Translocation and hand-rearing techniques for establishing a colony of threatened albatross (original) (raw)
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Oryx, 2014
Many endemic species, particularly those on remote islands, have been driven to extinction or near extinction by anthropogenic influences. The short-tailed albatross Phoebastria albatrus once numbered in the millions but was thought to be extinct by the mid 20th century. Albatrosses, of the family Diomedeidae, are among the most threatened birds globally as a result of commercial exploitation, introduced predators, and mortality in commercial fisheries. We applied an experimental approach over 5 years to evaluate the translocation and hand-rearing of albatross chicks by comparing growth, physiological health indices, post-fledging survival, and migration patterns with a control group of naturally reared chicks in the source population. Hand-reared chicks had comparable or superior health and similar rates of immediate post-fledging mortality (15%), with mortality strongly female-biased in both groups. Hand-reared birds had longer post-fledging drift periods before attaining sustaine...
Animal Conservation, 2016
Restoration or establishment of colonies using translocation and hand‐rearing can be an effective tool for conserving birds. However, well‐designed post‐release evaluation studies for long‐lived species are rarely implemented. We investigated the attendance and breeding attempts of hand‐reared short‐tailed albatross (STAL) Phoebastria albatrus chicks (n = 69) translocated to a historic breeding island in the Ogasawara Islands, 350 km from the source colony, for 8 consecutive years after the first translocation. Thirty‐nine percent of hand‐reared birds (n = 27) returned to the translocation site at least once per breeding season, of which 67% (n = 18) also visited the natal island. The number of hand‐reared birds returning each year was lower at the translocation site (mean: 0.3–2.3 birds per day) versus the natal island (0.4–3.5 birds per day). The first breeding attempt occurred 5 years after the first translocation. Three pairs (producing three chicks) recruited to the translocati...
An Artificial Rearing Experiment of Laysan Albatross Chicks
Journal of the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology, 2008
The population of endangered Short-tailed Albatrosses Phoebastria albatrus has gradually increased through great conservational e#orts, but their only two breeding sites, Torishima Island and Senkaku Islands, have a high risk of volcanic eruption or political problems. The Short-tailed Albatross Recovery Team has indicated that, to achieve recovery of this species, additional breeding colonies of the Short-tailed Albatross must be established. Their proposed plan is to artificially rear chicks translocated from Torishima Island at new safe sites. To evaluate the feasibility of this approach, it is important that trials first be conducted with related albatross species. In early March of 2006, 10 Laysan Albatross P. immutabilis, approximately one month of age, were captured at Midway Atoll and moved to Kauai Island, where we attempted to rear them to fledging in early July. Chicks were provided daily with 250῍450 g of squid and lake smelt as food. This amount was estimated from a regression equation derived from the proportion of daily amount of food to body mass and daily increase of body mass in the Grey-headed Albatross Diomedea chrysostoma. This species has a similar growth pattern as the Laysan Albatross. We also provided vitamins and other supplements to compensate for nutritional deficiencies in the diet, along with some electrolyte solution to prevent dehydration. Three and two chicks died during one month after beginning to rear and just before fledging, respectively. One chick with an injured wing and no prospect of flying was housed at Monterey Bay Aquarium. The remaining four chicks fledged successfully. Sources of
Demography and Natural History of Laysan Albatross on Oahu, Hawaii
Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 2009
Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) began re-colonizing sites across the Pacific in the 1970s after severe population declines, and fledged the first chick on the island of Oahu in 1992. We report the status of Laysan Albatross populations at Kaena Point and Kuaokala on the island of Oahu, Hawaii and provide new demographic data for this species. Colonies on Oahu were monitored weekly from 2004 to 2008; all individuals were censused, banded, and genetically identified to gender. There was a population of 365 adults on Oahu in 2008 of which 47% were active breeders. The breeding population increased 27% annually since 1991. The high rate of increase was due primarily to immigration with some local recruitment. Recaptures indicate that seven birds were from French Frigate Shoals, one was from Midway Atoll, and 52 were from Oahu and returning to breed; all other adults were of unknown origin. Hatching rate (62%), fledging rate (78%), and overall reproductive success (48%) were comparable to other colonies despite occasional predation. The rate of adult dispersal was high with up to 10% of birds observed each day on Oahu visiting from Kauai. Adults occasionally changed breeding colonies between seasons, and even visited other islands while actively breeding on Oahu. While small, these colonies are at higher elevations and may serve as refugia in the event of sea level rise and, thus, should continue to be conservation priorities.
Divergent post-breeding spatial habitat use of Laysan and black-footed albatross
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Understanding the at-sea movements of wide-ranging seabird species throughout their annual cycle is essential for their conservation and management. Habitat use and resource partitioning of Laysan (Phoebastria immutabilis) and black-footed (Phoebastria nigripes) albatross are well-described during the breeding period but are less understood during the post-breeding period, which represents ~40% of their annual cycle. Resource partitioning may be reduced during post-breeding, when birds are not constrained to return to the nest site regularly and can disperse to reduce competitive pressure. We assessed the degree of spatial segregation in the post-breeding distributions of Laysan (n = 82) and black-footed albatrosses (n = 61) using geolocator tags between 2008 and 2012 from two large breeding colonies in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Midway Atoll, and Tern Island. We characterized the species-and colony-specific foraging and focal distributions (represented by the 95 and 50th de...
2000
Significant bycatch of Laysan Phoebastria immutabilis and Black-footed Albatrosses P. nigripes in longline fishing operations has been documented for years in the Pacific, with potential effects on population dynamics. In 1998 and 1999, satellite telemetry studies were initiated to determine the spatial distribution of 54 breeding albatrosses nesting at Tern Island, French Frigate Shoals, in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, Kauai, in the main Hawaiian Islands. Birds were tracked for 4-182 days (mean 57 days). Both species mixed short foraging trips near the nesting island with much longer trips, typically terminating over the western North American continental shelf. Laysan Albatrosses travelled primarily to the north on long trips, frequently reaching the Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska. Long trips of Black-footed Albatrosses typically ended on the California, Oregon, and Washington State coasts. A comparison of these tracking data with concurrent distributions of longline fishing effort will be attempted in order to evaluate the degree of spatial overlap.
Ibis, 2014
Past tracking studies of marine animals have primarily targeted adults, biasing our understanding of at-sea habitat use toward older life stages. Anthropogenic threats persist throughout the at-sea ranges of all life stages and it is therefore of interest to population ecologists and managers alike to understand spatiotemporal distributions and possible niche differentiation between age-classes. In albatrosses, particularly little is known about the juvenile life stage when fledglings depart the colonies and venture to sea with no prior experience or parental guidance. We compared the dispersal of 22 fledgling Black-footed Albatross Phoebastria nigripes between 2006 and 2008 using satellite telemetry and 16 adults between 2008 and 2009 using geolocaters from Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Northwest Hawaiian Islands. Following tag deployment, all fledglings spent several days within the calm atoll waters, then travelled northward until reaching 750-900 km from the colony. At this point, fledgling distributions approached the productive North Pacific Transition Zone (NPTZ). Rather than reaching the high chlorophyll a densities on the leading edge of this zone, however, fledglings remained in areas of low productivity in the subtropical gyre. In contrast, adult albatrosses from the same breeding colony did not utilize the NPTZ at this time of year but rather ranged throughout the highly productive northern periphery of the Pacific Ocean Basin among the shelf regions off Japan and the Aleutian Islands. The dichotomy in habitat use between fledglings and adults from Midway Atoll results in complete spatial segregation between age-classes and suggests ontogenetic niche separation in this species. This research fills a large knowledge gap in at-sea habitat use during a little known yet critical life stage of albatrosses, and contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of differential mortality pressure between age-classes and overall conservation status for the vulnerable Black-footed Albatross.
Ibis, 2008
For most seabirds, reproductive performance improves with age; in albatrosses this is thought not to be so (experience being acquired before starting breeding) but only one study (of chick growth in a single season at one site) has specifically addressed this. We compared the provisioning performance and growth rates of chicks of Wandering Albatrosses Diornedea exulans breeding for the first (IN), second and third (LE) and fourth or more times (EE) on Bird Island, South Georgia in the austral winters of 1996 and 1997. Eggs from EE adults were significantly heavier than the other two categories and these chicks had a greater mass and longer wings up to 160 days of age and longer culmen and tarsus u p t o 11 5 days old. However chicks from all categories fledged at the same average mass, size and age. No significant differences between categories in feeding
Emu, 2013
The Providence Petrel (Pterodroma solandri) currently breeds only on Lord Howe and Phillip Islands and is globally threatened. It once bred on Norfolk Island in large numbers but was extirpated by the late 18th century, greatly reducing the influx of marine-derived nutrients in the form of droppings, and failed eggs and chicks. This lack of nutrients has impaired the health of the remaining native forests on Norfolk Island. The re-establishment of a colony of Providence Petrels on Norfolk Island would not only provide another viable breeding colony of this threatened species but is essential to restore ecosystem function on Norfolk Island. This paper investigates the biology of Providence Petrel chicks as a prerequisite for the translocation of this species to Norfolk Island from Lord Howe. Petrels are highly philopatric, so only chicks not yet imprinted at their natal colony can be translocated. We investigated the timing of first emergence from the burrow, growth and provisioning of chicks on Lord Howe Island, and developed selection and ageing criteria for translocation, together with appropriate feeding regimes. Such information is critical for the success of the proposed translocation.
Failure to launch: evidence of protracted parental care in albatrosses
2015
Most albatrosses have well defined breeding seasons (Tickell 2000). Fledging tends to be spread over a longer period than laying or hatching because the duration of the chick-rearing stage is more variable than that of incubation (Warham 1990). However there are few records of albatross chicks extending fledging periods by more than a month or two (but see Brown & Adams 1984). We were thus surprised to see a juvenile Sooty Albatross Phoebetria fusca on a nest near the meteorological station on Gough Island (40o20’S 9o55’W) during the 2014–15 breeding season, three months after Sooty Albatross chicks usually fledge from Gough Island (Ryan 2007; most chicks fledge in May–June, and in 2015 the last chick near the weather station departed between 17 and 25 July). The late-fledging juvenile was first observed on 17 September 2014 and remained on its nest until at least 14 October, but apparently fledged by 19 October (the nest was empty, and no carcass was found). It seemed to be in good...