Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Emu Emu Society
Journal of BirdLife Australia
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Increases in the numbers of breeding pairs in two populations of Buller’s Albatross (Thalassarche bulleri bulleri)

P. M. Sagar A C and J.-C. Stahl B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, PO Box 8602, Christchurch, New Zealand.

B Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, PO Box 467, Wellington, New Zealand.

C Corresponding author. Email: p.sagar@niwa.co.nz

Emu 105(1) 49-55 https://doi.org/10.1071/MU04032
Submitted: 22 June 2004  Accepted: 11 February 2005   Published: 31 March 2005

Abstract

The abundance and distribution of the southern subspecies of Buller’s Albatross (Thalassarche b. bulleri) breeding on the Solander and Snares Islands were investigated during February–March 2002. At the Solander Islands, a total of 4912 breeding pairs was estimated from aerial and ground counts. This total compares to an adjusted total of 4147 breeding pairs estimated during February 1996 using the same methods, and indicates average annual increases of 3.1% during the period 1996–2002, compared with relatively stable numbers estimated for the period 1985–96. At the Snares Islands, a total of 8165 breeding pairs was counted on North East Island and associated islets from ground and vantage-point counts, and 8713 breeding pairs were estimated for the Snares Islands as a whole. Analysis of annual counts of breeding pairs on the North Promontory of North East Island showed an estimated increase in the breeding population of 3.2% per year. In 2002, the estimated total breeding population of Buller’s Albatross at the Snares and Solander Islands was 13 625 pairs.


Acknowledgments

We thank all those albatross counters who have assisted with this program since 1997: Jonathan Banks, Niall Broekhuizen, Phred Dobbins, Don Geddes, Don Hadden, Sue Lake, Janice Molloy, Matthias Retter, and Bernard West. Thanks also to Jeremy Carroll, Pete McClelland and Peter Tyree, of Southland Conservancy, Department of Conservation, for their support and assistance in getting us to the Solander and Snares Islands. An earlier version of this paper was improved by comments from two anonymous reviewers. This research was funded by the Foundation for Science, Research and Technology (NZ), under contract CO1X0008, and the Department of Conservation.


References

Bartle, J. A. (1991). Incidental capture of seabirds in the New Zealand subantarctic squid trawl fishery, 1990. Bird Conservation International 1, 341–359.
Birdlife International (2004). ‘State of the World’s Birds: Indicators of our changing world.’ (Birdlife International: Cambridge, UK.)

Brooke M. L. (2004). ‘Albatrosses and Petrels Across the world.’ (Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.)

Brothers, N. P. (1991). Albatross mortality and associated bait loss in the Japanese longline fishery in the Southern Ocean. Biological Conservation 55, 255–268.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Croxall J. P., and Gales R. (1998). Assessments of the conservation status of albatrosses. In ‘Albatross Biology and Conservation’. (Eds G. Robertson and R. Gales.) pp. 46–65. (Surrey Beatty: Sydney, Australia.)

Croxall J. P., Prince P. A., Rothery P., and Wood A. G. (1998). Population changes in albatrosses at South Georgia. In ‘Albatross Biology and Conservation’. (Eds G. Robertson and R. Gales.) pp. 69–83. (Surrey Beatty: Sydney, Australia.)

Croxall J. P., and Rothery P. (1991). Population regulation of seabirds: implications of their demography for conservation. In ‘Bird Population Studies. Relevance to Conservation and Management’. (Eds C. M. Perrins, J.-D. Lebreton and G. M. Hirons.) pp. 272–296. (Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.)

Furness R. W., and Monaghan P. (1987). ‘Seabird Ecology.’ (Blackie: Glasgow, UK.)

Gales R. (1998). Albatross populations: status and threats. In ‘Albatross Biology and Conservation’. (Eds G. Robertson and R. Gales.) pp. 20–45. (Surrey Beatty: Sydney.)

Harris, R. B. (1986). Reliability of trend lines obtained from variable counts. The Journal of Wildlife Management 50, 165–171.
Horning D. S. (1976). ‘The 1974/75 Snares Islands Expedition.’ (University of Canterbury: Christchurch, New Zealand.)

Horning D. S. (1978). ‘The 1976/77 Snares Islands Expedition.’ (University of Canterbury: Christchurch, New Zealand.)

James, G. D. , and Stahl, J. C. (2000). Diet of Southern Buller’s Albatross (Diomedea bulleri bulleri) and the importance of fishery discards during chick rearing. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 34, 435–454.
Jolly G. M., and Watson R. M. (1979). Aerial sample survey methods in the quantitative assessment of ecological resources. In ‘Sampling Biological Populations’. (Eds R. M. Cormack, G. P. Patil and D. S. Robson.) pp. 203–216. (International Cooperative Publishing House: Burtonsville, MD.)

Johns P. M. (1983). ‘The 1982/83 Snares Islands Expedition.’ (University of Canterbury: Christchurch, New Zealand.)

Klaer, N. , and Polachek, T. (1998). The influence of environmental factors and mitigation measures on by-catch rates of seabirds by Japanese longline fishing vessels in the Australian region. Emu 98, 305–316.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Moore P. J., and Moffat R. D. (1990). Mollymawks on Campbell Island. Science and Research Division Internal Report no. 59. New Zealand Department of Conservation, Wellington.

Murray, T. E. , Bartle, J. A. , Kalish, S. , and Taylor, P. R. (1993). Incidental capture of seabirds by Japanese southern bluefin tuna longline vessels in New Zealand waters, 1988–1992. Bird Conservation International 3, 181–210.
Robertson C. J. R., Bell E., and Scofield P. (2003). ‘Autopsy report for seabirds killed and returned from New Zealand fisheries, 1 October 2000 to 30 September 2001.’ New Zealand Department of Conservation Science Internal Series 96. New Zealand Department of Conservation, Wellington.

Robertson C. J. R., Bell E., and Scofield P. (2004). ‘Autopsy report for seabirds killed and returned from New Zealand fisheries, 1 October 2001 to 30 September 2002.’ New Zealand Department of Conservation Internal Series 155. New Zealand Department of Conservation, Wellington.

Sagar, P. M. , Molloy, J. , Tennyson, A. J. D. , and Butler, D. (1994). Numbers of Buller’s Mollymawks breeding at the Snares Islands. Notornis 41, 85–92.
Sagar P. M., and Warham J. (1998). Breeding biology of the Southern Buller’s Mollymawk Diomedea bulleri bulleri. In ‘Albatross Biology and Conservation’. (Eds G. Robertson and R. Gales.) pp. 92–98. (Surrey Beatty: Sydney, Australia.)

Spear, L. B. , Ainley, D. G. , and Webb, S. W. (2003). Distribution, abundance and behaviour of Buller’s, Chatham Island and Salvin’s Albatrosses off Chile and Peru. The Ibis 145, 253–269.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Warham J. (1990). ‘The Petrels: Their Ecology and Breeding Systems.’ (Academic Press: London, UK.)

Warham, J. , and Bennington, S. L. (1983). A census of Buller’s Albatross at the Snares Islands, New Zealand. Emu 83, 112–114.
Weimerskirch H., and Jouventin P. (1998). Changes in sizes and demographic parameters of six albatross species breeding on the French sub-antarctic islands. In ‘Albatross Biology and Conservation’. (Eds G. Robertson and R. Gales.) pp. 84–91. (Surrey Beatty: Sydney, Australia.)

Wooller, R. D. , Bradley, J. S. , and Croxall, J. P. (1992). Long-term population studies of seabirds. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 7, 111–114.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |