Short-tailed albatross
| Short-tailed Albatross | |
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| Species: | P. albatrus
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| Binomial name | |
| Phoebastria albatrus | |
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Diomedea albatrus[3] | |
The Short-tailed Albatross or Steller's Albatross, Phoebastria albatrus, is a large rare seabird from the North Pacific. Although related to the other North Pacific albatrosses, it also exhibits behavioural and morphological links to the albatrosses of the Southern Ocean. It was described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas from skins collected by the Georg Wilhelm Steller (after whom its other common name is derived). Once common, it was brought to the edge of extinction by the trade in feathers, but with protection has recently made a recovery.
Taxonomy
Short-tailed Albatrosses are a type of Albatross that belong to Diomedeidae family and come from the Procellariiformes order, along with Shearwaters, Fulmars, Storm-petrels, and Diving-petrels. They share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. Although the nostrils on the Albatross are on the sides of the bill. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between 7 and 9 horny plates. Finally, they produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This is used against predators as well as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights.[4] They also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe. It excretes a high saline solution from their nose.[5] Going back in time, fossils of albatrosses from the mid-Pleistocene in Bermuda and North Carolina are considered to be closest to the Short-tailed Albatross.[citation needed]
Description
The Short-tailed Albatross is a medium sized albatross, with a wingspan of 215 to 230 cm (85–91 in),[6] a length of 84 to 94 cm (33–37 in)[7][8] and a body weight that can be 4.3 to 8.5 kg (9.5–18.7 lb). Its plumage as an adult is overall white with black flight feathers, some coverts, as well as a black terminal bar on its tail. It has a yellow-stained nape and crown. Its bill is large and pink; however, older birds will gain a blue tip. The juveniles are an all-over brown colour, and they will whiten as they mature,[9] in about 10 to 20 years.[10][11] It can be distinguished from the other two species of albatross in its range, the Laysan Albatross and the Black-footed Albatross by its larger size and its pink bill (with a bluish tip), as well as details of its plumage. Contrary to its name its tail is no shorter than that of the Laysan or Black-footed, and is actually longer than that of the other member of the genus Phoebastria, the Waved Albatross.
Range and habitat
Short-tailed Albatrosses now nest on four islands, with the majority of birds nesting on Torishima, and almost all of the rest on Minami-kojima in the Senkaku Islands. A female-female pair began nesting on Kure in the late 2000s, but to date they have not produced a viable egg. A chick hatched on 14 January 2011 on Midway. Both Midway and Kure are in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.[12] During non-breeding season they range across the North Pacific, with the males and juveniles gathering in the Bering Sea, and the females feeding off the coast of Japan and eastern Russia.[9] They can also be found as far east as California. In fact, the Short-tailed Albatross is seen on a number of the United States' state endangered species lists including Washington State.[13]
The species has been extirpated as a breeder from Kita-no-shima, Enewetak Atoll, Kobishi, and the Bonin Islands (Nishino Shima, Yomejima, and Mukojima).[3]
Behavior
Feeding
The Short-tailed Albatross feeds mainly on squid, but will follow ships for their discarded offal.[9]
Reproduction
This albatross historically preferred to nest on large open areas near stands of the grass, Miscanthus sinensis.[9]
Conservation
| Breeding Location | Breeding Pair | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Torishima | 1,922 adults | up from 25 since 1954 |
| Minami-kojima | 442 | Unknown |
| Total | 2,364 | 79% increase over 76 years |
The IUCN classifies this species as vulnerable,[1] with an occurrence range of 34,800,000 km2 (13,400,000 sq mi) and a breeding range of 9 km2 (3.5 sq mi).
The Short-tailed Albatross came perilously close to extinction. They were hunted on an almost industrial scale for their feathers in the later half of the 19th century, with some estimates claiming upward of 10 million birds hunted. By the 1930s the only population left was on Torishima, between 1927 and until 1933 hunting continued when the Japanese government declared the ban of hunting to save the species, after which the albatrosses stopped breeding on the island. At this point the species was assumed to be extinct and research became impossible with the outbreak of World War II. On 1949 an American researcher arriving on this island declared the species to be extinct, but an estimated 50 individuals, most likely juveniles, survived at sea (all albatross species take a long time to reach sexual maturity and will not return to their natal colony for many years). After the return of the birds they were more carefully protected, and the first egg was laid by the returning birds in 1954. Varieties of albatross decoys were placed around on the island after it was discovered that like other albatross species, this species also were enticed to breed if placed in a group.[citation needed]
Today, longline fisheries, and volcanic eruptions on Torishima are the largest threats; however, introduced predators, environmental contaminants, soil instability, and extreme weather are also threats.
There are many measures underway to protect this species. Japan, Canada, and the USA list this bird as a protected species. Torishima is a National Wildlife Protection Area, and native plant species are being transplanted to assist in nesting. Also, most commercial longline fisheries use bycatch mitigation devices.[9]
See also
Footnotes
- ^ a b BirdLife International (2008)
- ^ Brands, S. (2008)
- ^ a b American Ornithologists' Union
- ^ Double, M. C. (2003)
- ^ Ehrlich, Paul R. (1988)
- ^ Dunn, J. L. & Alderfer, J. (2006)
- ^ http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/birds/Phoebastria_albatrus/more_info.html?section=factsAndStatus
- ^ http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/CW69-14-362-2004E.pdf
- ^ a b c d e f BirdLife International (2008)(a)
- ^ Sibley, D. A. (2000)
- ^ Floyd, T. (2008)
- ^ Associated Press. "Nest of endangered albatross found in Hawaii". Retrieved 8 December 2010.
- ^ "Westport Seabirds Pelagic Trips - 2001 Trip Results". Retrieved 6 March 2010.
References
- American Ornithologists' Union (1998) [1983]. "Procellariiformes: Diomedeidae: Albatrosses". Check-list of North American Birds (PDF) (7th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Ornithologists' Union . p. 12 . ISBN 1-891276-00-X.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|laydate=,|separator=,|month=,|laysummary=,|chapterurl=, and|lastauthoramp=(help) - Template:IUCN2008
- BirdLife International (2008(a)). "Short-tailed Albatross - BirdLife Species Factsheet". Data Zone. Retrieved 10 Mar 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help) - Brands, Sheila (14 Aug 2008). "Systema Naturae 2000 / Classification - Diomedea subg. Phoebastria -". Project: The Taxonomicon. Retrieved 22 Feb 2009.
- Brooke, M. (2004). "Procellariidae". Albatrosses And Petrels Across The World. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-850125-0.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|month=(help) - del Hoyo, Josep, Elliott, Andrew & Sargatal, Jordi (1992). Handbook of Birds of the World Vol 1. Barcelona:Lynx Edicions, ISBN 84-87334-10-5
- Double, M. C. (2003). "Procellariiformes (Tubenosed Seabirds)". In Hutchins, Michael; Jackson, Jerome A.; Bock, Walter J.; Olendorf, Donna (eds.). Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Vol. 8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins. Joseph E. Trumpey, Chief Scientific Illustrator (2 ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. pp. 107–111. ISBN 0-7876-5784-0.
- Dunn, Jon L.; Alderfer, Jonathan (2006). "Albatrosses". In Levitt, Barbara (ed.). National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America (fifth ed.). Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-7922-5314-3.
- Ehrlich, Paul R.; Dobkin, David, S.; Wheye, Darryl (1988). The Birders Handbook (First ed.). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. pp. 29–31. ISBN 0-671-65989-8.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Floyd, Ted (2008). "Tubenoses: Albatrosses, Shearwaters & Petrels, and Storm-petrels". In Hess, Paul; Scott, George (eds.). Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America (First ed.). New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-06-112040-4.
- Sibley, David A. (2000). "Albatrosses, Petrels, and Shearwaters". The Sibley Guide to Birds (First ed.). New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 30. ISBN 0-679-45122-6.
- Tickell, W. L. N. (2000). Albatrosses. Robertsbridge, UK: Pica Press. ISBN 1-873403-94-1.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|month=(help) - "WDF - Wildlife Science." Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. 09 Feb. 2009 <http://wdfw.wa.gov/wildlife/management/endangered.html>
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