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Thalassarche impavida

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: Thalassarche impavida
Species Authority: Mathews, 1912
Common Name/s:
English – Campbell 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: Vulnerable   D2   ver 3.1
Year Assessed: 2008
Assessor/s BirdLife International
Evaluator/s: Bird, J., Butchart, S. (BirdLife International Red List Authority) & Small, C. (BirdLife International Global Seabird Programme)
Justification:
This species is classified as Vulnerable because breeding is restricted to a single location, where it is susceptible to potential human impacts and stochastic events. Although numbers decreased steeply between the 1970s and 1980s owing to interactions with fisheries, the population is now thought to be increasing, although there has not been a census since 1996.

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

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: Thalassarche impavida breeds only on the northern and western coastline of Campbell Island (111 km2) and the tiny offshore islet, Jeanette Marie, New Zealand. The total population was estimated to be 19,000-26,000 breeding pairs14, with the most recent censuses in 1995-1997 giving an estimate of 24,600 pairs17. Numbers decreased steeply between the 1970s and 1980s: one colony declined at a rate of 5.9% per year between 1966 and 1981, and 10.5% per year between 1981 and 1984. However, numbers have been either stable or increasing slightly since 19849,with a 1.8% increase recorded in selected colonies between 1992 and 199717. Its range is confined to southern Australian waters, the Tasman Sea and the south Pacific Ocean1,10. Breeding adults forage from South Island, New Zealand, and Chatham Rise southwards to the Ross Sea11,16.

Countries:
Native:
Australia; Cook Islands; French Polynesia; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Niue; Norfolk Island
Vagrant:
Antarctica
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
Native:
Pacific – eastern central;  Pacific – Antarctic;  Pacific – southwest;  Pacific – western central
Range Map:
(click map to view full version)
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Population [top]

Population: Breeding population of 24,600 pairs, based on surveys 1995-1997 (Moore 2004)

Population Trend: Increasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: Campbell Albatross nests on ledges and steep slopes covered in low native grasses, tussocks and mud8. It feeds mainly on fish, also on squid, crustaceans, gelatinous organisms and carrion12. Mean annual productivity was 66% between 1984 and 1994. Mean adult survivorship was 94.5% between 1984 and 1995. Average age of first breeding is 10 years9.

Systems: Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s): Large numbers have been caught by tuna longline vessels, mostly juveniles in New Zealand waters, but also adults in Australian waters1,3,7. The population decline coincided with the development of a large-scale fishery that peaked in New Zealand waters during 1971-1983. The present gradual increase in numbers may be due to a substantial decline in fishing effort since 19849. However, during 1988-1995, it still comprised 11% of all the seabirds killed on tuna longlines in New Zealand waters and returned for identification7, and 13% of all banded birds caught in Australian waters2. It is also attracted to offal discarded from trawlers, and is regularly drowned in New Zealand trawl fisheries3,18 .

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions: Conservation actions underway:

ACAP Annex 1. The species was first studied in the 1940s. Feral sheep were eradicated from the north of Campbell Island, where the nesting colonies are, in 1971, and then from the island itself in 1991. Research includes studies on population dynamics, colony distribution, biology, diet and foraging7. The islands are a national nature reserve, and part of a World Heritage Site, declared in 1998. Rats and cats were eradicated from Campbell in 2001, and an expedition in 2003 found no evidence of them persisting15.

Conservation actions proposed:

Complete ground census of colonies for three consecutive years every 10 years, and repeat photopoints at least every five years. Search intensively for banded birds in two consecutive years at five- year intervals. Complete research to clarify fisheries interactions. Further develop mitigation devices/techniques to minimise fisheries bycatch in trawl and pelagic longline fisheries.

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