on seabirds. The full impacts of disease and chemical pollution are less clear because effects may be sublethal. Impacts of other anthropogenic processes that currently concern relatively few species are probably increasing. As seabird populations are affected by multiple threats that may be additive or synergistic, addressing population declines will often require a suite of management measures and potentially compensatory mitigation for climate change.

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