Phoebetria fusca

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	PROCELLARIIFORMES	DIOMEDEIDAE

Scientific Name:

Phoebetria fusca

Species Authority:

(Hilsenberg, 1822)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Dark-mantled Sooty Albatross, Sooty Albatross
French	–	Albatros brun

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Endangered A4bd ver 3.1

Year Published:

2010

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Calvert, R., Butchart, S., Bird, J.

Contributor/s:

Crawford, R., Cooper, J., Cuthbert, R., Croxall, J., Hilton, G., Ryan, P., Weimerskirsch, H.

Justification:
This species qualifies as Endangered owing to a very rapid decline over three generations (90 years), probably owing to interactions with fisheries. However, trends at three sites have been more severe, and the species could be uplisted to Critically Endangered if these trends are found to be more general.

History:

2008	–	Endangered
2007	–	Endangered
2005	–	Endangered
2004	–	Endangered
2003	–	Endangered
2000	–	Vulnerable

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Phoebetria fusca breeds on islands in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The total annual breeding population is estimated at 13,200 - 14,500 pairs¹², consisting of c.5,000 pairs on Gough Island¹¹, 4,125-5,250 pairs in the Tristan da Cunha group¹⁵ (to UK), c. 1,200 pairs on Prince Edward and c. 1,200 pairs on Marion Island (South Africa)¹⁸, 2,080 - 2,200 pairs on the Crozet Islands¹⁶, and 470 pairs on Amsterdam Island (French Southern Territories)¹⁶. The pelagic distribution is mainly between 30°S and 60°S in the southern Indian and Atlantic Oceans, with a southern limit of c. 65°S near Antarctica and a northern limit of c. 20°S. Adults move north in winter from sub-Antarctic to subtropical seas, whereas immature birds tend to remain in subtropical seas year round. The species infrequently disperses eastward to the Tasman Sea and New Zealand waters¹⁸. On Possession Island (Crozet), the population declined by 58% between 1980 and 1995¹⁰, and continues to decline, although at a slower rate. This equates to an 82% decline between 1980 and 2006¹⁶. On Marion Island, the population declined by 25% between 1990 and 1998⁸. On Gough Island (c. 40% global population), the population appears to have decreased by about half between 1972 and 2000¹¹, although recent counts of breeding birds on Gough in 2000, 2003 and 2005 indicate no change in breeding numbers. Limited counts have been made on Tristan and Inaccessible, but are not good enough to provide a reliable update on the total population. Overall, these declines equate to 75% over three generations (90 years).
Countries:	Native: Argentina; Australia; Brazil; French Southern Territories (the); Heard Island and McDonald Islands; Saint Helena; South Africa; United States; United States; United States; United States; United States; United States; Uruguay Vagrant: Antarctica; Falkland Islands (Malvinas); Mauritius; New Zealand; Réunion; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	The total annual breeding population is estimated at 12,500-19,000 pairs, consisting of c.5,000 pairs on Gough Island (Cuthbert and Sommer 2004a), 4,125-5,250 pairs in the Tristan da Cunha group (Richardson 1984), 1,720 pairs on Prince Edward and Marion Islands (Crawford et al. 2003; Ryan et al. 2003), 2,620 pairs on the Crozet Islands, less than five pairs on Kerguelen Island, and 300-400 pairs on Amsterdam Island (Carboneras 1992b).
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Population:

The total annual breeding population is estimated at 12,500-19,000 pairs, consisting of c.5,000 pairs on Gough Island (Cuthbert and Sommer 2004a), 4,125-5,250 pairs in the Tristan da Cunha group (Richardson 1984), 1,720 pairs on Prince Edward and Marion Islands (Crawford et al. 2003; Ryan et al. 2003), 2,620 pairs on the Crozet Islands, less than five pairs on Kerguelen Island, and 300-400 pairs on Amsterdam Island (Carboneras 1992b).

Population Trend:

Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour It breeds in loose colonies of up to 50-60 nests⁷. The breeding season extends through summer, eggs are laid in October and November, hatch in early to mid-December and chicks fledge in May¹⁸. Successful pairs seldom breed in the following summer¹⁷. A single egg with is laid, with no replacement laying. Adults make a combination of long commuting flights early in the incubation period, looping searching flights later in incubation and linear searching during chick brooding¹⁸. Habitat Breeding It breeds on cliffs or steep slopes where it can land and take off right next to the nest⁷. Diet Squid, fish, crustaceans and carrion all feature prominently in the diet, although proportions of each vary between years and locations¹⁸.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour It breeds in loose colonies of up to 50-60 nests⁷. The breeding season extends through summer, eggs are laid in October and November, hatch in early to mid-December and chicks fledge in May¹⁸. Successful pairs seldom breed in the following summer¹⁷. A single egg with is laid, with no replacement laying. Adults make a combination of long commuting flights early in the incubation period, looping searching flights later in incubation and linear searching during chick brooding¹⁸. Habitat Breeding It breeds on cliffs or steep slopes where it can land and take off right next to the nest⁷. Diet Squid, fish, crustaceans and carrion all feature prominently in the diet, although proportions of each vary between years and locations¹⁸.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Both adults and juveniles have been caught as bycatch by Japanese longline vessels fishing inside and beyond the Australian Fishing Zone⁶ and at least some are killed on tuna longlines off southern Africa¹². However, only one bird (of 1,500 examined) is known to have been killed by vessels with observers in the Prince Edward fishery⁹. One banded bird has been caught by a Chinese Taipei longline vessel fishing in the Indian Ocean¹⁶. Introduced rats and cats on the Kerguelen Islands are not known to affect the species, but cats and rats on Amsterdam Island are known to impact the species sufficiently to cause population-level changes¹⁸. The harvest of chicks and adults in the Tristan group is banned and illegal poaching is now probably very rare⁹. The species could be affected by avian cholera and erysipelas bacteria on Amsterdam Island¹³.

Major Threat(s):

Both adults and juveniles have been caught as bycatch by Japanese longline vessels fishing inside and beyond the Australian Fishing Zone⁶ and at least some are killed on tuna longlines off southern Africa¹². However, only one bird (of 1,500 examined) is known to have been killed by vessels with observers in the Prince Edward fishery⁹. One banded bird has been caught by a Chinese Taipei longline vessel fishing in the Indian Ocean¹⁶. Introduced rats and cats on the Kerguelen Islands are not known to affect the species, but cats and rats on Amsterdam Island are known to impact the species sufficiently to cause population-level changes¹⁸. The harvest of chicks and adults in the Tristan group is banned and illegal poaching is now probably very rare⁹. The species could be affected by avian cholera and erysipelas bacteria on Amsterdam Island¹³.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation Actions Underway CMS Appendix II and ACAP Annex 1. Population monitoring and foraging studies are being undertaken at Possession, Amsterdam and Marion. The species is protected in Tristan da Cunha^3,9. Gough is a World Heritage Site and the Prince Edward Islands are a Special Nature Reserve. Inaccessible and Gough Islands are nature reserves. A population estimate was made at Gough during 2000-2001, and a repeatable monitoring protocol was devised¹⁴. Monitoring has been repeated in 2003 and 2006 at Gough. Gough and Tristan birds have also been remotely-tracked to determine at-sea distribution. A project on Tristan da Cunha (2004-2006) is undertaking population counts. In 2007, Crozet, Amsterdam and Kerguelen Islands were declared Nature Reserves. Conservation Actions Proposed Repeat standardised population surveys at all key sites, most notably Gough and Tristan da Cunha. Determine foraging distribution of the species and its overlap with longline fisheries. Promote adoption of best-practice mitigation measures in all fisheries within the species's range, particularly via intergovernmental mechanisms such as ACAP, CCAMLR, FAO, and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations such as the tuna commissions in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans (ICCAT, IOTC).

Conservation Actions:

Conservation Actions Underway
CMS Appendix II and ACAP Annex 1. Population monitoring and foraging studies are being undertaken at Possession, Amsterdam and Marion. The species is protected in Tristan da Cunha^3,9. Gough is a World Heritage Site and the Prince Edward Islands are a Special Nature Reserve. Inaccessible and Gough Islands are nature reserves. A population estimate was made at Gough during 2000-2001, and a repeatable monitoring protocol was devised¹⁴. Monitoring has been repeated in 2003 and 2006 at Gough. Gough and Tristan birds have also been remotely-tracked to determine at-sea distribution. A project on Tristan da Cunha (2004-2006) is undertaking population counts. In 2007, Crozet, Amsterdam and Kerguelen Islands were declared Nature Reserves.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Repeat standardised population surveys at all key sites, most notably Gough and Tristan da Cunha. Determine foraging distribution of the species and its overlap with longline fisheries. Promote adoption of best-practice mitigation measures in all fisheries within the species's range, particularly via intergovernmental mechanisms such as ACAP, CCAMLR, FAO, and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations such as the tuna commissions in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans (ICCAT, IOTC).

Citation:	BirdLife International 2010. Phoebetria fusca. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 May 2012.
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