Thalassarche carteri

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 carteri

Species Authority:

(Rothschild, 1903)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Endangered A4bde ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2010

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Calvert, R., Butchart, S., Bird, J.

Contributor/s:

Crawford, R., Robertson, C., Weimerskirsch, H., Cooper, J., Croxall, J., Ryan, P.

Justification:
This species is listed as Endangered on the basis of an estimated very rapid ongoing decline over three generations (71 years), based on data from the population stronghold on Amsterdam Island. This decline is the result of adult mortality and poor recruitment owing to interactions with fisheries and disease.

History:

2008	–	Endangered
2007	–	Endangered
2005	–	Endangered
2004	–	Endangered
2003	–	Endangered
2000	–	Vulnerable
1994	–	Not Recognized
1988	–	Not Recognized

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Thalassarche carteri breeds on Amsterdam, Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands, and St Paul Islands (French Southern Territories) and on Prince Edward Island (South Africa). In addition, two breeding pairs were recorded on The Pyramid in 2007. Colonies on Amsterdam Island are estimated at c.27,000 pairs breeding per year¹⁷. Elsewhere, there are an estimated 7,500 pairs on Prince Edward Island (based on counts in 2001-2002)¹⁰, 7,030 pairs per year on Crozet Island¹⁵, as well as 50 pairs on Kerguelen⁸ and 3 pairs on St Paul, giving a total of 41,580 pairs per year, equating to 83,160 mature individuals, and perhaps more than 160,000 individuals of all age classes⁴. Colonies on Amsterdam Island declined on average by 58% at between 1982 and 1995. The lowest numbers were recorded in 1995, after which some colonies on the island increased or stabilised between 1996 and 2005. The overall trend on Amsterdam is a decline of over 30% between 1982-2006¹⁸. The population on Prince Edward appears stable: in 2001-2002, 4,170 pairs were counted, representing 7,500 pairs in total once early breeding failures are taken into account¹⁰. Decline over three generations is estimated at 55%, assuming a continuing decline at Amsterdam Island and populations elsewhere remain stable. Outside the breeding season, the species disperses throughout the southern Indian Ocean between 30-50 degrees South, and birds are frequently observed off southern Africa and south-western Australia, extending east to the Tasman Sea and north-eastern New Zealand⁵.
Countries:	Native: Australia; French Southern Territories (the); Heard Island and McDonald Islands; Madagascar; Mozambique; New Zealand; Norfolk Island; South Africa; United States; United States; United States; United States; United States; United States Vagrant: Antarctica
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	The total population is estimated at 41,580 pairs per year, equating to 83,160 mature individuals, and perhaps more than 160,000 individuals of all age classes (using the ratios presented by Gales 1998).
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour It breeds annually, and breeding is either solitarily or in loose groups,. Eggs are laid in September-October and hatch in November-December. Chicks fledge in March-April. It catches prey by surface seizing and shallow diving¹⁹. Diet It feeds mainly on fish and squid, and less frequently on crustaceans^2,19. Habitat Breeding It breeds on slopes or cliffs, typically in bare, rocky areas but sometimes in tussock-grass and ferns¹. Foraging range Satellite-tracking of birds from Amsterdam Island has shown that breeding birds forage up to 1,500 km from the colony¹³.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour It breeds annually, and breeding is either solitarily or in loose groups,. Eggs are laid in September-October and hatch in November-December. Chicks fledge in March-April. It catches prey by surface seizing and shallow diving¹⁹. Diet It feeds mainly on fish and squid, and less frequently on crustaceans^2,19. Habitat Breeding It breeds on slopes or cliffs, typically in bare, rocky areas but sometimes in tussock-grass and ferns¹. Foraging range Satellite-tracking of birds from Amsterdam Island has shown that breeding birds forage up to 1,500 km from the colony¹³.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The Amsterdam population declined due to the outbreak of two diseases in the early 1980s (avian cholera and Erysipelothrix rhusiopathidae) that affect the chicks. Death of up to 100% of chicks has been recorded in some colonies. The diseases mainly affect young chicks, but adults may also be affected¹². Subsequent declines in numbers at certain colonies could be due to dispersal following failed breeding¹⁸. Interactions with longline fisheries could also account for observed decreases given that up to 600 may be killed annually, comprising mainly adults in the winter months and immatures during the summer fishing season^4,8. During the breeding season, it also comes into contact with tuna longliners in subtropical waters⁸,and birds (mostly adult males) have been taken by Patagonian toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides longliners in the vicinity of the Prince Edward Islands⁷. However, more data is needed to assess whether longline bycatch is the cause of decline at Amsterdam Island and the Prince Edward Islands¹⁸. Yellow-nosed Albatross species are also killed in pelagic longline fisheries off southern Africa¹¹, and occasionally in South African trawl fisheries¹⁶. On Amsterdam Island, past habitat destruction by introduced cattle has degraded the breeding sites but fencing of cattle has reduced their impact in recent years¹⁹.

Major Threat(s):

The Amsterdam population declined due to the outbreak of two diseases in the early 1980s (avian cholera and Erysipelothrix rhusiopathidae) that affect the chicks. Death of up to 100% of chicks has been recorded in some colonies. The diseases mainly affect young chicks, but adults may also be affected¹². Subsequent declines in numbers at certain colonies could be due to dispersal following failed breeding¹⁸. Interactions with longline fisheries could also account for observed decreases given that up to 600 may be killed annually, comprising mainly adults in the winter months and immatures during the summer fishing season^4,8. During the breeding season, it also comes into contact with tuna longliners in subtropical waters⁸,and birds (mostly adult males) have been taken by Patagonian toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides longliners in the vicinity of the Prince Edward Islands⁷. However, more data is needed to assess whether longline bycatch is the cause of decline at Amsterdam Island and the Prince Edward Islands¹⁸. Yellow-nosed Albatross species are also killed in pelagic longline fisheries off southern Africa¹¹, and occasionally in South African trawl fisheries¹⁶. On Amsterdam Island, past habitat destruction by introduced cattle has degraded the breeding sites but fencing of cattle has reduced their impact in recent years¹⁹.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation Actions Underway ACAP Annex 1. Population monitoring and foraging studies have been undertaken at Amsterdam Island. The Prince Edward Islands are a Special Nature Reserve. Vaccination has been tested, but cannot be carried out at a large scale¹². In 2006, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission adopted a measure to require tuna longline fishing vessels to use a bird streamer line when fishing south of 30 degrees South. South Africa requires its longline vessels to use a range of mitigation measures. Conservation Actions Proposed Continue to monitor trends at breeding localities, notably Amsterdam, Prince Edward and Crozet Islands. Conduct further research to explore potential for controlling and limiting impact of disease. Conduct further studies of foraging range and interaction with fisheries. Promote adoption of best-practice mitigation measures in all fisheries within the species's range, particularly via intergovernmental mechanisms under auspices of CCAMLR, CMS and FAO.

Conservation Actions:

Conservation Actions Underway
ACAP Annex 1. Population monitoring and foraging studies have been undertaken at Amsterdam Island. The Prince Edward Islands are a Special Nature Reserve. Vaccination has been tested, but cannot be carried out at a large scale¹². In 2006, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission adopted a measure to require tuna longline fishing vessels to use a bird streamer line when fishing south of 30 degrees South. South Africa requires its longline vessels to use a range of mitigation measures.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Continue to monitor trends at breeding localities, notably Amsterdam, Prince Edward and Crozet Islands. Conduct further research to explore potential for controlling and limiting impact of disease. Conduct further studies of foraging range and interaction with fisheries. Promote adoption of best-practice mitigation measures in all fisheries within the species's range, particularly via intergovernmental mechanisms under auspices of CCAMLR, CMS and FAO.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2010. Thalassarche carteri. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 February 2012.
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