SummaryThe Beck’s Petrel Pseudobulweria beckii is a ‘Critically Endangered’ seabird whose breeding sites remain unknown. Historic observations suggest the species’ distribution is concentrated in the Bismarck Archipelago and particularly southern New Ireland. Over the course of two research expeditions in 2016 and 2017 we used on-land and at-sea observations, local interviews and satellite telemetry to understand the distribution of the species, its at-sea movements and potential breeding locations. Land-based and at-sea observations indicated that the area of Silur Bay in southern New Ireland was a significant site for Beck’s Petrel with numbers of birds increasing near shore prior to dusk and birds observed in spotlights over land. A local population is estimated to be in the low thousands. In 2017 a single Beck’s was captured at sea, fitted with a satellite transmitter and tracked for eight months. This bird maintained a core distribution off the south-east coast of New Ireland and north of Bougainville for 122 days. During the tracking period, the bird was located over land at night seven times; predominantly over southern New Ireland, where the signal was also lost for extended periods suggesting occupancy of an underground burrow. In August the bird migrated 1,400 km to a core pelagic habitat north of West Papua before the signal was eventually lost. Our combination of land- and sea-based observations and analysis of behaviour from satellite tracking supports the conclusion that a breeding site for Beck’s Petrel lies in the inland mountains of southern New Ireland and most likely in the high-altitude zone (> 2000 m) of the Hans Meyer Range. Further investigations are required to determine the exact location of breeding colonies in the mountains of southern New Ireland and the importance of a potential west Papuan non-breeding pelagic habitat for the species.

中文翻译：

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基于陆地和海洋的观测和第一个卫星跟踪结果支持新爱尔兰的极度濒危贝克海燕 Pseudobulweria beckii 繁殖地

摘要贝克的海燕贝氏假球酵母是一种“极度濒危”的海鸟，其繁殖地点仍然未知。历史观察表明，该物种的分布集中在俾斯麦群岛，尤其是新爱尔兰南部。在 2016 年和 2017 年的两次研究考察过程中，我们使用陆地和海上观测、当地访谈和卫星遥测来了解该物种的分布、其海上运动和潜在的繁殖地点。陆基和海上观测表明，新爱尔兰南部的 Silur 湾地区是贝克海燕的重要栖息地，黄昏前海岸附近的鸟类数量增加，并且在陆地上的聚光灯下观察到鸟类。当地人口估计只有几千人。2017 年，在海上捕获了一只 Beck's，配备卫星发射器并跟踪八个月。这只鸟在新爱尔兰东南海岸和布干维尔北部维持了 122 天的核心分布。在追踪期间，这只鸟在夜间在陆地上空出现了七次；主要在新爱尔兰南部，那里的信号也长时间丢失，表明有人在地下洞穴。8 月，这只鸟迁徙了 1,400 公里到西巴布亚以北的一个核心远洋栖息地，最终失去了信号。我们将陆基和海基观测与卫星跟踪行为分析相结合，支持以下结论：贝克海燕的繁殖地位于新爱尔兰南部的内陆山区，很可能位于高海拔地区（> 2000 m）汉斯迈耶山脉。