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© 2024 Academia Sinica, Taiwan
Open Access
Light-induced Petrel Groundings in New
Caledonia
Philippe Borsa1,2,* , Jennifer Mareschal2,3, and Vivien Chartendrault2,4
1Institut de recherche pour le développement, Nouméa, New Caledonia.
*Correspondence: E-mail: philippe.borsa@ird.fr; philippeborsa@gmail.com (Borsa)
2Société calédonienne d’ornithologie, Nouméa, New Caledonia. E-mail: vivien.chartendrault@lpo.fr (Chartendrault);
jennycastres@gmail.com (Mareschal)
3Université Jean-Monnet, St Etienne, France
4Ligue de protection des oiseaux Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Chabeuil, France
Received 10 August 2024 / Accepted 27 November 2024 / Published 27 December 2024
Communicated by Chih-Ming Hung
This study aims to identify the petrel species aected by articial light pollution in New Caledonia, describe
the spatial and temporal patterns of light-induced groundings, and infer the factors involved. The study
took place across Grande Terre (New Caledonia’s main island) from 2007 to 2009. A network of concerned
citizens reported grounded seabirds. Live grounded birds were rescued and released when possible, or
euthanized. Groundings were mapped at the scales of both Grande Terre and Nouméa, the main city.
Negative binomial regression was used to analyze the eects of light intensity and proximity to shore on
the number of groundings. Of the 523 grounded seabirds recorded between 2007 and 2009, 80.2% were
wedge-tailed shearwaters (Ardenna paci ica), 14.2% were Gould’s petrels (Pterodroma leucoptera), and
5.4% were Tahiti petrels (Pseudobulweria rostrata). Combining all three species, an estimated 64.9% of
grounded individuals were fledglings. Groundings of Gould’s petrels and wedge-tailed shearwaters
peaked during their respective fledging seasons (April and May). The number of lights and the proximity to
shore were identified as highly significant positive factors explaining the number of groundings.
Groundings were particularly numerous at industrial sites and airports. Mortality upon discovery or within
days after exceeded 47.8% in the wedge-tailed shearwater, 35% in Gould’s petrel, and 23% in the Tahiti
petrel. The results highlight the detrimental impact of outdoor artificial lighting on three petrel species
breeding on Grande Terre, including the threatened Gould’s petrel and the near-threatened Tahiti petrel.
They provide evidence to support the urgent implementation of artificial light reduction policies at the
periphery of Nouméa, around industrial sites, and near airports especially during the fledging periods.
Key words: Outdoor artificial lighting, Urbanization, Industrial mining, Wedge-tailed shearwater, Gould’s
petrel, Tahiti petrel, Conservation, Citizen science
Citation: Borsa P, Mareschal J, Chartendrault V. 2024. Light-induced Petrel Groundings in New Caledonia. Zool Stud 63:59. doi:10.6620/ZS.2024.
63-59.
BACKGROUND
The global expansion of urban areas is
accompanied by rapid and massive artificial lighting,
which considerably alters the nocturnal environment
(Gaston et al. 2013). Strong, negative impacts of
articial lighting on biodiversity have been documented,
including the disorientation and mortality of insects,
sea turtles and seabirds (Hölker et al. 2010; Gaston
et al. 2013; Rodríguez et al. 2017b; Sanders et al.
2021). Artificial-light pollution (Cinzano et al. 2001;
Longcore and Rich 2004; Gallaway et al. 2010; Hölker
et al. 2010) represents a substantial part of the ongoing
threats to seabirds, impacting 7.5% of the species (Dias
et al. 2019). Seabirds of the order Procellariiformes
are the most impacted: at least 48 species of the family
Zoological Studies 63:59 (2024)
doi:10.6620/ZS.2024.63-59
1
© 2024 Academia Sinica, Taiwan
Procellariidae (petrels), and 14 species of the families
Hydrobatidae and Oceanitidae (storm petrels) have
been recorded as vulnerable to articial-light pollution
(Croxall et al. 2012; Rodriguez et al. 2014 2022; Dias et
al. 2019; Silva et al. 2020; Gilmour et al. 2023).
Petrels mainly commute between the sea and
their breeding colonies at night, which makes them
particularly vulnerable to light pollution. Both edgling
and adult petrels may be attracted to lights because
in their natural environment light signals prey (Imber
1975), or simply because of an innate attraction
to light at night (Telfer et al. 1987; Montevecchi
2006). Fledglings are particularly impacted by light
pollution, presumably because they are inexperienced
and are more easily to be disoriented by artificial
lights compared to adults (Atchoi et al. 2020). The
disoriented birds may end up hitting poles, electric
lines, trees, buildings, antennas, guy wires and other
hard superstructures (Telfer et al. 1987). Grounded
petrels may die from injury or become easy prey to
urban predators such as dogs and cats; they may also
be trapped, unable to take off again, run over by cars
or may otherwise die from dehydration and exhaustion
(Rodríguez et al. 2017b; Gjerdrum et al. 2021).
The New Caledonian archipelago in the Coral Sea
hosts at least 24 breeding seabird species (de Naurois
1978; de Naurois and Rancurel 1978; Hannecart and
Létocart 1980; Pandolfi-Benoit and Bretagnolle 2002;
Borsa and Vidal 2018) including five petrel species:
the Herald petrel Pterodroma heraldica, Gould’s petrel
P. leucoptera, the black-winged petrel P. nigripennis,
the Tahiti petrel Pseudobulweria rostrata and the
wedge-tailed shearwater Ardenna pacica, and at least
one storm petrel species, the New Caledonian storm
petrel Fregetta lineata (Bretagnolle et al. 2022). New
Caledonia’s main island (“Grande Terre”) has undergone
considerable industrial development in the last decades
(Bonvallot and Lardy 2014; Gay 2014; Grenon 2014;
Kowasch and Merlin 2024), associated with an influx
of immigrants causing rapid demographic increase and
urbanization (Gay 2014; Pestaña 2014). The problem
of petrel groundings on New Caledonia’s Grande
Terre is well known to local ornithologists as it occurs
massively in April and May each year, at the end of the
breeding seasons of Gould’s petrel and wedge-tailed
shearwater (Baby 2011; Renaudet 2014; Cunéo 2019).
However, apart from the brief mention of articial-light
induced Gould’s petrel groundings (Croxall et al. 2012;
Bretagnolle et al. 2021), no dedicated analysis of this
phenomenon has been published for this region of the
world.
This study aims to address this knowledge gap
by analyzing seabird grounding data collected over
three consecutive years by a network of concerned
citizens in New Caledonia. We investigate: (i) which
are the affected seabird species; (ii) the proportions
of fledglings and adults in the groundings; (iii) the
spatial and temporal patterns of groundings; and (iv)
the evidence linking these groundings to articial-light
pollution. Understanding these patterns is crucial for
developing strategies to mitigate light-induced mortality
and for conserving vulnerable seabird populations in
New Caledonia.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study area
Three spatial scales were considered: New
Caledonia’s main island (Grande Terre), its main city
(Nouméa) and the district scale within this city. Grande
Terre is situated in the eastern half of the Coral Sea.
It has an area of 16,660 km2 and is nearly 400 km
in length from its northwestern extremity (20.08°S,
167.03°E) to its southeastern extremity (22.40°S,
164.00°E), and up to 70 km in width. It is dominated
over its entire length by a mountain range reaching
1628 meters above sea level. Nouméa is spread over a
peninsula 10 km long and up to 11 km wide protruding
into a ca. 4000-km2 wide coral-reef lagoon, and
indented by deeply penetrating bays. The population
of Grande Terre reached ca. 228 000 inhabitants in
2009 (Fillon et al. 2010). Rampant urbanization mostly
concerned coastal cities, principally Nouméa, and the
adjacent cities of Païta, Dumbéa and Mont-Dore which
together with Nouméa formed a conurbation of 164 000
inhabitants in 2009 (Fillon et al. 2010; Dumas 2014).
Major nickel mining projects have been developed in
the north and south of Grande Terre in the years 2000,
including open-pit mines with associated ore-processing
factories in Goro and Vavouto-Koné (Bonvallot and
Lardy 2014; Gay 2014; Grenon 2014). Other nickel-
mining projects scattered along Grande Terre have
remained active during that period (Marini et al. 2014).
Toutouta is the site of New Caledonia’s international
airport; a smaller, domestic airport is situated in the
Magenta district in Nouméa (https://www.aeroports.cci.
nc/fr; page consulted 19 Aug. 2023). The light pollution
map of New Caledonia’s Grande Terre (Fig. 1B)
illustrates the spatial distribution of articial lights and
shows a main luminous area over the Païta-Dumbéa-
Nouméa-Mont Dore conurbation and two other main
areas corresponding to the Goro and Vavouto-Koné
industrial zones.
page 2 of 12Zoological Studies 63:59 (2024)
© 2024 Academia Sinica, Taiwan
20°S
166°E
A
4000 8000 12000
200
300
100
0
0
No. lights
No. birds
K.
N. G.
M.
P.
T.
10
1
75
300
B
C
D.
50 km
Petrel species breeding on Grande Terre and
adjacent islets
Gould’s petrel is represented in New Caledonia
by an endemic subspecies, Petrodroma leucoptera
caledonica. Breeding colonies have been localized in
the mountainous valleys along streams or on slopes near
ridges of the Dzumac mountains (22.08°S, 166.44°E)
ca. 20 km north of Nouméa; total population size in
New Caledonia is estimated at 5000–7000 breeding
pairs (Bretagnolle et al. 2022). The black-winged petrel
breeds in small numbers along the shore of Grande
Terre and on coral reef islets in the southern lagoon; its
total population size in the southern lagoon may be as
low as ca. 1000 pairs (Hannecart and Létocart 1980;
Pandolfi-Benoit and Bretagnolle 2002; Borsa et al.
2017). The Tahiti petrel breeds in loose colonies mostly
in the mountains of Grande Terre, including in areas
earmarked as nickel-mining concessions (Pagenaud
et al. 2022). Some nesting has been reported mixed
with wedge-tailed shearwater and black-winged petrel
along the shore and on coral-reef and rocky islets of
the New Caledonian lagoon (Hannecart and Létocart
1980; Pandolfi-Benoit and Bretagnolle 2002; Villard
et al. 2006; Ravache 2021; Pagenaud et al. 2022). Its
population size is estimated between 1000 and 5000
breeding pairs along the mountains of Grande Terre
(Villard et al. 2006) to perhaps as many as 15,000
pairs based on transects at sea (Borsa 2008). The
wedge-tailed shearwater is an oceanic species with
a wide Indo-Pacific distribution (Brooke 2004). Its
dense colonies on Grande Terre and Île des Pins, on
all forested islets in the southern, northern and eastern
New Caledonian lagoons, and on remote islands and
reefs in the New Caledonian EEZ each comprise several
hundred to several tens of thousands of breeding pairs
(Pandolfi-Benoit and Bretagnolle 2002; Borsa 2021;
Borsa et al. 2021). Its total population size on Grande
Terre and in the adjacent lagoon may well exceed
500,000 pairs (Pandolfi-Benoit and Bretagnolle 2002;
Receveur et al. 2022). At sea, ocks of several tens of
thousands of individuals have been reported, both close
to shore and off the barrier reef surrounding Grande
Terre (Borsa and Baudat-Franceschi 2009). Only two
large colonies of the wedge-tailed shearwater are known
on Grande Terre. Both are located in remote areas with
surviving patches of dry forest along the western shore
of the island: in Gouaro Deva (up to 25,000 breeding
pairs; Bège 2016) and in Pindaï (up to 26,000 pairs; Le
Bouteiller and Borsa 2024). Little is known of the New
Caledonian storm petrel. Its total population size might
be only a few hundred pairs; breeding colonies have not
yet been located (Bretagnolle et al. 2022). Overall, there
are still important knowledge gaps on basic aspects
such as the population sizes and the spatial distribution
of the colonies of the petrel species breeding in New
N
Fig. 1. Petrel groundings in the towns and cities across New Caledonia’s main island. A, Total number of petrels reported by locality through years
2007–2009, represented by circles. Main petrel-grounding localities: D. Dumbéa (N = 6); G. Goro nickel plant (N = 78); K. Koné (N = 10); M. Mont
Dore (N = 21); N. Nouméa (N = 301); P. Païta (N = 28); T. Tontouta airport (N = 23). B, Light pollution map, image taken on 14 December 2015 (Falchi
et al. 2016). C, Number of grounded petrels plotted against the number of articial lights, by town or city.
page 3 of 12Zoological Studies 63:59 (2024)
© 2024 Academia Sinica, Taiwan
Caledonia. The fact that the largest wedge-tailed
shearwater breeding colony ever discovered in the
southwestern lagoon of New Caledonia was mentioned
for the rst time only very recently (Le Bouteiller and
Borsa 2022) is an illustration.
Collection of seabird-grounding data
Seabird-grounding information over New
Caledonia’s Grande Terre was produced from 2007
to 2009 by the seabird-rescue campaign called “SOS
Pétrels” (Anonymous 2009) initiated in 2007 by the
Nouméa-based ornithological association, the Société
calédonienne d’ornithologie (SCO), to help rescue
grounded seabirds. The citizens of New Caledonia
were encouraged through local news media to report to
SCO or to the local zoo any grounded seabird found by
calling dedicated telephone lines (Anonymous 2007; de
Kermoysan 2007; Girard 2008a b; Wibart 2009). The
date and place of each grounding were recorded, as well
as the condition of the seabird, i.e., dead or alive and in
the latter case, whether injuries were visible. Seabirds
found dead were identified to species by a benevolent
SCO member, either from its description by telephone,
or from photographs, or from de visu examination.
Seabirds reported alive were collected by benevolent
SCO members, examined, cared for and released when
possible. Seabirds with unsustainable injuries including
broken bones or an advanced stage of dehydration were
euthanized by a professional veterinarian. In 2007,
rescue effort focused on Gould’s petrel and the Tahiti
petrel (de Kermoysan 2007).
Details on the condition of grounded seabirds
upon discovery, when available, are presented in a
companion report (Mareschal et al. 2024). Among the
grounded birds discovered alive, a proportion exhibited
deadly injuries: broken wings, legs, pelvic bones,
backbone and bill, punctured eye, ataxis, hemiplegy.
Severe dehydration was evident in a proportion of birds.
Age determination
Grounded seabirds were classed into either of
two age categories, edgling or adult. Fledglings were
distinguished from adults by their intact plumage and by
the weak ossication of their nasal tubes, such that mild
pressure with a finger or a caliper would flatten them
(V. Bretagnolle, pers. comm.). Some edglings retained
remains of down, a characteristic which allowed them
to be identied without doubt. An adult individual had
more or less worn plumage, and its nasal tubes were
calcified, such that it was not possible to flatten them
with mild pressure.
Characterization of grounding sites
The number of light points in a town or city (as of
2009) was communicated to us by Électricité et Eau de
Calédonie (EEC, Nouméa) which is one of the two main
energy suppliers in New Caledonia. The towns and
cities concerned (N = 14) were Boulouparis, Dumbéa,
Goro, Hienghène, Koné, Mont-Dore, La Foa, Nouméa,
Païta, Poindimié, Pouembout, Sarraméa, Tontouta
and Yaté. Equivalent information was provided for
each district in Nouméa. These districts (N = 36) were
Aérodrome, Anse Vata, Artillerie, Baie des Citrons,
Centre Ville, Doniambo, Ducos, Ducos industriel,
Faubourg Blanchot, Haut Magenta, Kaméré, Km 4,
Km 6, Km 7, Logicoop, Magenta, Montagne coupée,
Montravel, Motor Pool, N’Géa, Normandie, Nouville,
Numbo-Koumourou, Orphelinat, Ouémo, Portes de Fer,
Quartier latin, Receiving, Rivière salée, Tina, Tindu,
Trianon, Vallée des Colons, Vallée du Génie, Vallée du
Tir and Val Plaisance. The number of outdoor articial
lights in towns, cities, and Noumea’s districts is given in
Mareschal et al. (2024). The number of outdoor articial
light sources at petrel-grounding sites in Nouméa was
counted within a radius of 50 meters around the precise
point where a grounded seabird was found. These light
sources were categorized as either spotlight, street-light
pole, globe-light pole, neon light, billboard, recessed
oor light, wall light, pathway light, or “other”. Light
illuminance was measured with an accuracy of 0.1 lux
ca. 1.20 meter above ground using a handheld MS-
1500 luxmeter (Voltcraft, Hirschau) photometric head
oriented towards the zenith. The outdoor lighting
characteristics of these petrel-grounding sites were
compared with those of a similar number of other sites
which coordinates were randomly chosen within the
same districts of Nouméa. When the randomly chosen
site was located in a private property, the nearest
accessible point outside it was chosen. Petrel-grounding
sites (N = 54) and randomly chosen sites (N = 47) were
characterized by their illuminance and their number
of lights and compared. Geographical coordinates of a
site were taken using a GPS 72 (Garmin, Olathe KS)
GPS receiver and the WGS84 coordinates system in the
UTM longitude zone of reference no. 58S (Hofmann-
Wellenhof et al. 1992).
Statistical analyses
For the 14 cities where the number of lights was
available, the number of recorded petrel groundings was
rst regressed on the number of lights using a Poisson
model, using the glm() function of the stats package
implemented in R v. 4.3.2 (https://www.R-project.
org/; R Core Team 2023). A Poisson regression model
page 4 of 12Zoological Studies 63:59 (2024)
© 2024 Academia Sinica, Taiwan
was similarly used to apportion the contribution of
factors possibly aecting the number of grounded petrel
records in a district in Nouméa, namely its proximity to
the sea (encoded as 1 when the district was adjacent to
the shoreline, or 0 when it was located inland) and the
number of lights. In the rst Poisson regression (Grande
Terre), residual deviance was 112.9 for 12 degrees of
freedom. The rule of thumb is that the ratio of deviance
to the number of degrees of freedom should be equal
to 1 (Dormann 2016). The ratio observed with our
preliminary regression (9.4) indicated overdispersion,
i.e., more variation than expected from a Poisson
process. In the second Poisson regression (Nouméa),
this ratio was 8.6, similarly indicating overdispersion.
Negative binomial models were thus chosen instead of
the Poisson model (Dormann 2016). For this, we used
the mass package (Venables and Ripley 2002) in R 4.3.2.
The null hypothesis of random petrel grounding
among districts in Nouméa was tested by comparing
the number of groundings of a district to the number of
groundings expected according to the district’s surface,
using the χ2 statistic. The t-test (Sokal and Rohlf 1969)
was used for comparing the illuminance characteristics
of grounding sites with randomly chosen sites. Fisher’s
combined probability test (Sokal and Rohlf 1969)
was used to test the null hypothesis of no correlation
between the number of lights and the number of petrel
groundings, whatever the geographic scale addressed.
The number of petrel groundings of each town or city,
or each district within Nouméa was represented in the
form of bubble diagrams using the ggplot2 package
(Wickham 2016) under R, superimposed on the maps
of New Caledonia and Nouméa drawn under Illustrator
(Smith 2010).
RESULTS
Grounded bird statistics
In total, 523 grounded individuals representing
six seabird species were recorded on New Caledonia’s
Grande Terre during the study period (2007–2009). The
near-totality (N = 521) of grounded seabirds belonged to
the family Procellariidae or petrels. The petrel species
recorded were the wege-tailed shearwater (80.2%
of all grounded petrels), Gould’s petrel (14.2%), the
Tahiti petrel (5.4%), and a single individual of Buller’s
shearwater A. bulleri (0.2%). In addition, one bridled
tern Onychoprion anaethetus and one black noddy
Anous minutus were reported grounded in the vicinity
of moored sailboats, both with a broken wing.
Among the grounded petrels whose age was
estimated, the proportion of fledglings reached 88.5%
(0.95 condence interval: 83.5%–92.0%) in the wedge-
tailed shearwater, 65% (52%–76%) in Gould’s petrel,
and 47% (25%–70%) in the Tahiti petrel. The mortality
of grounded birds at the time of their discovery or within
days after (including those euthanized) was ≥ 47.8%
for the wedge-tailed shearwater (N = 418), ≥ 35% for
Gould’s petrel (N = 74) and ≥ 23% for the Tahiti petrel
(N = 28); rescued wedge-tailed shearwaters, Gould’s
petrels and Tahiti petrels still in weak condition at the
time of their release represented, respectively, 17.4%,
23% and 65% of the survivors and the proportion of
those released in apparently good condition was 41.2%,
45% and 19%, respectively (Table 1).
Table 1. Fate of grounded petrels on New Caledonia’s Grande Terre, 2007–2009. Total is the sum of the numbers of
dead and live individuals
Species, Condition upon discovery Fate of birds discovered alive Total
Year Dead Alive Dead within
days
Released in
weak condition
Released in
good condition
Unknown
A. pacica
2007 2 8 2 1 5 - 10
2008 47 99 21 8 30 40 146
2009 58 204 23 29 99 53 262
P. leucoptera
2007 1 9 3 3 3 - 10
2008 1 14 6 3 5 - 15
2009 9 40 5 8 24 3 49
P. rostrata
2007 1 8 1 5 1 1 9
2008 1 10 - 8 1 1 11
2009 1 7 2 2 3 - 8
page 5 of 12Zoological Studies 63:59 (2024)
© 2024 Academia Sinica, Taiwan
Spatial distribution of groundings
Grounded petrels were recorded from all over
New Caledonia’s Grande Terre (Fig. 1A). The highest
number of grounded petrels was scored in Nouméa (N =
301, i.e., 57.8% of the total). The nickel-ore processing
plant at Goro ranked second (N = 78; 15.0%). Païta,
a widespread town adjacent to Nouméa ranked third
(N = 28; 5.4%). The international Tontouta airport
ranked fourth (N = 23; 4.4%). The number of grounded
seabirds was correlated with the number of outdoor
articial lights at the scale of New Caledonia’s Grande
Terre (Fig. 1C; Table 2). Over 40% of grounded Gould’s
petrels were recorded at the Tontouta airport site.
Petrel groundings were recorded in a proportion of
Nouméa districts (Fig. 2). Taking the area of a district
into account, the number of groundings per district
differed from that expected by chance (χ2 = 612.49,
d.f. = 35; P < 0.001). Proximity to shore was identied
as the main factor affecting the number of grounded
petrels while the eect of the number of lights was not
significant at this scale (Table 2). The distribution of
residues highlighted the Numbo-Koumourou district as
an outlier, where 17% of all petrel groundings recorded
in Nouméa occurred. The petrel-grounding hotspot
in this district was the densely-lit industrial oil-and-
Fig. 2. Petrel groundings in Nouméa, New Caledonia. A, Number of petrels reported by district through years 2007–2009 (total N = 288) [A.
Aérodrome (N = 33). B. Baie des Citrons (N = 28); C. Centre Ville (N = 16); M. Magenta (N = 30); N. Numbo (N = 49); O. Orphelinat (N = 19); V.
Anse Vata (N = 16)]. B, Dead Gould’s petrel Pterodroma leucoptera grounded in the Anse-Vata district, Nouméa, New Caledonia (early morning, 15
March 2008). The bird showed injuries to the neck, with punctures possibly inicted by the canine teeth of a dog or a cat. C, Number of grounded
petrels plotted against the number of articial lights, by district.
50 V.
B.
M.
A.
N.
C.
10
1
O.
No. lights
No. birds
4000
0
20
40
60
800 1200
C
AB
1 km
166.5oE
22.3oS
N
Table 2. Results of negative binomial regressions to explain the number of grounded petrels at two geographic scales
in New Caledonia (Figs. 1A, 2A). Data compiled for three petrel species over years 2007–2009
Geographic scale, Parameter Estimate Std. error z value P
Grande Terre
(Intercept) 1.641 0.252 6.509 7.59e-11
Lights 5.165e-04 7.645e-05 6.756 1.42e-11
Nouméa
(Intercept) 0.199 0.399 0.500 0.617
Shore 2.003 0.429 4.672 2.99e-06
Lights 0.001 0.001 0.889 0.374
page 6 of 12Zoological Studies 63:59 (2024)
© 2024 Academia Sinica, Taiwan
gas warehouse, which is located in the pass between
the Koumourou peninsula and the mainland. Petrel-
grounding sites across Nouméa were characterized
by two times more lights and a four-times higher
illuminance than randomly chosen sites (Table 3); and
on the average they had a higher number of street light
poles and pathway lights than random sites in the same
districts (Table 3).
Overall, the number of petrel groundings was
correlated with the number of outdoor artificial lights
(Fisher’s combined probability test: P < 0.001).
Temporal distribution of groundings
Wedge-tailed shearwater groundings were
recorded between 03 January and 12 June with a well-
identified peak on 19–20 May in both years 2008 and
2009. During the peak month (May), an estimated
94.0% (0.95 confidence interval: 90%–97%) of
grounded wedge-tailed shearwaters were fledglings.
Gould’s petrel groundings, of both adults and edglings,
were recorded from December to early May, with a
well-identified peak in the very last days of April in
year 2009. During the peak month (April), an estimated
90% (0.95 condence interval: 74%–97%) of grounded
Gould’s petrels were fledglings. Groundings of Tahiti
petrels, both adults and edglings, were recorded from
January to November, with no apparent peak period.
DISCUSSION
This is the first dedicated survey of the seabird-
grounding phenomenon in New Caledonia. Nearly all
of the grounded seabirds belonged to the petrel family.
The wedge-tailed shearwater dominated the records.
Gould’s petrel ranked second with a ratio to wedge-
tailed shearwater of ca. 1/7, and the Tahiti petrel ranked
third with a ratio to wedge-tailed shearwater of ca. 1/20.
All three species breed on New Caledonia’s Grande
Terre and adjacent islets. The highly signicant eect of
the number of lights in the regression model makes this
factor a highly likely cause of petrel groundings in New
Caledonia, consistent with previous research (Rodriguez
et al. 2014; Heswall et al. 2022). We observed high
numbers of grounded seabirds in some areas, such as
Tontouta and Goro, with low human population density
but high luminance levels (Falchi et al. 2016). This
finding helps to rule out human population density
per se as a factor to explain spatial variation in petrel
grounding. Petrel groundings were mostly recorded in
towns and cities, and at industrial sites including nickel-
mining sites, a gas-and-oil terminal, and commercial
airports. Our results also point the proximity to the shore
as a factor positively associated with petrel grounding.
Thus, New Caledonia is conrmed as one of the world’s
artificial-light induced petrel-grounding hotspots,
which also include Hawaii, Phillip Island, the Canary
Islands, Reunion Island, the Arica and Iquique regions
of Chile, Auckland, and other localities (Rodriguez and
Rodriguez 2009; Rodriguez et al. 2014 2015 2017b;
Silva et al. 2020; Heswall et al. 2022; Friswold et al.
2023).
Characteristics of seabird grounding
phenomenon in New Caledonia
Most wedge-tailed shearwater groundings were
recorded in the Païta-Dumbéa-Nouméa-Mont Dore
conurbation. The largest wedge-tailed shearwater
Table 3. Characteristics of petrel-grounding sites (N = 54) compared with randomly chosen sites (N = 47) in Nouméa,
2007–2009. Number of lights of each category within a 100-m wide circle centered on grounding (or random) location
Light category Petrel–grounding sites Randomly chosen sites t–statistic
Mean ± SD Min-Max Mean ± SD Min–Max
Illuminance (lux) 16.09 ± 33.92 0.0–241.2 4.00 ± 5.54 0.0–24.7 2.579 **
All light types 22.11 ± 19.86 3–108 10.17 ± 7.03 0–32 4.132 ***
Spotlight 3.13 ± 6.72 0–32 0.83 ± 1.82 0–9 1.499
Street light pole 8.56 ± 10.45 0–55 5.26 ± 3.69 0–12 2.098 *
Globe–light pole 3.69 ± 8.02 0–43 1.30 ± 2.88 0–13 1.839 †
Neon light 2.13 ± 5.30 0–26 1.17 ± 3.15 0–19 1.001
Billboard 0.67 ± 1.78 0–11 0.43 ± 1.10 0–6 -0.654
Recessed oor light 0.80 ± 3.80 0–26 0 0–0 -0.597
Wall light 1.13 ± 3.96 0–26 0.94 ± 1.88 0–9 0.851
Pathway light 0.83 ± 2.97 0–18 0.11 ± 0.73 0–5 2.303 *
Other 1.19 ± 3.98 0–25 0.15 ± 0.59 0–3 1.168
† P < 0.10; * P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01; *** P < 0.001.
page 7 of 12Zoological Studies 63:59 (2024)
© 2024 Academia Sinica, Taiwan
colonies in its vicinity are those of M’Ba and Signal
islets in the southwestern lagoon respectively 25 km
and 15 km from Nouméa, and of respectively 88,000
and 14,000 breeding pairs (Le Bouteiller and Borsa
2022). These two colonies may largely contribute to
the groundings recorded in Nouméa and in adjacent
cities. Indeed, grounded wedge-tailed shearwaters may
originate from colonies distant up to tens of kilometres
from the grounding site (Friswold et al. 2023). Dozens
of other densely-populated wedge-tailed shearwater
colonies scatter the southwestern lagoon (Pandolfi-
Benoit and Bretagnolle 2002). However, evidence is
needed to assess grounding locations in relation to
colonies. For this, a banding programme designed
to assign grounded fledglings to their native colony
could be implemented (see Friswold et al. 2023). In
complement, adults grounded and rescued in good
condition could be fitted with light radio-transmitters
(Wilson et al. 2009) or GPS/GSM trackers (Potiek and
Duijns 2021; Raine et al. 2022), so as to uncover their
ight paths and locate their colonies.
The Noumea conurbation and Tontouta airport lie
at the bottom of the Dzumac mountains where Gould’s
petrel colonies have been located so far (Bretagnolle
et al. 2021), forming a dense light barrier between
these colonies and the sea. The shortest path for
Gould’s petrels commuting from their known colonies
to the Coral Sea and vice-versa thus crosses the most
urbanized and illuminated part of the island, making
each trip at night to and from the sea a perilous one.
Using light radio transmitters or GPS/GSM trackers
again may help locating more colonies of this species.
The absence of the black-winged petrel in the
grounding record is likely related to its rarity, compared
to the three other petrel species that breed on Grande
Terre or on the surrounding islets. It is also possible
that this species mainly attends colonies in daylight as
observed elsewhere in the region (Borsa and Baudat-
Franceschi 2023) and thus more likely escapes the risks
associated with artificial light pollution. In addition,
we cannot exclude that black-winged petrels had been
reported to us as Gould’s petrels, as shown in a report
where the picture of a black-winged petrel rescued in
the vicinity of the Goro nickel plant was mislabelled
as Gould’s petrel (Tehei and Lehoullier 2012). The
absence of the New Caledonian storm petrels in the
grounding record may be similarly explained by their
rarity; nothing is known of the commuting behaviour of
this species (Bretagnolle et al. 2022).
The differences in grounding frequency between
the Tahiti petrel and the two other species could
reect dierences in actual population size. Under this
hypothesis, all other things being equal, the population
size of the Tahiti petrel would be ca. 1/20 that of the
wedge-tailed shearwater. Assuming a population
size of 560 000 pairs for the latter on Grande Terre
and adjacent islets (Receveur et al. 2022), the Tahiti
petrel population size would be ca. 28,000 pairs. This
estimate is nearly twice the rough estimate of 15,000
pairs proposed by Borsa (2008) based on transects at
sea and nearly six times the upper figure of Villard et
al.’s (2006) previous estimate. The 1/20 Tahiti-petrel to
wedge-tailed shearwater ratio might be overestimated
though, considering that wedge-tailed shearwaters were
less a priority than the two other main petrel species in
the first year of the rescue campaigns (de Kermoysan
2007).
Four out of ve grounded wedge-tailed shearwaters
were fledglings. This ratio was two thirds in Gould’s
petrel and it dropped to approximately one half in the
Tahiti petrel. In addition, the only New Caledonian
storm petrel reported grounded “presumably disoriented
by onshore articial lights” was a edgling (Bretagnolle
et al. 2022). In both the wedge-tailed shearwater and
Gould’s petrel, we identied a well-dened grounding
peak, which presumably corresponds to the peak of
fledgling departure from colony. Indeed, most of the
grounded individuals during the peak periods were
edglings, as previously reported in several other petrel
species (Telfer et al. 1987; Rodriguez et al. 2017b).
This observation in turn points to a narrow fledging
period in these two species in New Caledonia. The
synchronization of edglings departing the colony may
be the consequence of the synchronization of adults
stopping to attend their burrows to undertake their
annual trans-oceanic migration (Priddel et al. 2014;
Weimerskirch et al. 2020; Whittow 2020). Tahiti petrel
groundings were reported all year round, without any
particular peak, which is consistent with the absence
of a defined breeding season for this species in New
Caledonia (Villard et al. 2006).
Mortality estimates
In this study, mortality rates of grounded petrels
(> 32% all species confounded) approached the extreme
higher values of artificial-light induced mortality
estimates in the literature: up to 43% mortality in
grounded Newell’s shearwater Puffinus newelli on
Kaui, Hawai’i and 39% in the short-tailed shearwater
A. tenuirostris on Phillip Island, Australia (reviewed in
Rodriguez et al. 2017b). A possible explanation is that
in our study, as in those studies where the mortality was
highest, great eort was taken to record dead grounded
petrels. However, as discussed in the following sub-
section, this gure still might be underestimated.
page 8 of 12Zoological Studies 63:59 (2024)
© 2024 Academia Sinica, Taiwan
Possible biases
Possible biases that may have distorted the results
presented in this paper have to be mentioned. First,
the present study relied on citizen reports of grounded
seabirds. As the purpose of the “SOS petrels” campaign
was to rescue petrels and shearwaters, it is likely that
live grounded birds were more frequently reported than
dead ones. Moreover, grounded birds attempting to
take o are likely to attract human attention more than
weak birds attempting to hide. Dead birds may even
more likely remain unnoticed. In addition, a proportion
of grounded birds may be run over by vehicles or taken
away by predators without being noticed. Last, rescued
birds still in weak condition at the time of their release
may not have survived. On the other hand, a proportion
of uninjured grounded seabirds may have been able to
take o and escape at dawn, hence evade our grounding
record.
Although grounded petrels were reported from
all main areas of Grande Terre, it is possible that the
higher density of the human population at urbanized
sites both indirectly enhanced the risk of injury to
seabirds and increased the likelihood of discovering
grounded individuals. In other words, it is possible
that grounded petrels in the Noumea conurbation had
a higher chance of being reported to us, than those in
less populated areas. Other factors may be involved,
such as levels of awareness and sensitivity to the fate of
grounded seabirds. Such biases that may have aected
the outcome of the present study illustrate the limits of
this type of citizen-science approach.
As the seabird-rescue campaigns were advertised
in anticipation of the grounding peaks of April and
May, where a majority of grounded individuals were
fledglings, the estimate of the proportion of grounded
fledglings in Gould’s petrel and in the wedge-tailed
shearwater might be biased. Under the presumption that
the level of awareness of the public, hence the rescuing
eort, was not evenly distributed throughout the period
of their presence in New Caledonia (from October
to May: Weimerskirch et al. 2020), the proportion of
grounded adult wedge-tailed shearwaters might be
underestimated. The same rationale would apply for
Gould’s petrel.
In the wedge-tailed shearwater, the visual
perception spectrum is centred on blue wavelengths
(Hart 2004). Because of their design focusing on
the light wavelengths perceived by the human eye,
standard luxmeters like the one used in this study can
only measure part of the short wavelengths that petrels
see (Tabaka and Wtorkiewicz 2022) and are mostly
impacted by. Therefore, the illuminance levels that were
measured underestimate the light intensity perceived
by seabirds. It is likely that improving the measurement
of illuminance by correcting for petrel wavelength
perception spectrum would enforce the significance
of the difference in light intensity between those sites
where petrels grounded and randomly chosen sites.
Stakes and recommendations
Over 30% of all seabird species are globally
threatened with extinction and almost 50% have
declined within the last six decades (Paleczny et al.
2015; BirdLife International 2022), mostly petrels
(Rodriguez et al. 2019). Of the three petrel species
mostly impacted by artificial lights on Grande Terre,
Gould’s petrel is threatened with extinction and its
populations continue to decrease (BirdLife International
2018d; Bretagnolle et al. 2021). The Tahiti petrel is
also dramatically decreasing on Grande Terre because
of introduced predators and the encroachment on
breeding colonies of ever-expanding nickel mines.
This species is assessed as near threatened (BirdLife
International 2018c; Pagenaud et al. 2022). The
wedge-tailed shearwater is not yet considered of
conservation concern, although its global population
has been suspected decreasing (Brooke 2004; BirdLife
International 2018b). In addition, Buller’s shearwater is
listed as vulnerable (BirdLife International 2018a) and
the New Caledonian storm petrel has been evaluated
as “almost certainly globally threatened” (Bretagnolle
et al. 2022). Artificial lighting is obviously a factor
of overmortality and a threat to the populations of
these petrel species in New Caledonia, but the actual
magnitude of its impact on their demography remains
to be evaluated. Minimizing the threat of light attraction
for petrels in New Caledonia is of particular importance
given the generally declining population trend in these
petrels and the current conservation status of several of
the species aected. For this, concrete steps should be
taken to reduce coastal light pollution.
As the number of petrel groundings increases with
the number of lights (Burt et al. 2024; present work),
all other things being equal, suppressing unnecessary
outdoor lighting and diminishing the number of lights
should decrease the number of petrel groundings. As
the number of petrels grounded was higher in locations
with higher light intensity, diminishing light intensity
similarly should have a mitigating eect. Other possible
mitigation measures include channeling the light to
the direction where it is needed (Reed et al. 1985),
altering light signatures towards longer wavelengths to
which petrels are less sensitive (Hart 2004; Rodriguez
et al. 2017a), and turning off lights during the peak
months of groundings (Burt et al. 2024). The few
nights around the new moon are particularly critical for
page 9 of 12Zoological Studies 63:59 (2024)
© 2024 Academia Sinica, Taiwan
fledglings of several petrel species (Reed et al. 1985;
Telfer et al. 1987; Rodriguez and Rodriguez 2009;
Miles et al. 2010). The mitigation measures required
to reduce the ecological impacts of light pollution on
seabird populations have been the topic of a recent
comprehensive review (Rodriguez 2023).
To the best of our knowledge, no mitigation
measures of this type have been undertaken so far in
New Caledonia. On the contrary, local authorities,
relayed by the local press, continue to view an increase
in outdoor artificial lighting as desirable (Hoffmann
2021; Pophillat 2021). In this context, local awareness
campaigns directed towards the relevant services
and the general public (Borawska 2017) should be
implemented immediately. Support should also be
allocated to rescue campaigns, to continue saving those
grounded petrels that can be returned to the sea. A non-
negligible benet from such rescue campaigns is also to
raise awareness among the population about the impact
of light pollution on petrels and more generally about
the threatened biodiversity of New Caledonia.
CONCLUSIONS
In this study, we characterized and analyzed
seabird groundings in New Caledonia, listed three
petrel species as the most impacted ones, and identied
light pollution as a significant explanatory factor.
Our study thus showed that the petrel-grounding
phenomenon in New Caledonia, as elsewhere in the
world, is intrinsically caused by the transformation of
the natural environment by humans. The study also
showed how the grounding data can be used to better
understand the biology and ecology of the impacted
petrel species. Beyond campaigns to rescue grounded
birds, groundings will only decrease if light pollution is
drastically reduced, particularly during the peak periods
when edglings depart from their colonies.
Acknowledgments: The results presented here
were part of JM’s M.Sc. project in 2009 (Mareschal
2009). The research was approved and supported by the
Province Sud authorities. We are grateful to F. Nicolè
(U. Jean-Monnet) for advice regarding data acquisition;
to J. Baudat-Franceschi, A. Bertaud, A. Lataste, A.
Le Bouteiller and H. Weimerskirch for insightful
discussions; to all benevolent New Caledonian citizens
who reported and handled grounded seabirds including
our late colleague and friend, veterinary doctor J.-C.
Vivier. We also thank an anonymous reviewer for their
excellent advice and help.
Authors’ contributions: All three authors
participated in the “SOS Pétrels” rescue campaign
between 2007 and 2009 and formulated the research
goals and aims of the present study. JM did the field
work, collected the data, and wrote a memoir which
constituted a basis to the present paper. VC coordinated
field work and provided resources. PB completed the
analyses, produced the tables and figures, and wrote
the paper. All three authors agreed with the form and
content of the nal version of the paper.
Competing interests: The authors declare no conict
of interests.
Availability of data and materials: Detailed
individual records of grounded seabirds have been
compiled into a report deposited in the HAL-LARA
archives (Daphy and Ha-Duong 2010), available from:
https://hal-lara.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-04728786
(Mareschal et al. 2024).
Consent for publication: Not applicable.
Ethics approval consent to participate: Not
applicable.
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