Phoebetria palpebrata

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 palpebrata

Species Authority:

(Forster, 1785)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Light-mantled Albatross, Light-mantled Sooty Albatross
French	–	Albatros Fuligineux

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Near Threatened 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 classified as Near Threatened as it may be declining at a moderately rapid rate, owing to bycatch on longline fisheries and perhaps the impacts of introduced predators. Threats and population status both remain poorly known.

History:

2005	–	Near Threatened
2004	–	Near Threatened
2003	–	Near Threatened
2000	–	Lower Risk/near threatened
1994	–	Lower Risk/least concern
1988	–	Lower Risk/least concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Phoebetria palpebrata breeds on South Georgia (Georgias del Sur), Auckland, Campbell and Antipodes islands (New Zealand), Amsterdam, St Paul, Crozet and Kerguelen islands (French Southern Territories), Heard Island (Heard and MacDonald Islands (to Australia)), Macquarie Island (Australia), and Prince Edward and Marion islands (South Africa). The total annual breeding population is estimated at 19,000-24,000 pairs, equivalent to 58,000 mature individuals in this biennially breeding species^1,4. The species has a circumpolar distribution at high latitudes. It disperses over cold Antarctic waters in summer as far south as the pack ice¹² but ranges north into temperate and sub-tropical seas in winter. Circumpolar in the Southern Ocean. Breeding birds from Macquarie Island typically forage in shelf waters around the island, they also utilise sub-Antarctic and Antarctic waters south-west of Macquarie⁶.During chick-rearing, adults from South Georgia feed in Antarctic shelf and shelf-slope areas along the southern Scotia Arc and to a lesser extent in oceanic waters in the mid Scotia Sea⁹.
Countries:	Native: Antarctica; Argentina; Australia; Chile; Falkland Islands (Malvinas); French Southern Territories (the); Heard Island and McDonald Islands; New Zealand; South Africa; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Vagrant: Brazil; French Polynesia; Mauritius
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Atlantic – southwest; Atlantic – southeast; Atlantic – Antarctic; Indian Ocean – western; Indian Ocean – Antarctic; Indian Ocean – eastern; Pacific – southwest; Pacific – Antarctic; Pacific – southeast
Range Map:	(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

Population:	Information on population status and trend is most well known on Possession Island (Crozet Islands), where there were 996 pairs in 1995. Elsewhere, there are estimated to be >1,400 pairs on other islands in the Crozet group, 5,000-7,500 pairs on South Georgia, 3,000-5,000 pairs on Kerguelen, c. 5,000 pairs on the Auckland Islands, 2,000 pairs on Macquarie Island, at least 1,600 pairs on Campbell Island, 170 pairs on the Antipodes Islands, 200-500 pairs on Heard Island (Croxall and Gales 1998; Taylor 2000), and 179 pairs on Marion Island and 150 pairs on Prince Edward Island (Crawford et al. 2003). The global population is therefore an estimated 19,000-24,000 pairs - Croxall and Gales (1998) estimated c. 21,600 pairs.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Population:

Information on population status and trend is most well known on Possession Island (Crozet Islands), where there were 996 pairs in 1995. Elsewhere, there are estimated to be >1,400 pairs on other islands in the Crozet group, 5,000-7,500 pairs on South Georgia, 3,000-5,000 pairs on Kerguelen, c. 5,000 pairs on the Auckland Islands, 2,000 pairs on Macquarie Island, at least 1,600 pairs on Campbell Island, 170 pairs on the Antipodes Islands, 200-500 pairs on Heard Island (Croxall and Gales 1998; Taylor 2000), and 179 pairs on Marion Island and 150 pairs on Prince Edward Island (Crawford et al. 2003). The global population is therefore an estimated 19,000-24,000 pairs - Croxall and Gales (1998) estimated c. 21,600 pairs.

Population Trend:

Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This biennial breeder usually nests on cliff ledges, on a pedestal nest of mud and peat, lined with grass. Usually nests solitarily or in small colonies. The diet is primarily composed of cephalopods and euphausiids, but birds also take fish and carrion^{7, 10}. Most eggs are laid in October-November, hatch in December-January and chicks fledge in May-June¹.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Reports from New Zealand, Australia and Japan indicate that it is caught in tuna longline fisheries (39 returned from observers in New Zealand fisheries in 1996-2005, but only three since 1996)¹¹, although data on bycatch are sparse compared to other albatross species. Introduced predators are present at New Zealand colonies except Campbell Island and may affect breeding success and colony distribution⁴.

Major Threat(s):

Reports from New Zealand, Australia and Japan indicate that it is caught in tuna longline fisheries (39 returned from observers in New Zealand fisheries in 1996-2005, but only three since 1996)¹¹, although data on bycatch are sparse compared to other albatross species. Introduced predators are present at New Zealand colonies except Campbell Island and may affect breeding success and colony distribution⁴.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation actions underway: CMS Appendix II and ACAP Annex 1. Conservation actions proposed: Conduct standardised population surveys at all key sites. Determine foraging distribution and overlap with fisheries. As a precaution, eradicate introduced predators at breeding sites.

Conservation Actions:

Conservation actions underway:

CMS Appendix II and ACAP Annex 1.

Conservation actions proposed:

Conduct standardised population surveys at all key sites. Determine foraging distribution and overlap with fisheries. As a precaution, eradicate introduced predators at breeding sites.

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