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Diomedea epomophora

Status_ne_offStatus_dd_offStatus_lc_offStatus_nt_offStatus_vu_onStatus_en_offStatus_cr_offStatus_ew_offStatus_ex_off
 

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA AVES Procellariiformes Diomedeidae

Scientific Name: Diomedea epomophora
Species Authority: Lesson, 1825
Common Name/s:
English – Southern Royal Albatross, Royal Albatross
Taxonomic Notes: Diomedea epomophora (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into D. epomophora and D. sanfordi following Robertson and Nunn (1998) and Brooke (2004).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Vulnerable   D2   ver 3.1
Year Assessed: 2008
Assessor/s BirdLife International
Evaluator/s: Butchart, S. (BirdLife International Red List Authority), Small, C. & Sullivan, B. (BirdLife International Global Seabird Programme)
Justification:
Although current population trends are assumed to be stable, this species qualifies as Vulnerable because it has a very small range, breeding on four islands, although largely confined to just one, with a fifth mainland population comprising only hybrid birds. It is therefore highly susceptible to stochastic effects and human impacts.

History:
2007 – Vulnerable
2005 – Vulnerable
2004 – Vulnerable
2003 – Vulnerable
2000 – Vulnerable
1994 – Not Recognized
1988 – Not Recognized

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: Diomedea epomophora breeds on Campbell Island (99% population), on Adams, Enderby and Auckland Islands (Auckland Islands group), and on Taiaroa Head (Otago Peninsula, South Island), New Zealand. The Campbell population is estimated at 8,200-8,600 breeding pairs9. In 2001, 69 pairs were present on Enderby11, and c.20 breed on Auckland and Adams Islands combined1. No pure-bred D. epomophora are present at Taiaroa Head2,6. The species circumnavigates the Southern Ocean after breeding1, but is most commonly recorded in New Zealand and South American waters3. Breeding adults forage from the South Island southwards to the Campbell Plateau7and north to the Chatham Rise. Non-breeding birds forage on the west and east coast of South America12

Countries:
Native:
Argentina; Australia; Brazil; Chile; Falkland Islands (Malvinas); French Southern Territories (the); Heard Island and McDonald Islands; New Zealand; Saint Helena; South Africa; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Uruguay
Vagrant:
Antarctica; New Caledonia
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
Native:
Atlantic – Antarctic;  Atlantic – southeast;  Atlantic – southwest;  Indian Ocean – western;  Indian Ocean – eastern;  Indian Ocean – Antarctic;  Pacific – southeast;  Pacific – southwest;  Pacific – Antarctic
Range Map:
(click map to view full version)
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Population [top]

Population: The Campbell population is estimated at 8,200-8,600 breeding pairs (Moore et al. 1997). In 2001, 69 pairs were present on Enderby (Childerhouse et al. 2003), and c.20 breed on Auckland and Adams Islands combined (Croxall and Gales 1998). An estimate of 8,200-8,600 annual breeding pairs is equivalent to c.28,000-29,500 mature individuals, based on the ratio used by Croxall and Gales (1998).

Population Trend: Stable

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: It nests on tussock grassland slopes, ridges, and plateaus2,3. It feeds primarily on squid and fish, supplemented by salps, crustacea and carrion8. Breeding is biennial if a chick is successfully reared.

Systems: Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s): The population is thought to be recovering after human predation, farming and introduced mammals caused reductions in all populations until the 1930s, extirpating the Enderby and Auckland Islands populations by the late 1800s2. Pigs and cats still take eggs and chicks on Auckland Island. On Campbell and Enderby, Dracophyllum scrub is spreading, possibly due to climatic warming, and may reduce breeding habitat. A possible decrease in the population during the 1970s - early 1980s coincided with the peak in long-line fishing in the New Zealand region12. Southern Royal Albatross are caught by longliners and trawlers in Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans, and off the east and west coasts of South America6, 12.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions: Conservation actions underway:

CMS Appendix II and ACAP Annex 1. Cattle and sheep have been removed from Campbell, and cattle, rabbits and mice have been eradicated from Enderby. Rats were eradicated from Campbell in 2001, and an expedition in 1993 found no evidence of them persisting10. Almost 36,000 birds have been banded on Campbell since the 1940s, but since 2006 bands are being removed, except in two study colonies. Two study areas on Campbell were monitored annually in the 1990s10. All islands are nature reserves and, in 1998, were declared a World Heritage Site.

Conservation actions proposed:

Census the Campbell and Enderby colonies at 10-year intervals. Monitor vegetation change on Campbell and Enderby and assess its effect on habitat availability. Eradicate pigs and cats from Auckland Island6.

Citation: BirdLife International 2008. Diomedea epomophora. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 February 2010.
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