Abstract
The Salvin’s albatross, Thalassarche salvini, is a mollymawk that regularly visit the coasts of Chile and Peru along the Humboldt Current, occurring mainly as non-breeders. However, information on presence and distribution of this species in southern Chile (42°–57°S) is particularly scarce and limited to only a few observations, principally obtained in the inner fjords and channels, there is no information for areas more oceanic (continental shelf and slope). New records of Salvin’s albatross were obtained in the development of a project assessment of the interaction between commercial pelagic fisheries and marine mammals and seabirds. The observation effort (census during hauling operations) covered all seasons approximately 1 year. These records provide new information on the presence and abundance of this albatross for a wide latitudinal range offshore in the southern Chile that is also an area of operation of fishing fleets (e.g. Patagonian toothfish fishery). Our results suggest that probably this species flies around the southern cone of South America via Cape Horn–Drake Passage to get to the Patagonian Continental Shelf in the South Atlantic Ocean, which probably could be occurring during the austral spring and summer.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Arata J (2003) New record of Salvin’s albatross (Thalassarche salvini) at the Diego Ramirez Islands, Chile. Notornis 50:171–196
BirdLife International (2004) Tracking ocean wanderers: the global distribution of albatrosses and petrels. Results from the Global Procellariiform Tracking Workshop, 1–5 September, 2003, Gordon’s Bay, South Africa. UK BirdLife International, Cambridge
BirdLife International (2008) Thalassarche salvini. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red list of threatened species. http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/144907
Brinkley ES, Howell SNG, Force MP, Spear LB, Ainley DG (2000) Status of the Westland petrel (Procellaria westlandica) off South America. Notornis 47:179–183
Brooke M (2004) Albatrosses and petrels across the world. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Brown RGB, Cooke F, Kinnear PK, Mills EL (1975) Summer seabird distributions in Drake Passage, the Chilean Fjords and off southern South America. Ibis 177:339–356. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1975.tb04221.x
Clark GS, Goodwin AJ, Von Meyer AP (1984a) Extension of the known range of some seabirds on the coast of southern Chile. Notornis 31:320–334
Clark GS, Von Meyer AP, Nelson JW, Watt JN (1984b) Notes on Sooty Shearwaters and other avifauna of the Chilean offshore island of Guafo. Notornis 31:225–231
Clark GS, Cowan A, Harrison P, Bourne WRP (1992) Notes on the seabirds of the Cape Horn islands. Notornis 39:133–144
Devillers P, Terschuren JA (1978) Midsummer seabird distribution in the Chilean fjords. Gerfaut 68:577–588
Harrison P (1985) Seabirds, an identification guide, revised edn. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston
Howell SNG, Ainley DG, Webb SW, Hardesty BD, Spear LB (1996) New information on the distribution of three species of Southern Ocean gadfly petrels (Pterodroma spp.). Notornis 43:71–78
IUCN (2008) 2008 IUCN Red list of threatened species. http://www.iucnredlist.org
Jehl JR (1973) The distribution of marine birds in Chilean waters in winter. Auk 90:114–135
Moreno CA, Hucke-Gaete R, Arata JA (2003) Interacción de la pesquería de bacalao de profundidad con mamíferos y aves marinas. Proyecto FIP n° 2001-31. Informe Final, Septiembre 2003
Moreno CA, Arata JA, Rubilar P, Hucke-Gaete R, Robertson G (2006) Artisanal longline fisheries in the Southern Chile: lessons to be learned to avoid incidental seabird mortality. Biol Conserv 127:27–36. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2005.07.011
Murphy RC (1936) Oceanic birds of South America, vol I. American Museum of Natural History, New York
Nicholls DG, Murray MD, Butcher EC, Moors PJ (2000) Time spent in exclusive economic zones of southern oceans by non-breeding wandering Albatross (Diomedea spp.): implications for national responsibilities for conservation. Emu 100:318–323. doi:10.1071/MU9949
Nicholls DG, Robertson CJR, Prince PA, Murray MD, Walker KJ, Elliott GP (2002) Foraging niches of three Diomedea albatross. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 231:269–277. doi:10.3354/meps231269
Penhallurick J, Wink M (2004) Analysis of the taxonomy and nomenclature of the Procellariiformes based on complete nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Emu 104:125–147
Robertson CJR, Nunn GB (1998) Towards a new taxonomy for albatrosses. In: Robertson G, Gales R (eds) Albatross biology and conservation. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, pp 13–19
Robertson CJR, Bell EA, Sinclair N, Bell BD (2003) Distribution of seabirds from New Zealand that overlap with fisheries worldwide. Sci Conserv 233:1–102
Seco Pon JP, Weinecke B, Robertson G (2007) First record of Salvin’s albatross (Thalassarche salvini) on the Patagonian Shelf. Notornis 54:49–51
Spear LB, Ainley DG, Webb SW (2003) Distribution, abundance and behaviour of Buller’s, Chatham Island and Salvin’s Albatrosses off Chile and Peru. Ibis 145:253–269. doi:10.1046/j.1474-919X.2003.00151.x
Spear LB, Ainley DG, Webb SW (2005) Distribution, abundance, habitat use and behavior of three Procellaria petrels off South America. Notornis 52:88–105
Tickell WLN (2000) Albatrosses. Yale University Press, New Haven, London
Acknowledgments
Sincere thanks to Mariano Bernal for his comments on an early draft of the manuscript. To Juan P. Seco Pond and Cristián G. Suazo for providing relevant literature. These records were made possible thanks to a funding from the project “Fondo de Investigación Pesquera” FIP n° 2001-31 executed by the Instituto de Ecología y Evolución, Universidad Austral de Chile (UACH), and to the dedicate work conducted by all scientific observers who participated in collecting data for this project.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cabezas, L.A., Moreno, C.A. & Arata, J. New records of Salvin’s albatross (Thalassarche salvini) from fishing boats off southern Chile. Polar Biol 32, 947–951 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0634-1
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0634-1