Abstract
Long-term studies at Bird Island, South Georgia, show that numbers of wandering, black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses have been decreasing since the late 1970s. To determine the status of the total South Georgia population, all known colonies were censused in 2003/2004 using a combination of yacht-based digital photography and ground counts. The breeding population estimates from this census are 1,553 pairs of wandering albatross, 74,296 pairs of black-browed albatross and 47,674 pairs of grey-headed albatross. A 30% decline since 1984 was recorded for wandering albatross, and comparison of a sample of black-browed and grey-headed albatross colonies on the mainland of South Georgia photo-censused in both 1985/1986 and 2003/2004 indicates similarly substantial population declines. Unless these decreases can be halted or reversed, doubt will exist as to the long-term viability of these species of albatross at South Georgia.
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Acknowledgements
The support of Russ Jarvis, Denise Dudgeon, Peter Brand and Sharon Chow in securing funding for the project is gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks are due to the skipper (Dion Poncet) and crew (Ken Cripps and Edith Kraus) of SV Ada II, whose skill, experience and enthusiasm were critical to the success of the survey. We are grateful to Andy Black (Falklands Conservation), Nic Warren and Isaac Forster (British Antarctic Survey), Ken Cripps, Edith Kraus, Callan Duck and Dion Poncet (SV Ada II) for assistance with fieldwork, and to Katrina Jensz for assistance with digital image analysis. The British Antarctic Survey and in particular Peter Fretwell who drew the maps, and personnel at Bird Island and King Edward Point, the Government of South Georgia personnel Ken Passfield, Ann Prior, Pat Lurcock and Sarah Lurcock, and the owner of SV Ada II, Celia Bull, are thanked for their support. Jerome Poncet and the crew of SV Golden Fleece, and Stefan Kindberg (Elegant Cruises) and the staff and crew on MV Andrea are thanked for logistical support. This project was funded by the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Sierra Club (Vancouver, Canada).
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Poncet, S., Robertson, G., Phillips, R.A. et al. Status and distribution of wandering, black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses breeding at South Georgia. Polar Biol 29, 772–781 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-006-0114-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-006-0114-9