National Institute of Polar Research, Japan The images were captured by placing specially developed cameras on four Black-browed Albatross. Zoom In

Albatross-cam captures amazing images

16-09-2009

Unique pictures retrieved from cameras placed on albatrosses' backs show the birds feeding alongside Orca Orcinus orca – also known as Killer Whale.

The images were captured by placing specially developed cameras in the centre of four Black-browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophrys nesting on Bird Island, off the north-west tip of South Georgia in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. The cameras weighed just 83 grams, took an image every 30 seconds and could store up to 10,000 images in total.

The work was undertaken by Professor Takahashi from the National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo who worked alongside colleagues from Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan and the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, UK. "We were so bored because most of images showed just 'featureless' ocean," said Professor Takahashi. "Then we suddenly saw some albatrosses flying in front of the camera and then found the Killer Whale in the image."

“we suddenly saw some albatrosses … then found the Killer Whale” —Professor Takahashi, National Institute of Polar Research, Japan

Black-browed Albatrosses travel hundreds of kilometers to locate and feed on their prey. The discovery that the birds may follow Orcas may explain how they find their prey in an apparently featureless open ocean.

Previous dietary studies also showed Black-browed Albatrosses often feed on fish species unavailable within their diving capacity of 5 to 10m from the sea surface. "Researchers are not sure how albatrosses got these fish”, said Professor Takahashi. "Finding the interaction of albatrosses with Killer Whales in the open ocean is unique, because it provides a clue to explain [how] some fish species unavailable within a diving range of albatrosses often appeared in their diet".

Black-browed Albatross is one of the most frequently killed species in longline fisheries. This threat was also captured by the albatross cameras, with one bird clearly seen flying towards a fishing vessel. “Dying at a rate of around one every five minutes, the albatross family is becoming threatened faster than any other family of birds”, said Professor John Croxall – Chairman of BirdLife’s Global Seabirds Programme. “Eighteen of the 22 species of albatross are Globally Threatened with extinction”.

“we need your support to keep saving albatrosses” —Professor John Croxall, Chairman of BirdLife’s Global Seabirds Programme

To tackle this threat, BirdLife International and the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) formed the Albatross Task Force (ATF). The ATF is the first international scheme to place specialised instructors on fishing vessels to reduce the number of seabirds killed accidentally in fishing industries, and is currently active in seven countries.

The ATF is already having impressive successes around the globe – showing that albatrosses and commercial fisheries can co-exist. “The ATF are saving countless numbers of birds each”, added Professor Croxall. “However we need your support to keep saving albatrosses and to help us expand the team into more countries”.

There are many different ways you can help BirdLife’s Albatross Task Force. From giving a regular donation, to buying a fluffy albatross or requesting a set of albatross postcards, every action will help in our fight to prevent albatrosses from becoming extinct. If you want to help, please click here. The results of the albatross cameras are published in the journal PLoS ONE, and can be accessed by clicking here.

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