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José Carlos Xavier (Institute of Marine Research, University of Coimbra, Portugal) and colleagues, writing this year in the journal Marine Biology, have looked at changes in the diet and foraging of Grey-headed Albatrosses Thalassarche chrysostoma.

The paper’s abstract follows

“Shifts in the diet of top predators can be linked to changes in environmental conditions.  In this study, we tested relationships between environmental variation and seasonal changes in diet of a top predator, the grey-headed albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma, breeding at Bird Island, South Georgia in an austral summer of 1999/2000.  Oceanographic conditions in that year around South Georgia were abnormal (i.e. anomalously high sea surface temperature to a relative 19-year long-term mean).  The diet of grey-headed albatrosses showed high seasonal variation, shifting from cephalopods (42.9 % by mass) in late February to Antarctic krill Euphausia superba (58.3 %) in late April, and grey-headed albatrosses breeding performance was low (16.8 %).  This study shows these albatrosses did not manage to find sufficient alternative prey and highlight the risk to top predators if there is an increase in the frequency or severity of food shortages in Antarctic waters.”

Grey-headed Albatross.  Photograph by Richard Phillips

Reference:

Xavier, J.C., Louzao, M., Thorpe, S.E., Ward, P., Hill, C. Roberts, D., Croxall, J.P. & Phillips, R.A.  2013.  Seasonal changes in the diet and feeding behaviour of a top predator indicate a flexible response to deteriorating oceanographic conditions.  Marine Biology  DOI 10.1007/s00227-013-2212-x.

With thanks to Richard Phillips.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 15 June 2013