Coastal seabirds face multiple welfare threats including food shortages, predation and habitat disturbance. Understanding their needs supports conservation and welfare advocacy.
Seabird welfare during breeding season is acutely sensitive to food availability. Parents that cannot find sufficient prey for chicks face the welfare dilemma of abandoning the nest or continuing to search at the cost of their own condition. Chick starvation is prolonged and distressing. Adults that over-extend foraging trips deplete body condition, increasing mortality risk. Predator eradication on island breeding sites produces dramatic welfare and population recovery: South Georgia's rat eradication improved seabird breeding success within one year.