Seabird Diversity in the Southern Ocean

The New Zealand archipelago, particularly its subantarctic islands, is a global seabird hotspot. It's home to 25 per cent of the world's breeding seabird populations and a very diverse array of penguin, albatross, petrel and shearwater species.

NIWA seabird ecologist Paul Sagar outlines the major threats to seabirds on land and at sea. He explains how modern tracking technology is being used to study interactions between foraging seabirds and fishing vessels during the breeding season, and to track their enormous migrations between breeding seasons. These well-travelled seabirds serve as indicators of what's happening in ocean ecosystems across the world.