Thalassarche salvini

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 salvini

Species Authority:

(Rothschild, 1893)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Salvin's Albatross

Taxonomic Notes:

Diomedea cauta (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into cauta, eremita and salvini following Brooke (2004) , and all placed in the genus Thalassarche following Brooke (2004). T. cauta has subsequently been split into T. cauta and T. steadi following Robertson & Nunn (1998), ACAP (2006)^{20, 21}.

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:
This species may have undergone a rapid decline, but different census methods make a comparison of the available data potentially misleading. However, breeding is largely restricted to one tiny island group, where it is susceptible to stochastic events. It is therefore classified as Vulnerable.

History:

2005	–	Vulnerable
2004	–	Vulnerable
2003	–	Vulnerable
2000	–	Vulnerable
1994	–	Not Recognized
1988	–	Not Recognized

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Thalassarche salvini breeds on the Bounty Islands (nine islands and islets), Western Chain islets (Snares Islands), and The Pyramid and The Forty-Fours (Chatham Islands), New Zealand^3,8,12 and has bred at least once on Ile des Pingouins (Crozet Islands, French Southern Territories), with four pairs recorded^{10, 13}. In 1998, the population on the Bounty Islands (99% of total) was estimated at 30,750 pairs^1,2, compared to an estimate in 1978 of 76,000 breeding pairs⁷. Both estimates were based on counts on Proclamation Island and aerial photographs of all other islands^2,7, but census methods differed, making comparisons difficult. In 1984, the population on the Snares Islands was estimated at less than 650 pairs. In 1995, two nests on The Pyramid were occupied, and single chicks were observed at The Pyramid in 2006, and the Forty-Fours in 2007¹⁸. Salvin's albatross ranges widely through the south Pacific ^3,8 and large numbers of birds are found along the Peru Current⁸. Recent incidental observations have recorded this species in the Cape Horn region¹⁴ and off Argentina¹⁵. One of the individuals nesting on the Crozet Islands had previously been caught and ringed on South Georgia, in 1982, and returned for several years thereafter. These observations indicate Salvin's albatross has a more extensive range than previously thought, although the core range is believed to be between Australasia and the west coast of South America¹⁸. A vagrant was recorded on Midway Atoll¹⁶.
Countries:	Native: Australia; Chile; French Southern Territories (the); Heard Island and McDonald Islands; Namibia; New Zealand; Peru; South Africa
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Atlantic – Antarctic; Atlantic – southeast; Indian Ocean – western; Indian Ocean – eastern; Indian Ocean – Antarctic; Pacific – Antarctic; Pacific – southeast; Pacific – southwest
Range Map:	(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

Population:	Clark et al. (1998) estimated 30,750 breeding pairs on the Bounty Islands (99% of the global population) (Clark et al. 1998), which is equivalent to 61,500 mature individuals.
Population Trend:	Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It breeds mostly on small, bare rocky islands³. The nest is a muddy pedestal made of dried mud, feathers and some bird bones⁷. It feeds mainly on cephalopods and fish⁴.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	No introduced predators are present on the islands, but it is particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events. Small numbers are caught on tuna longliners in New Zealand waters, but it may also be exposed to longline operations elsewhere in the Southern Ocean. Trawlers within New Zealand waters currently estimated to kill more Salvin's Albatross than longliners¹⁷. From 1996-2005, 247 were returned from fisheries observers with 150 from longliners and 197 from trawl fisheries. Salvin's Albatross constituted approximately 15% of all albatrosses returned by New Zealand fisheries observers 1996-2005^18..

Major Threat(s):

No introduced predators are present on the islands, but it is particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events. Small numbers are caught on tuna longliners in New Zealand waters, but it may also be exposed to longline operations elsewhere in the Southern Ocean. Trawlers within New Zealand waters currently estimated to kill more Salvin's Albatross than longliners¹⁷. From 1996-2005, 247 were returned from fisheries observers with 150 from longliners and 197 from trawl fisheries. Salvin's Albatross constituted approximately 15% of all albatrosses returned by New Zealand fisheries observers 1996-2005^18..

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation actions underway: ACAP Annex 1. In 1985, 1,000 fledglings were banded³, but only one has been recovered⁹. In 1995/1996, a long-term population study was initiated on the Snares population⁸. All islands are nature reserves, except for The Pyramid and The Forty-Fours, which are privately owned. In 1998, the Snares and Bounty Islands were declared part of a World Heritage Site. In 2006, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) adopted a measure, which will require all tuna and swordfish longline vessels to use at least two seabird bycatch mitigation measures when fishing south of 30 degrees South. Conservation actions proposed: Census all the Bounty Islands intensively for baseline population estimates. Census two islands in the Bounty and Snares Islands for two consecutive years at 10-year intervals. Obtain information from South African and South American observer programmes on bycatch levels. Further develop mitigation devices/techniques to minimise fisheries bycatch in trawl and pelagic longline fisheries. Remote tracking data is required for both breeding and non-breeding birds to further understand the level of interaction with longline and trawl fishing fleets¹¹.

Conservation Actions:

Conservation actions underway:

ACAP Annex 1. In 1985, 1,000 fledglings were banded³, but only one has been recovered⁹. In 1995/1996, a long-term population study was initiated on the Snares population⁸. All islands are nature reserves, except for The Pyramid and The Forty-Fours, which are privately owned. In 1998, the Snares and Bounty Islands were declared part of a World Heritage Site. In 2006, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) adopted a measure, which will require all tuna and swordfish longline vessels to use at least two seabird bycatch mitigation measures when fishing south of 30 degrees South.

Conservation actions proposed:

Census all the Bounty Islands intensively for baseline population estimates. Census two islands in the Bounty and Snares Islands for two consecutive years at 10-year intervals. Obtain information from South African and South American observer programmes on bycatch levels. Further develop mitigation devices/techniques to minimise fisheries bycatch in trawl and pelagic longline fisheries. Remote tracking data is required for both breeding and non-breeding birds to further understand the level of interaction with longline and trawl fishing fleets¹¹.

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