Hostname: page-component-89b8bd64d-4ws75 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-10T17:27:18.187Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Population trends and breeding success of albatrosses and giant petrels at Gough Island in the face of at-sea and on-land threats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2013

Richard J. Cuthbert ,
John Cooper  and
Peter G. Ryan
Richard J. Cuthbert*
Affiliation:
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Sandy SG19 2DL, UK
John Cooper
Affiliation:
DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology, Faculty of Science, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa
Peter G. Ryan
Affiliation:
Percy FitzPatrick Institute, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
*
richard_cuthbert@yahoo.co.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Several factors threaten populations of albatrosses and giant petrels, including the impact of fisheries bycatch and, at some colonies, predation from introduced mammals. We undertook population monitoring on Gough Island of three albatross species (Tristan albatross Diomedea dabbenena L., sooty albatross Phoebetria fusca Hilsenberg, Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos Gmelin) and southern giant petrels Macronectes giganteus (Gmelin). Over the study period, numbers of the Critically Endangered Tristan albatross decreased at 3.0% a year. Breeding success for this species was low (23%), and in eight count areas was correlated (r 2 = 0.808) with rates of population decline, demonstrating chick predation by house mice Mus musculus L. is driving site-specific trends and an overall decline. Numbers of southern giant petrels were stable, contrasting with large increases in this small population since 1979. Significant population declines were not detected for either the Atlantic yellow-nosed or sooty albatross, however, caution should be applied to these results due to the small proportion of the population monitored (sooty albatross) and significant interannual variation in numbers. These trends confirm the Critically Endangered status of the Tristan albatross but further information, including a more accurate estimate of sooty albatross population size, is required before determining island wide and global population trends of the remaining species.

Keywords

conservationdemographyfisheries bycatchhouse mousepredationTristan da Cunha

Information

Type
Biological Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , April 2014 , pp. 163 - 171
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

ACAP (Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels). 2009a. Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, species assessments: sooty albatross. Phoebetria fusca. http://www.acap.aq/index.php/species-assessments, accessed September 2009.Google Scholar
ACAP (Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels). 2009b. Agreement on the conservation of albatrosses and petrels, species assessments: southern giant petrel Macronectes giganteus. http://www.acap.aq/index.php/species-assessments, accessed September 2009.Google Scholar
ACAP (Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels). 2009c. Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, species assessments: Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos. http://www.acap.aq/index.php/species-assessments, accessed September 2009.Google Scholar
Arnold, J.M., Brault, S. Croxall, J.P. 2006. Albatross populations in peril: a population trajectory for black-browed albatrosses at South Georgia. Ecological Applications, 16, 419–432.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 454, 285–307.Google Scholar
Baker, G.B., Double, M.C., Gales, R., Tuck, G.N., Abbott, C.L., Ryan, P.G., Petersen, S.L., Robertson, C. Alderman, R. 2007. A global assessment of the impact of fisheries-related mortality on shy and white-capped albatrosses: conservation implications. Biological Conservation, 137, 319–333.Google Scholar
Berruti, A. 1979. Breeding biology of the sooty albatrosses Phoebetria fusca and Phoebetria palpebrata . Emu, 79, 161–175.Google Scholar
Bester, M.N., Wilson, J.W., Burle, M-H. Hofmeyr, C.J.C. 2006. Population trends of sub-Antarctic fur seals at Gough Island. South African Journal of Wildlife Research, 36, 191–194.Google Scholar
Birdlife Internatonal. 2012a. Save the albatross. www.birdlife.org/seabirds/save-the-albatross.html, accessed February 2012.Google Scholar
Birdlife Internatonal. 2012b. Species factsheet: Diomedea dabbenena. http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=30013&m=1, accessed April 2012.Google Scholar
Croxall, J.P., Prince, P.A., Rothery, P. Wood, A.G. 1998. Population changes in albatrosses at South Georgia. In Robertson, G. & Gales, R., eds. Albatross biology and conservation. Chipping Norton: Surrey Beatty & Sons, 69–83.Google Scholar
Croxall, J.P., Butchart, S.H.M., Lascelles, B., Stattersfield, A.J., Sullivan, B., Symes, A. Taylor, P. 2012. Seabird conservation status, threats and priority actions: a global assessment. Bird Conservation International, 22, 1–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cuthbert, R. Hilton, G. 2004. Introduced house mice Mus musculus: a significant predator of endangered and endemic birds on Gough Island, South Atlantic Ocean? Biological Conservation, 117, 483–489.Google Scholar
Cuthbert, R. Sommer, E. 2004a. Population size and trends of four globally threatened seabirds at Gough Island, South Atlantic Ocean. Marine Ornithology, 32, 97–103.Google Scholar
Cuthbert, R. Sommer, E. 2004b. Gough Island bird monitoring manual. RSPB Research Report, No. 5. Sandy, UK: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, 52 pp.Google Scholar
Cuthbert, R.J., Sommer, E.S., Ryan, P.G., Cooper, J. Hilton, G. 2003. Demography and population trends of the Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos . Condor, 105, 439–452.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cuthbert, R., Sommer, E., Ryan, P.G., Cooper, J. Hilton, G. 2004. Demography and conservation of the Tristan albatross Diomedea [exulans] dabbenena . Biological Conservation, 117, 471–481.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cuthbert, R.J., Louw, H., Parker, G., Rexer-Huber, K. Visser, P. 2013a. Observations of mice predation on sooty albatross and Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross chicks at Gough Island. Antarctic Science, 10.1017/S0954102013000126.Google Scholar
Cuthbert, R.J., Louw, H., Lurling, J., Parker, G., Rexer-Huber, K., Sommer, E., Visser, P. Ryan, P.G. 2013b. Low burrow occupancy and breeding success of burrowing petrels at Gough Island: a consequence of mouse predation. Bird Conservation International, 10.1017/S0959270912000494.Google Scholar
Delord, K., Besson, D., Barbraud, C. Weimerskirch, H. 2008. Population trends in a community of large procellariiforms of Indian Ocean: potential effects of environment and fisheries interactions. Biological Conservation, 141, 1840–1856.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gales, R. 1998. Albatross populations: status and threats. In Robertson, G. & Gales, R., eds. Albatross biology and conservation. Chipping Norton: Surrey Beatty & Sons, 20–45.Google Scholar
Gales, R., Brothers, N. Reid, T. 1998. Seabird mortality in the Japanese tuna longline fishery around Australia, 1988–1995. Biological Conservation, 86, 37–56.Google Scholar
Hunter, S. 1983. The food and feeding ecology of the giant petrels Macronectes halli and M. giganteus at South Georgia. Journal of Zoology, London, 200, 521–538.Google Scholar
Neves, T.S. Olmos, F. 1998. Albatross mortality in fisheries off the coast of Brazil. In Robertson, G. & Gales, R., eds. Albatross biology and conservation. Chipping Norton: Surrey Beatty & Sons, 214–219.Google Scholar
Pannekoek, J. van Strien, A.J. 2001. TRIM 3 manual. TRends and Indices for Monitoring data. Research paper No. 0102. Voorburg: Statistics Netherlands, 58 pp.Google Scholar
Parkes, J. 2008. A feasibility study for the eradication of house mice from Gough Island. RSPB Research Report, No. 34, Sandy, UK: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, 51 pp.Google Scholar
Petersen, S.L., Honig, M.B., Ryan, P.G. Underhill, L.G. 2009. Seabird bycatch in the pelagic longline fishery off southern Africa. African Journal of Marine Science, 31, 191–204.Google Scholar
Rolland, V., Barbraud, C. Weimerskirch, H. 2009. Assessing the impact of fisheries, climate and disease on the dynamics of the Indian yellow-nosed albatross. Biological Conservation, 142, 1084–1095.Google Scholar
Ryan, P.G., Cooper, J. Glass, J.P. 2001. Population status, breeding biology and conservation of the Tristan albatross Diomedea [exulans] dabbenena . Bird Conservation International, 11, 33–46.Google Scholar
Ryan, P.G., Keith, D.G. Kroese, M. 2002. Seabird bycatch by tuna longline fisheries off southern Africa, 1998–2000. South African Journal of Marine Science, 24, 103–110.Google Scholar
Ryan, P.G., Jones, M.G., Dyer, B.M., Upfold, L. Crawford, R.J. 2009. Recent population estimates and trends in numbers of albatrosses and giant petrels breeding at the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Islands. South African Journal of Marine Science, 31, 409–417.Google Scholar
Torr, N., Golding, C. Cuthbert, R. 2010. Preliminary operational plan for eradicating house mice from Gough Island. Version 1.0. Sandy, UK: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, 73 pp.Google Scholar
Tuck, G.N., Polacheck, T., Croxall, J.P. Weimerskirch, H. 2001. Modelling the impact of fishery bycatches on albatross populations. Journal of Applied Ecology, 38, 1182–1196.Google Scholar
Tuck, G.N., Phillips, R.A., Thompson, R.B., Klaer, N.L., Taylor, F., Wanless, R.M. Arrizabalaga, H. 2011. An assessment of seabird-fishery interactions in the Atlantic Ocean. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68, 1628–1637.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wace, N.M. 1961. The vegetation of Gough Island. Ecological Monographs, 31, 337–367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wanless, R.M., Angel, A., Cuthbert, R.J., Hilton, G.M. Ryan, P.G. 2007. Can predation by invasive mice drive seabird extinctions? Biology Letters, 3, 241–244.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wanless, R.M., Ryan, P.G., Altwegg, R., Angel, A., Cooper, J., Cuthbert, R. Hilton, G.M. 2009. From both sides: dire demographic consequences of carnivorous mice and longlining for the Critically Endangered Tristan albatrosses on Gough Island. Biological Conservation, 142, 1710–1718.Google Scholar
Weimerskirch, H. 2004. Diseases threaten Southern Ocean albatrosses. Polar Biology, 27, 374–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weimerskirch, H. Jouventin, P. 1998. Changes in population sizes and demographic parameters of six albatross species breeding on the French sub-Antarctic islands. In Robertson, G. & Gales, R., eds. Albatross biology and conservation. Chipping Norton: Surrey Beatty & Sons, 84–91.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 longline fisheries: conservation implications. Biological Conservation, 79, 257–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woehler, E.J., Cooper, J., Croxall, J.P., Fraser, W.R., Kooyman, G.L., Miller, G.D., Nel, D.C., Patterson, D.L., Peter, H.-U., Ribic, C.A., Salwicka, K., Trivelpiece, W.Z. Weimerskirch, H. 2001. A statistical assessment of the status and trends of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic seabirds. Cambridge: SCAR, 43 pp.Google Scholar