Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Recent trends in numbers of wandering (Diomedea exulans), black-browed (Thalassarche melanophris) and grey-headed (T. chrysostoma) albatrosses breeding at South Georgia

Polar Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

South Georgia supports globally important populations of seabirds, including the wandering albatross Diomedea exulans, black-browed albatross Thalassarche melanophris and grey-headed albatross T. chrysostoma, currently classified by the world Conservation Union (IUCN) as vulnerable, near threatened and endangered, respectively. Surveys of these species at South Georgia were conducted during the incubation stage in November 2014 to January 2015, repeating previous surveys conducted in the 2003/2004 season. Numbers of wandering albatrosses breeding annually at South Georgia decreased by 18% (1.8% per year) from 1553 pairs in 2003/2004 to an estimated 1278 pairs in 2014/2015. Over the same period, black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses decreased by 19% (1.9% per year) and 43% (5% per year), respectively. These represent a continuation of negative trends at South Georgia since the 1970s and are in contrast to some populations elsewhere, which have shown signs of recent recovery. Given the importance of South Georgia for these species, the ongoing population declines, and in the case of grey-headed albatrosses, an acceleration of the decline is of major conservation concern. Incidental fisheries mortality (bycatch) is currently considered to be the main threat. Although seabird bycatch has been reduced to negligible levels in the fisheries operating around South Georgia, wider implementation of effective seabird bycatch mitigation measures is required to improve the conservation status of the South Georgia populations of wandering, black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses. In addition, more research is required to investigate the respective roles of bycatch and climate change in driving these population trends.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • ACAP Intersessional Group (2014) Identificaton of minimum elements to review the effectiveness of seabird bycatch mitigation regulations in tuna RFMOs. In: Sixth meeting of the Seabird Bycatch Working Group of the agreement on the conservation of albatrosses and petrels. Punta del Este, Uruguay, 10–12 Sept 2014. SBWG6 Doc 20

  • Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses (2009) ACAP species assessment: wandering albatross Diomedea exulans. http://www.acap.aq, 30 Jan 2016

  • Arnold JM, Brault S, Croxall JP (2006) Albatross population in peril: a population trajectory for black-browed albatrosses at South Georgia. Ecol Appl 16:419–432

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barbraud C, Rolland V, Jenouvrier S, Nevoux M, Delord K, Weimerskirch H (2012) Effects of climate change and fisheries bycatch on Southern Ocean seabirds: a review. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 454:285–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BirdLife International (2016a) Species factsheet: Thalassarche chrysostoma. http://www.birdlife.org. 06 Feb 2016

  • BirdLife International (2016b) Species factsheet: Thalassarche melanophris. http://www.birdlife.org. 06 Feb 2016

  • Bonnevie BT, Connan M, McQuaid CD (2012) Effects of re-breeding rates on population size estimation of biennial breeders: results from a model based on albatrosses. Ibis 154:499–507

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bugoni L, Mancini PL, Monteiro DS, Nascimento L, Neves TS (2008) Seabird bycatch in the Brazilian pelagic longline fishery and a review of capture rates in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Endanger Species Res 5:137–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Catry P, Forcada J, Almeida A (2011) Demographic parameters of black-browed albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris from the Falkland Islands. Polar Biol 34:1221–1229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark G (1984) Report to the British Antarctic Survey on the ‘Totorore” expedition to South Georgia, 13 August–17 October, 1984. British Antarctic Survey archives, Cambridge

  • Clarke A, Croxall JP, Poncet S, Martin AP, Burton RW (2012) Important bird areas: South Georgia. Br Birds 105:118–144

    Google Scholar 

  • Croxall J (2008) The role of science and advocacy in the conservation of Southern Ocean albatrosses at sea. Bird Conserv Int 18:1–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Croxall JP, Prince PA, Rothery P, Wood AG (1998) Population changes in albatrosses at South Georgia. In: Robertson G, Gales R (eds) Albatross biology and conservation. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, pp 69–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Croxall JP, Silk JRD, Phillips RA, Afanasyev V, Briggs DR (2005) Global circumnavigations: tracking year-round ranges of non-breeding albatrosses. Science 307:249–250

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Delord K, Besson D, Barbraud C, Weimerskirch H (2008) Population trends in a community of large Procellariiformes of Indian Ocean: potential effects of environment and fisheries interactions. Biol Conserv 141:1840–1856

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dillingham PW, Fletcher D (2011) Potential biological removal of albatrosses and petrels with minimal demographic information. Biol Conserv 144:1885–1894

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2013) South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Marine Protected Area Management Plan. Version 2.0: 31/8/13. http://www.gov.gs/docsarchive/Environment/Marine%20Protected%20Area/MPA%20Management%20Plan%20v2.0.pdf

  • Jiménez S, Abreu M, Pons M, Ortiz M, Domingo A (2010) Assessing the impact of the pelagic longline fishery on albatrosses and petrels in the southwest Atlantic. Aquat Living Resour 23:49–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jiménez S, Domingo A, Abreu M, Brazeiro A (2012) Risk assessment and relative impact of Uruguayan pelagic longliners on seabirds. Aquat Living Resour 25:281–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jiménez S, Phillips RA, Brazeiro A, Defeo O, Domingo A (2014) Bycatch of great albatrosses in pelagic longline fisheries in the southwest Atlantic: contributing factors and implications for management. Biol Conserv 171:9–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maree BA, Wanless RM, Fairweather TP, Sullivan BJ, Yates O (2014) Significant reductions in mortality of threatened birds in a South African trawl fishery. Anim Conserv 17:520–529

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore PJ (2004) Abundance and population trends of mollymawks on Campbell Island. Science for Conservation, 242. Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand

  • Moreno CA, Arata JA, Rubilar P, Hucke-Gaete R, Robertson G (2006) Artisanal longline fisheries in Southern Chile: lessons to be learned to avoid incidental seabird mortality. Biol Conserv 127:27–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreno CA, Castro R, Mújica L, Reyes P (2008) Significant conservation benefits obtained from the use of a new fishing gear in the Chilean Patagonian toothfish fishery. CCAMLR Sci 15:79–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Nel DC, Ryan PG, Crawford RJM, Cooper J, Huyser OAW (2002a) Population trends of albatrosses and petrels at sub-antarctic Marion Island. Polar Biol 25:81–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nel DC, Ryan PG, Nel JL, Klages NTW, Wilson RP, Robertson G, Tuck GN (2002b) Foraging interactions between wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans breeding on Marion Island and long-line fisheries in the southern Indian Ocean. Ibis 144:E141–E154

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Otley HM, Reid TA, Pompert J (2007) Trends in seabird and Patagonian toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides longliner interactions in Falkland Island waters, 2002/03 and 2003/04. Mar Ornithol 35:47–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Petersen SL, Phillips RA, Ryan PG, Underhill LG (2008) Albatross overlap with fisheries in the Benguela Upwelling System: implications for conservation and management. Endanger Species Res 5:117–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips RA, Silk JRD, Phalan B, Catry P, Croxall JP (2004) Seasonal sexual segregation in two Thalassarche albatross species: competitive exclusion, reproductive role specialization or foraging niche divergence? Proc R Soc B Biol Sci 1545:1283–1291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips RA, Silk JRD, Croxall JP, Afanasyev V, Bennett VJ (2005) Summer distribution and migration of nonbreeding albatrosses: individual consistencies and implications for conservation. Ecology 86:2386–2396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips RA, Gales R, Baker GB, Double MC, Favero M, Quintana F, Tasker ML, Weimershirch H, Uhart M, Wolfaardt A (2016) The conservation status and priorities for albatrosses and large petrels. Biol Conserv 201:169–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poncet S, Robertson G, Phillips RA, Lawton K, Phalan B, Trathan PN, Croxall JP (2006) Status and distribution of wandering, black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses breeding at South Georgia. Polar Biol 29:772–781

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prince PA, Rothery P, Croxall JP, Wood AG (1994) Population dynamics of black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses Diomedea melanophrys and D. chrysostoma at Bird Island, South Georgia. Ibis 136:50–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prince PA, Croxall JP, Trathan PN, Wood AG (1998) The pelagic distribution of South Georgia albatrosses and their relationships with fisheries. In: Robertson G, Gales R (eds) Albatross biology and conservation. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, pp 137–163

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson G, Moreno C, Arata JA, Candy SG, Lawton K, Valencia J, Wienecke B, Kirkwood R, Taylor P, Suazo C (2014) Black-browed albatross numbers in Chile increase in response to reduced mortality in fisheries. Biol Conserv 169:319–333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson G, Wienecke B, Suazo C, Lawton K, Arata J, Moreno C (2016) Continued increase in the number of black-browed albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophris) at Diego Ramírez, Chile. Polar Biol. doi:10.1007/s00300-016-2028-5

    Google Scholar 

  • Rolland V, Barbraud C, Weimerskirch H (2008) Combined effects of fisheries and climate on a migratory long-lived marine predator. J Appl Ecol 45:4–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rolland V, Weimerskirch H, Barbraud C (2010) Relative influence of fisheries and climate on the demography of four albatross species. Glob Change Biol 16:1910–1922

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan PG, Jones MGW, Dyer BM, Upfold L, Crawford RJM (2009) Recent population estimates and trends in numbers of albatrosses and giant petrels breeding at the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Islands. Afr J Mar Sci 31:409–417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sagar P (2014) Population estimates and trends of Campbell and grey-headed albatrosses at Campbell Island. Report prepared for the Deparment of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand

  • Snell KRS, Brickle P, Wolfaardt AC (2012) Refining tori lines to further reduce seabird mortality associated with demersal trawlers in the South Atlantic. Polar Biol 35:677–687

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan BJ, Reid TA, Bugoni L (2006) Seabird mortality on factory trawlers in the Falkland Islands and beyond. Biol Conserv 131:495–504

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tuck GN, Phillips RA, Small C, Thompson RB, Klaer NL, Taylor F, Wanless RM, Arrizabalaga H (2011) An assessment of seabird-fishery interactions in the Atlantic Ocean. ICES J Mar Sci 68:1628–1637

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Varty N, Sullivan B, Black A (2008) FAO international plan of action-seabirds: an assessment for fisheries operating in South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands. BirdLife International Global Seabird Programme. Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, UK

  • Watkins BP, Petersen SL, Ryan PG (2008) Interactions between seabirds and deep-water hake trawl gear: an assessment of impacts in South African waters. Anim Conserv 11:247–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waugh SM, Weimerskirch H, Moore PJ, Sagar PM (1999) Population dynamics of black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses Diomedea melanophrys and D. chrysostoma at Campbell Island, New Zealand, 1942–96. Ibis 141:216–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weimerskirch H (1998) Foraging strategies of Indian Ocean albatrosses and their relationships with fisheries. In: Robertson G, Gales R (eds) Albatross biology and conservation. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, pp 137–167

    Google Scholar 

  • Weimerskirch H, Brothers N, Jouventin P (1997) Population dynamics of Wandering albatross Diomedea exulans and Amsterdam albatross D. amsterdamensis in the Indian Ocean and their relationships with long-line fisheries—conservation implications. Biol Conserv 79:257–270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weimerskirch H, Delord K, Guitteaud A, Phillips RA, Pinet P (2015) Extreme variation in migration strategies between and within wandering albatross populations during their sabbatical year, and their fitness consequences. Sci Rep 5:8853

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfaardt A (2013) An assessment of the population trends and conservation status of black-browed albatrosses in the Falkland Islands. In: First meeting of the population and conservation status working group of the agreement on the conservation of albatrosses and patrels. La Rochelle, France, 29–30 April 2013. PCSWG1 Doc 14

  • Wolfaardt AC, Christie D (2010) Guidelines for the implementation of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) at South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Government of South Georgia and the South Sanwich Islands, Stanley, Falkland Islands

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the officers and crew of the MV Pharos SG and the MV Hans Hansson for their support of the fieldwork. Thanks are also extended to the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), who provided funding for photographic equipment, and to Cheesemans’ Ecological Safaris who contributed funding towards the charter of the MV Hans Hansson. We are very grateful to Lucy Quinn and Jessica Walkup for carrying out surveys and monitoring at Bird Island. This study represents a contribution to the Ecosystems Component of the British Antarctic Survey Polar Science for Planet Earth Programme, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). We thank three anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anton C. Wolfaardt.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Poncet, S., Wolfaardt, A.C., Black, A. et al. Recent trends in numbers of wandering (Diomedea exulans), black-browed (Thalassarche melanophris) and grey-headed (T. chrysostoma) albatrosses breeding at South Georgia. Polar Biol 40, 1347–1358 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-016-2057-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-016-2057-0

Keywords

Navigation