13/07/2018
British Antarctic Survey (BAS)
has satellite tagged 16 juvenile Grey-headed Albatrosses in
order to understand what is driving the species' rapid decline.
Grey-headed Albatross is now
classified as Endangered due to a catastrophic population drop on South
Georgia, its largest breeding stronghold. Since 1977, numbers have more than
halved, and over the last decade the decline has accelerated to a worrying
5 per cent a year – far faster than any other albatross species. Colonies that
once teemed with nests and chicks are now sparse, with large, bare areas of
tussocky grass dominating slopes that were once predominately teeming with
birds.
The reason for such a startling
decline was unknown. By recording sightings of ringed birds, researchers worked
out that juvenile survival rates were far lower than normal. When they fledge,
juveniles rove the Southern Ocean in search of food for up to seven years,
before returning to breed on South Georgia. Exactly where they are
going has remained unknown, although scientists do know that it involves
different areas to the adults.
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