Buller's Albatross
Encyclopedia
Buller's Albatross or Buller's Mollymawk, Thalassarche bulleri, is a small mollymawk
in the albatross
family
. It breeds on islands around New Zealand
, and feeds in the seas off Australia
and the South Pacific.
order, along with Shearwater
s, Fulmar
s, Storm-petrel
s, 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 ester
s 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. 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.
In 1998, Robertson and Nunn split this species into two, Thalassarche (bulleri) bulleri, and Thalassarche (bulleri) platei , although the majority of authorities including ITIS
, James Clements
, BirdLife International
, Michael Brooke. have not yet accepted this split
, and the tip. The juvenile has a darker head and a brown bill.
lasts around 60 days, with both parents sharing the responsibility. The average incubation shift is around 10 days. After hatching it takes 170 days to fledge
the chick. They breed annually.
, fish, tunicates, octopus
, and crustacea.
Buller's Albatross is endemic
to New Zealand
. They breed on Snares Islands, Solander Island, Chatham Islands
(Big and Little Sister
and Forty-fours Island
), Rosemary Rock, Three Kings Islands
. Adults forage between 40°S and 50°S from Tasmania
to the Chatham Rise
. Juveniles and adults that aren't breeding disperse across the South Pacific with a number feeding every year in the Humboldt Current
off Chile
and Peru
.
by the IUCN. But new research has shown it to be not as rare as it was believed. Consequently, it is downlisted to Near Threatened
status in 2008 It has an occurrence range of 16100000 km² (6,216,244.8 sq mi) and a breeding range of 4 km² (1.5 sq mi). According to a 1999 estimate, there are 64,000 birds and there are 31,939 breeding adults. These are located as follows: 8,877 pairs on Snares Islands, 4,912 pairs on Solander Island, 16,000 pairs on Forty-fours Island
, 2,130 pairs on Big and Little Sister
, 20 pairs on Rosemary Rock and Three Kings Islands
.
The Snares Islands population has been increasing, but lately not as much as in the 1970s, whereas the Solander Island population which was stable from 1986 to 1955 has now shown about an 18% increase. Survivale rate of adults on Snares Islands increased to 95.5% and brooding success rate was 70.8%, whereas on Big and Little Sister
, adult survival rate is 93.5% and the brooding success rate is between 57-60%.
Buller's Albatross is the most common bycatch from longline fisheries out of New Zealand
, and, even though net-sonde cables were banned in 1992, squid trawlers still catch them. Finally, Weka
Gallirallus australis was introduced to Big Sister
and may take eggs and chicks.
Most islands are legally protected, except for the Chatham Islands
colonies which are on private land.
Mollymawk
The mollymawks are a group of medium sized albatrosses that form the genus Thalassarche. The name has sometimes been used for the genus Phoebetria as well, but these are correctly called sooty albatrosses. They are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, where they are the most common of the...
in the albatross
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
. It breeds on islands around New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and feeds in the seas off Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the South Pacific.
Taxonomy
Mollymawks are a type of Albatross that belong to Diomedeidae family and come from the ProcellariiformesProcellariiformes
Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels...
order, along with Shearwater
Shearwater
Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds. There are more than 30 species of shearwaters, a few larger ones in the genus Calonectris and many smaller species in the genus Puffinus...
s, Fulmar
Fulmar
Fulmars are seabirds of the family Procellariidae. The family consists of two extant species and two that are extinct.-Taxonomy:As members of Procellaridae and then the order Procellariiformes, they share certain traits. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called...
s, Storm-petrel
Storm-petrel
Storm petrels are seabirds in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. These smallest of seabirds feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.Storm petrels have a cosmopolitan...
s, 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 ester
Wax ester
An ester of a fatty acid and a long-chain alcohol. These oils have similar properties as triglycerides, but are indigestible. They are found in some fish such as orange roughy, oilfish, escolar, black oreo, smooth oreo and other deep water fish. They are also present in marine copepods. Wax...
s and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus
Proventriculus
The proventriculus is part of the digestive system of birds, invertebrates and insects.-Birds:The proventriculus is a standard part of avian anatomy...
. This is used against predators as well as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. 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.
In 1998, Robertson and Nunn split this species into two, Thalassarche (bulleri) bulleri, and Thalassarche (bulleri) platei , although the majority of authorities including ITIS
Itis
Itis may refer to* Integrated Taxonomic Information System, a partnership designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species...
, James Clements
James Clements
Dr. James Franklin Clements was an ornithologist, author and very successful businessman. He was born in New York....
, BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
, Michael Brooke. have not yet accepted this split
Description
Buller's Albatross averages 79 cm (31.1 in). It has a silver-grey forehead, a grey head and throat. It has a black patch around the eyes with a white crescent behind and below the eye. Its back, upperwing, and tail are dark grey, and its rump and underparts are white. Its underwing is white with a black tip, with a broad sharply demarcated dark band at the leading edge. Its bill is large and black with yellow on the upper mandibleMandible
The mandible pronunciation or inferior maxillary bone forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place...
, and the tip. The juvenile has a darker head and a brown bill.
Reproduction
The Buller's Albatross is colonial, nesting generally on cliffs, steep coastal terraces, grassy meadows, and tussock covered hills. Birds in the Snares also nest under trees inland. The nest is mound of soil, grass and roots and is set into depressions in the breeding area. Breeding begins in December. Eggs on the Snares are laid in late January (around the 21-23 of January). incubationAvian incubation
Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...
lasts around 60 days, with both parents sharing the responsibility. The average incubation shift is around 10 days. After hatching it takes 170 days to fledge
Fledge
Fledge is the stage in a young bird's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. It also describes the act of a chick's parents raising it to a fully grown state...
the chick. They breed annually.
Feeding
Buller's Albatross feeds on squidSquid
Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles...
, fish, tunicates, octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
, and crustacea.
Range and habitat
| Location | Population | Date | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snares Island | 8,877 pair | 1999 | Increasing |
| Solander Islands Solander Islands The Solander Islands are a small chain of uninhabited volcanic islets lying at , close to the western end of the Foveaux Strait in southern New Zealand... |
4,912 pair | 1999 | Increasing |
| Forty-Fours Forty-Fours/Motuhara Forty-Fours/Motuhara is part of the Chatham Islands group, located east of New Zealand's South Island. The islands lie east of the group's main island, Chatham Island. Area Type:* Hypsographic... |
16,000 pair | 1998 | |
| Big Sister Island & Little Sister Island The Sisters/Rangitatahi The Sisters/Rangitatahi is part of the Chatham Islands chain, located east of New Zealand's South Island. The northernmost part of the group, they lie north of Cape Pattison on Chatham Island.... |
2,130 pair | 1998 | |
| Rosemary Rock Three Kings Islands The Three Kings Islands or Manawa Islands are a group of 13 islands about northwest of Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of the North Island of New Zealand, where the South Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea converge. They measure about 4.86 km² in area... |
20 pair | 1998 | |
| Total | 64,000 | 1999 | Stable |
Buller's Albatross is endemic
Endemism in birds
An endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....
to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. They breed on Snares Islands, Solander Island, Chatham Islands
Chatham Islands
The Chatham Islands are an archipelago and New Zealand territory in the Pacific Ocean consisting of about ten islands within a radius, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island. Their name in the indigenous language, Moriori, means Misty Sun...
(Big and Little Sister
The Sisters/Rangitatahi
The Sisters/Rangitatahi is part of the Chatham Islands chain, located east of New Zealand's South Island. The northernmost part of the group, they lie north of Cape Pattison on Chatham Island....
and Forty-fours Island
Forty-Fours/Motuhara
Forty-Fours/Motuhara is part of the Chatham Islands group, located east of New Zealand's South Island. The islands lie east of the group's main island, Chatham Island. Area Type:* Hypsographic...
), Rosemary Rock, Three Kings Islands
Three Kings Islands
The Three Kings Islands or Manawa Islands are a group of 13 islands about northwest of Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of the North Island of New Zealand, where the South Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea converge. They measure about 4.86 km² in area...
. Adults forage between 40°S and 50°S from Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
to the Chatham Rise
Chatham Rise
The Chatham Rise is an area of ocean floor to the east of New Zealand, forming part of the Zealandia continent. It stretches for some from near the South Island in the west, to the Chatham Islands in the east...
. Juveniles and adults that aren't breeding disperse across the South Pacific with a number feeding every year in the Humboldt Current
Humboldt Current
The Humboldt Current , also known as the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north-westward along the west coast of South America from the southern tip of Chile to northern Peru. It is an eastern boundary current flowing in the direction of the equator, and can extend...
off Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.
Conservation
It was formerly classified as Vulnerable speciesVulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
by the IUCN. But new research has shown it to be not as rare as it was believed. Consequently, it is downlisted to Near Threatened
Near Threatened
Near Threatened is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa that may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status...
status in 2008 It has an occurrence range of 16100000 km² (6,216,244.8 sq mi) and a breeding range of 4 km² (1.5 sq mi). According to a 1999 estimate, there are 64,000 birds and there are 31,939 breeding adults. These are located as follows: 8,877 pairs on Snares Islands, 4,912 pairs on Solander Island, 16,000 pairs on Forty-fours Island
Forty-Fours/Motuhara
Forty-Fours/Motuhara is part of the Chatham Islands group, located east of New Zealand's South Island. The islands lie east of the group's main island, Chatham Island. Area Type:* Hypsographic...
, 2,130 pairs on Big and Little Sister
The Sisters/Rangitatahi
The Sisters/Rangitatahi is part of the Chatham Islands chain, located east of New Zealand's South Island. The northernmost part of the group, they lie north of Cape Pattison on Chatham Island....
, 20 pairs on Rosemary Rock and Three Kings Islands
Three Kings Islands
The Three Kings Islands or Manawa Islands are a group of 13 islands about northwest of Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of the North Island of New Zealand, where the South Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea converge. They measure about 4.86 km² in area...
.
The Snares Islands population has been increasing, but lately not as much as in the 1970s, whereas the Solander Island population which was stable from 1986 to 1955 has now shown about an 18% increase. Survivale rate of adults on Snares Islands increased to 95.5% and brooding success rate was 70.8%, whereas on Big and Little Sister
The Sisters/Rangitatahi
The Sisters/Rangitatahi is part of the Chatham Islands chain, located east of New Zealand's South Island. The northernmost part of the group, they lie north of Cape Pattison on Chatham Island....
, adult survival rate is 93.5% and the brooding success rate is between 57-60%.
Buller's Albatross is the most common bycatch from longline fisheries out of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and, even though net-sonde cables were banned in 1992, squid trawlers still catch them. Finally, Weka
Weka
The Weka or woodhen is a flightless bird species of the rail family. It is endemic to New Zealand, where four subspecies are recognized. Weka are sturdy brown birds, about the size of a chicken. As omnivores, they feed mainly on invertebrates and fruit...
Gallirallus australis was introduced to Big Sister
The Sisters/Rangitatahi
The Sisters/Rangitatahi is part of the Chatham Islands chain, located east of New Zealand's South Island. The northernmost part of the group, they lie north of Cape Pattison on Chatham Island....
and may take eggs and chicks.
Most islands are legally protected, except for the Chatham Islands
Chatham Islands
The Chatham Islands are an archipelago and New Zealand territory in the Pacific Ocean consisting of about ten islands within a radius, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island. Their name in the indigenous language, Moriori, means Misty Sun...
colonies which are on private land.