Thalassarche melanophrys

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:

Thalassarche melanophrys

Species Authority:

(Temminck, 1828)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Black-browed Albatross

Taxonomic Notes:

Diomedea melanophris (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into melanophrys and impavida and both placed in the genus Thalassarche following Robertson and Nunn (1998) and Brooke (2004).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Endangered A4bd 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:
This species is listed as Endangered because it is estimated to be declining at a very rapid rate over three generations (65 years) on the basis of current rates of decline at the large breeding colonies in the south-west Atlantic. These declines have been attributed to the impact of incidental mortality in longline and trawl fisheries.

History:

2005	–	Endangered
2004	–	Endangered
2003	–	Endangered
2002	–	Vulnerable
2000	–	Lower Risk/near threatened
1994	–	Not Recognized
1988	–	Not Recognized

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Thalassarche melanophrys breeds at twelve sites in the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Islas Diego Ramirez, Ildefonso, Diego de Almagro and Isla Evangelistas (Chile), South Georgia (Georgias del Sur), Crozet and Kerguelen Islands (French Southern Territories), Heard and McDonald Islands and Macquarie Island (Australia), and Campbell, Antipodes and Snares Islands, New Zealand¹. The total breeding population was estimated at c.680,000 pairs in 1998, 80% at the Falkland Islands, 10% at South Georgia and 3% in Chile¹. More recently data revised this to c.600,853 pairs, 67% in the Falkland Islands, 12% at South Georgia and 20% in Chile^27,28,29. Black-browed albatrosses forage predominantly over shelf and shelf-break areas⁸. After breeding, birds from the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) winter on the Patagonian Shelf³⁶, whereas birds from South Georgia predominantly migrate to South African waters, spending the first half of the winter in the highly productive Benguela Current³². Black-browed albatross from Chile make use of the Chilean Shelf, the Patagonian Shelf, and some spend the non-breeding season around north New Zealand.
Countries:	Native: Angola; Antarctica; Argentina; Australia; Brazil; Chile; Falkland Islands (Malvinas); French Southern Territories (the); Heard Island and McDonald Islands; Namibia; New Zealand; Peru; South Africa; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Uruguay Vagrant: Denmark Present - origin uncertain: Ecuador
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Atlantic – southwest; Atlantic – southeast; Atlantic – Antarctic; Indian Ocean – western; Indian Ocean – Antarctic; Indian Ocean – eastern; Pacific – western central; Pacific – southwest; Pacific – Antarctic; Pacific – southeast
Range Map:	(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

Population:	The total population of 600,852 breeding pairs (equating to 1,220,000 mature individuals) is made up of 399,416 pairs in the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) (Huin and Reid 2007), 74,296 pairs in South Georgia (Poncet et al. 2006) 122,000 pairs in Chile (Robertson et al. 2007) and other populations (Antipodes, Campbell, Heard and MacDonald, Crozet, Kerguelen, Macquarie, Snares) (Gales 1998).
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	The species nests colonially on steep slopes with tussock grass, sometimes on cliff terraces, but the largest colonies in the Falklands are on flat ground along the shore line. It feeds mainly on crustaceans, fish and squid, and also on carrion and fishery discards^33,34,35.
Systems:	Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Declines may be attributable to increased longline fishing effort and/or the development of new longline fisheries over much of the Patagonian Shelf, around South Georgia, off the southern African coast, and in the Southern Ocean^8,9,11,15. Indeed, it is one of the most frequently killed species in many longline fisheries^{5,9,11,16,17,18,23}. Over recent years, mortality in trawl fisheries has been identified as a major source of mortality for this species over the Patagonian Shelf²⁰ and South Africa³⁰.

Major Threat(s):

Declines may be attributable to increased longline fishing effort and/or the development of new longline fisheries over much of the Patagonian Shelf, around South Georgia, off the southern African coast, and in the Southern Ocean^8,9,11,15. Indeed, it is one of the most frequently killed species in many longline fisheries^{5,9,11,16,17,18,23}. Over recent years, mortality in trawl fisheries has been identified as a major source of mortality for this species over the Patagonian Shelf²⁰ and South Africa³⁰.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation actions underway: CMS Appendix II and ACAP Annex 1. It is monitored at South Georgia, Kerguelen, Campbell, Diego Ramirez and the Falkland Islands. Most breeding sites are reserves. Heard and McDonald, Macquarie, and the New Zealand islands are World Heritage Sites. An initial census of Chilean islands has been completed²¹. Conservation actions proposed: Continue monitoring and research programmes at all sites. Conduct complete censuses at all sites at regular intervals (South Georgia, Chile, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and French Southern Territories). Assess the impact of trawl fisheries bycatch . Continue to develop mitigation strategies for trawl fisheries, notably on the Patagonian Shelf and South Africa. Promote adoption of a) monitoring of seabirds bycatch associated with longline fishing and b) best-practice mitigation measures in all fisheries within the species' range, including via intergovernmental mechanisms under the auspices of ACAP, FAO and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations such as CCAMLR and the tuna commissions of the Atlantic Ocean (ICCAT).

Conservation Actions:

Conservation actions underway:

CMS Appendix II and ACAP Annex 1. It is monitored at South Georgia, Kerguelen, Campbell, Diego Ramirez and the Falkland Islands. Most breeding sites are reserves. Heard and McDonald, Macquarie, and the New Zealand islands are World Heritage Sites. An initial census of Chilean islands has been completed²¹.

Conservation actions proposed:

Continue monitoring and research programmes at all sites. Conduct complete censuses at all sites at regular intervals (South Georgia, Chile, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and French Southern Territories). Assess the impact of trawl fisheries bycatch . Continue to develop mitigation strategies for trawl fisheries, notably on the Patagonian Shelf and South Africa. Promote adoption of a) monitoring of seabirds bycatch associated with longline fishing and b) best-practice mitigation measures in all fisheries within the species' range, including via intergovernmental mechanisms under the auspices of ACAP, FAO and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations such as CCAMLR and the tuna commissions of the Atlantic Ocean (ICCAT).

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