Justification This species is listed as Endangered because it is estimated to be declining at a very rapid rate over three generations (65 years) on the basis of current rates of decline at the large breeding colonies in the south-west Atlantic. These declines have been attributed to the impact of incidental mortality in longline and trawl fisheries.

Family/Sub-family Diomedeidae

Species name author (Temminck, 1828)

Taxonomic source(s) AERC TAC (2003), Brooke (2004), Robertson and Nunn (1998), SACC (2005 + updates)

Synonyms Thalassarche melanophris Christidis and Boles (2008)

Taxonomic note 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).

Identification 88 cm. Medium-sized albatross. Dark grey saddle and upperwings contrast strongly with white head, rump and underparts. Underwing is largely white with very broad, rather irregular, black margins. Dark eyebrow and yellow-orange bill with darker red-orange tip. Juveniles and sub-adults have dark, horn-coloured bills with dark tips, grey on head and collar, and dark underwing, which lightens with age. Similar spp. Juveniles can be very similar to juvenile Grey-headed Albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma but show faintly black-tipped bills and darker ridges.

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

1,200,000

decreasing

113,000,000 km²

No

Range & population Thalassarche melanophrys breeds at twelve sites in the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Islas Diego Ramirez, Ildefonso, Diego de Almagro and Isla Evangelistas (Chile), South Georgia (Georgias del Sur), Crozet and Kerguelen Islands (French Southern Territories), Heard and McDonald Islands and Macquarie Island (Australia), and Campbell, Antipodes and Snares Islands, New Zealand¹. The total breeding population was estimated at c.680,000 pairs in 1998, 80% at the Falkland Islands, 10% at South Georgia and 3% in Chile¹. More recently data revised this to c.600,853 pairs, 67% in the Falkland Islands, 12% at South Georgia and 20% in Chile^27,28,29. Black-browed albatrosses forage predominantly over shelf and shelf-break areas⁸. After breeding, birds from the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) winter on the Patagonian Shelf³⁶, whereas birds from South Georgia predominantly migrate to South African waters, spending the first half of the winter in the highly productive Benguela Current³². Black-browed albatross from Chile make use of the Chilean Shelf, the Patagonian Shelf, and some spend the non-breeding season around north New Zealand.

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: The species nests colonially on steep slopes with tussock grass, sometimes on cliff terraces, but the largest colonies in the Falklands are on flat ground along the shore line. It feeds mainly on crustaceans, fish and squid, and also on carrion and fishery discards^33,34,35.

Threats Declines may be attributable to increased longline fishing effort and/or the development of new longline fisheries over much of the Patagonian Shelf, around South Georgia, off the southern African coast, and in the Southern Ocean^8,9,11,15. Indeed, it is one of the most frequently killed species in many longline fisheries^{5,9,11,16,17,18,23}. Over recent years, mortality in trawl fisheries has been identified as a major source of mortality for this species over the Patagonian Shelf²⁰ and South Africa³⁰.

Conservation measures underway CMS Appendix II and ACAP Annex 1. It is monitored at South Georgia, Kerguelen, Campbell, Diego Ramirez and the Falkland Islands. Most breeding sites are reserves. Heard and McDonald, Macquarie, and the New Zealand islands are World Heritage Sites. An initial census of Chilean islands has been completed²¹.

Conservation measures proposed Continue monitoring and research programmes at all sites. Conduct complete censuses at all sites at regular intervals (South Georgia, Chile, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and French Southern Territories). Assess the impact of trawl fisheries bycatch . Continue to develop mitigation strategies for trawl fisheries, notably on the Patagonian Shelf and South Africa. Promote adoption of a) monitoring of seabirds bycatch associated with longline fishing and b) best-practice mitigation measures in all fisheries within the species' range, including via intergovernmental mechanisms under the auspices of ACAP, FAO and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations such as CCAMLR and the tuna commissions of the Atlantic Ocean (ICCAT).

References 1. Croxall and Gales (1998). 2. Croxall et al. (1998). 4. Gales (1998). 5. Gales et al. (1998). 8. Prince et al. (1998). 9. Schiavini et al. (1998). 10. Schlatter (1984). 11. Stagi et al. (1998). 12. Thompson and Riddy (1995). 13. Weimerskirch and Jouventin (1998). 15. Tuck and Polacheck (1997). 16. Murray et al. 1993. 17. Ryan and Boix-Hinzen (1998). 18. Ryan et al. (2002). 19. Arata and Moreno (2002). 20. Sullivan and Reid (2002). 21. Lawton et al. (2004) 22. Woehler et al. (2002). 23. Reid and Sullivan(2004). 27. Huin and Reid (2007), 28. Robertson et al. (2007), 29. Poncet et al. (2006), 30 Watkins et al. (2007), 31 Prince et al. (1994). 32. Phillips et al. (2005). 33. Cherel et al. (2002), 34. Arata et al. (2003), 35. Xavier et al. (2003). 36. N. Huin in litt (2008).

Further web sources of information

Australian Govt - Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000 - Recovery Outline

Text account compilers Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Deon Nel (WWF South Africa), Deon Nel (BirdLife Seabird Programme), Cleo Small (BirdLife International Global Seabird Programme), Alison Stattersfield (BirdLife International), Ben Sullivan (BirdLife International Global Seabird Programme)

Contributors J. Arata (University of Southern Chile), John Croxall (British Antarctic Survey), Nic Huin (Falklands Conservation), Richard Phillips (British Antarctic Survey), Graham Robertson (Australian Antarctic Division)

IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Cleo Small (BirdLife International Global Seabird Programme), Ben Sullivan (BirdLife International Global Seabird Programme)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Thalassarche melanophrys. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 10/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife

To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums