Register      Login
Emu Emu Society
Journal of BirdLife Australia
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MU > MU06007
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 106(3)

Population and survival trends of Wandering Albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) breeding on Macquarie Island

Aleks Terauds A B , Rosemary Gales B , G. Barry Baker C D and Rachael Alderman B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A University of Tasmania, Churchill Avenue, Sandy Bay, Tas. 7005, Australia.

B Biodiversity Conservation Branch, Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, PO Box 44, Hobart, Tas. 7000, Australia.

C Australian Antarctic Division, Channel Highway, Kingston, Tas. 7050, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: barry.baker@aad.gov.au

Emu 106(3) 211-218 https://doi.org/10.1071/MU06007
Submitted: 30 January 2006  Accepted: 11 July 2006   Published: 18 August 2006

Abstract

Wandering Albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) are globally threatened owing to declines in populations, and the breeding population of Macquarie Island is particularly vulnerable as it comprises fewer than 20 breeding pairs. We describe population trends of Macquarie Island Wandering Albatrosses between 1955 and 2004, combining long-term population data with demographic data collected between 1995 and 2004. Rates of annual breeding effort and survival varied markedly over time and breeding numbers declined from a peak in 1968 to near extinction in the mid-1980s. Underlying this decline was a significant decrease in juvenile survival and, to a lesser extent, adult survival. These changes in survival coincided with changes in long-line fishing effort in the Southern Ocean. Breeding numbers slowly recovered on Macquarie Island through the late 1980s and 1990s, reaching a total of 19 breeding pairs in the mid-1990s. The population remained at about this level in 2004. Relative trends in numbers and survival in the population are similar to those observed in other populations in the Indian Ocean, including Marion Island and Iles Crozet.


Acknowledgments

This project was funded by the Australian Department of Environment and Heritage and the Antarctic Scientific Advisory Committee. Aleks Terauds was partially funded by an Australian Postgraduate Award through the University of Tasmania. Logistic support was provided by the Australian Antarctic Division, and the Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment. The historical data were collected by many researchers and expeditioners since the 1950s and their contribution is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks also go to the staff from the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme (Australian Department of Environment and Heritage), particularly to Belinda Dettmann, David Drynan and Lisa Hardy. Alastair Richardson and Nigel Brothers reviewed earlier versions of this manuscript. The submitted manuscript was also improved by comments from Geoff Tuck and an anonymous referee. Thanks also go to Camilla Myers who managed the editorial process most efficiently.


References

Akaike H. (1973). Information theory as an extension of the maximum likelihood principle. In ‘Second International Symposium on Information Theory’. (Eds B. N. Petrov and F. Csaki.) pp. 267–281. (Akademiai Kiado: Budapest.)

Ashford, J. R. , Croxall, J. P. , Rubilar, P. S. , and Moreno, C. A. (1995). Seabird interaction with longlining operations for Dissostichus eleginoides around South Georgia, April to May 1994. CCAMLR Science 2, 111–121.
Brooke M. (2004). ‘Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World.’ (Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.)

Brothers, N. (1991). Albatross mortality and associated bait loss in the Japanese long line fishery in the Southern Ocean. Biological Conservation 55, 255–268.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Brothers N. P., Cooper J., and Loekkeborg S. (1999). The incidental catch of seabirds by longline fisheries: worldwide review and technical guidelines for mitigation. Food and Agricultural Organisation Fisheries Circular 97, Food and Agricultural Organisation, Rome.

Burnham K. P., and Anderson D. J. (1998). ‘Model Selection and Inference: A Practical Information-theoretic Approach.’ (Springer-Verlag: New York.)

Burnham, K. P. , White, G. C. , and Anderson, D. R. (1995). Model selection strategy in the analysis of capture recapture data. Biometrics 51, 888–898.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Carrick R., and Ingham S. E. (1970). Ecology and population dynamics of Antarctic seabirds. In ‘Antarctic Ecology’. (Ed. M. W. Holdgate.) pp. 502–525. (Academic Press: New York.)

Cormack, R. M. (1964). Estimates of survival from the sightings of marked animals. Biometrika 51, 429–438.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Croxall J. P., and Gales R. (1998). An assessment of the conservation status of albatrosses. In ‘Albatross Biology and Conservation’. (Eds G. Robertson and R. Gales). pp. 46–66. (Surrey Beatty: Sydney.)

Croxall, J. P. , Rothery, P. , Pickering, S. P. C. , and Prince, P. A. (1990). Reproductive performance, recruitment and survival of Wandering Albatrosses Diomedea exulans at Bird Island, South Georgia. Journal of Animal Ecology 59, 775–796.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Croxall J. P., Prince P. A., Rothery P., and Wood A. G. (1998). Population changes in albatrosses at South Georgia. In ‘Albatross Biology and Conservation’. (Eds G. Robertson and R. Gales.) pp. 69–83. (Surrey Beatty: Sydney.)

de la Mare, W. K. , and Kerry, K. R. (1994). Population dynamics of the wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) on Macquarie Island and the effects of mortality from longline fishing. Polar Biology 14, 231–241.
Gales R. (1998). Albatross populations: status and threats. In ‘Albatross Biology and Conservation’. (Eds G. Robertson and R. Gales.) pp. 20–45. (Surrey Beatty: Sydney.)

Gales, R. , Brothers, N. , and Reid, T. (1998). Seabird mortality in the Japanese tuna longline fishery around Australia, 1988–1995. Biological Conservation 86, 37–56.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Johnstone G. W. (1982). Zoology. In ‘Expedition to the Australian Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands 1980’. Department of National Development and Energy, Division of Mapping Technical Report 31. (Eds C. Veenstra and J. Manning.) pp. 32–39. (Department of National Development and Energy: Canberra.)

Jolly, G. M. (1965). Explicit estimates from capture-recapture data with both death and emmigration-stochastic model. Biometrika 52, 225–247.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | Lack D. (1968). ‘Ecological Adaptations for Breeding in Birds.’ (Methuen and Co.: London.)

Lebreton, J. D. , Burnham, K. P. , Clobert, J. , and Anderson, D. R. (1992). Modelling survival and testing biological hypotheses using marked animals, a unified approach with case studies. Ecological Monographs 62, 67–118.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Tuck G. N., Polacheck T., Croxall J. P., Weimerskirch H., Ryan P., Nel D., Wayte S., and Bulman C. M. (2004). Modelling the impact of fishery incidental mortality of three populations of wandering albatross. In ‘A Comprehensive Study of the Ecological Impacts of the Worldwide Pelagic Longline Industry: Southern Hemisphere Studies’. (Ed. G. N. Tuck.) pp. 149–223. (CSIRO Marine Research: Hobart.)

Walker, K. , and Elliott, G. (1999). Population changes and biology of the Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans gibsoni at the Auckland Islands. Emu 99, 239–247.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Weimerskirch H., and Jouventin P. (1998). Changes in population sizes and demographic parameters of six albatross species breeding on the French sub-Antarctic islands. In ‘Albatross Biology and Conservation’. (Eds G. Robertson and R. Gales.) pp. 84–91. (Surrey Beatty: Sydney.)

Weimerskirch, H. , Brothers, N. , and 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. Biological Conservation 79, 257–270.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

White, G. C. , and Burnham, K. P. (1999). Program MARK: survival estimation from populations of marked animals. Bird Study 46(Supplement S), 120–139.