Wandering Albatross at sunset, Champs des albatross, Possession Island, Crozets, photograph by Franck Theron

Following on the news that High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus is suspected to have reached South Africa’s sub-Antarctic Marion Island in the southern Indian Ocean (with samples requiring analysis in South Africa for confirmation), a French press release of 3 November states that  HPAI has reached the Crozets and Kerguelen Island to the east of Marion.

The press release (issued by Terres australes et antarctiques françaises, in French) states that the HPAI clade 2.3.4.4b has been identified in samples taken in October from Possession Island in the Crozets.  Samples from the east coast of the Courbet Peninsula on Kerguelen collected in November are to be analysed this month.  Species affected are reported to be Southern Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina (several hundred, mainly juveniles), King Penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus (several dozens), Wandering Albatrosses Diomedea exulans and Sub-Antarctic Skuas Catharacta antarctica.

"Since the beginning of the epizootic, the French Southern and Antarctic Lands have implemented, with the support of the French Polar Institute (IPEV), reinforced measures for the protection of personnel and biosecurity in the two districts, in particular: access to the colonies limited to epidemiological monitoring operations and operations related to the security of the bases, wearing of personal protective equipment and reinforced protocols for disinfecting equipment" [translation by Google Translate].

Close to fledging.  A Wandering Albatross chick on Marion Island. December 2008, photograph by John Cooper

The TAAF press release adds that the virus has not as yet been reported from Amsterdam Island or from Terre Adelie on the Antarctic Continent  To date, there have been no public reports of HPAI cases on Australian and New Zealand sub-Antarctic islands.  Prior to the Marion Island report, HPAI has resulted in the deaths of birds, including Wandering Albatrosses, on Bird Island in the South Atlantic (click here).

Read the TAAF press release here. With thanks to Karine Delord.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 17 December 2024

 Figure 1 from the paper: Foraging tracks of wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans tracked during the study. Possession Island indicated with a black triangle. Grey tracks show individual bird movements; shaded polygons indicate 90% (lightest), 75% (mid), and 50% (darkest) utilisation distributions for all females (yellow polygons) and males (blue polygons). Pink dotted line shows approximate location of Antarctic Polar Front (Orsi and Harris 2019). Map and GPS tracks displayed in a Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection, centred on Possession Island.

Natasha Gillies (School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Ecology and Evolution on how Wandering Albatrosses Diomedea exulans breeding in the southern Indian Ocean adapt their foraging behaviour to climatic variations.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Climate change has marked effects on global weather patterns and oceanic systems, impacting animal behaviour and fitness in potentially profound ways. Despite this, we lack detailed information about species' responses to climatic variation. Using an 11-year tracking dataset of over 300 individual birds, we explore the consequences of variation in the southern annular mode (SAM) and southern oscillation index (SOI) for individual behaviour and fitness in wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans breeding in the Southern Indian Ocean. Our results reveal distinct responses between males and females to climatic variation that align with the impacts of each climatic index on the distinct foraging ranges of each sex. In positive SAM phases, linked to poorer foraging conditions in female ranges and better conditions in male ranges, females exhibited behaviour consistent with reduced foraging success: that is, fewer prey capture attempts and more movement between feeding patches. Males, on the other hand, showed no behavioural change. During positive SOI phases, associated with good foraging conditions in both male and female foraging ranges, both sexes showed evidence of more successful foraging, with birds engaging in more search behaviour, and taking shorter trips with fewer prey capture attempts, together indicating increased food intake per unit time. We found limited evidence for a role of individual variation, as measured through differences in personality, suggesting that plastic responses to climate are sufficiently important so as to obscure inter-individual variation. Supporting this was the finding that individual breeding success was unaffected by climatic variation, suggesting that plastic foraging behaviour allows albatrosses to mitigate climate impacts and maintain reproductive output.”

Reference

Gillies, N., Thorley, J., Weimerskirch, H., Jenouvrier, S., Barbraud, C., Delord, K. & Patrick, S.C. 2024.  Plastic behaviour buffers climate variability in the Wandering Albatross.  Ecology and Evolution 14: e70631. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70631

16 December 2024

The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) and the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO) have renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Initially signed in 2018, the MoU aims to facilitate cooperation between SEAFO and ACAP to minimise the incidental bycatch of albatrosses and petrels within the SEAFO Convention Area. ​

Key areas of cooperation include data collection and analysis, information exchange, education and awareness programs, bycatch mitigation measures, training programs, and reciprocal participation in relevant meetings. 

"The renewal of this MoU highlights the importance of collaborative efforts to protect seabirds in international waters," said ACAP Executive Secretary, Dr Christine Bogle.

SEAFO’s Executive Secretary, Lizette Voges also welcomed the renewal of the MoU, stating: “We are looking forward to another 6 years with ACAP and specifically ACAP’s involvement in revising our Seabird CM [conservation measures]”.

The MoU, signed on November 27, 2024, will remain in effect for 6 years and is available to view and download at the ACAP website.

13 December 2024

The juvenile Grey-headed Albatross that reached Olaithoduvai, Sri Lanka, photographed by Lahiru Walpita, from the journal cover

Lahiru Walpita and Moditha Kodikara Arachchi have published in the correspondence section of the journal Indian Birds on the sighting of a juvenile Grey-headed Albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma off the coast of Sri Lanka on 22 July 2024.  The bird approached as close as 50 m from the shore at the Olaithoduvai fishing village from where it was photographed.

As the article suggests, this seems to be the first definite record of this Southern Ocean albatross north of the equator (click here).

Reference:

Walpita, L. & Arachchi, M.K. 2024.  The Grey-headed Albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma from Sri Lanka.  Indian Birds 20: 140-141.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 12 December 2024