Albatross
Short-tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Procellariiformes Family: Diomedeidae G.R. Gray, 1840
Global range (In blue)
Genera
Diomedea Thalassarche Phoebastria Phoebetria

Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). The Short-tailed Albatross or Steller's Albatross ( Phoebastria albatrus) is a large rare Seabird from the North Pacific. Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. Procellariiformes is an order of Seabirds that comprises four families: the Albatrosses procellariids, Storm-petrels and Diving George Robert Gray FRS ( July 8, 1808 - May 6, 1872) was an English zoologist and Author and The great albatrosses are Seabirds in the Genus Diomedea in the Albatross family. The mollymawks are a group of medium sized Albatrosses that form the Genus Thalassarche. The North Pacific albatrosses are large Seabirds from the Genus Phoebastria in the Albatross family. The sooty albatrosses are small Albatrosses from the Genus Phoebetria. In Biological classification, family ( Latin Seabirds are Birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment The family Procellariidae is a group of Seabirds that comprises the Fulmarine petrels the Gadfly petrels the prions, and the Shearwaters The storm-petrels are Seabirds in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. The diving-petrels are Seabirds in the Bird order Procellariiformes Procellariiformes is an order of Seabirds that comprises four families: the Albatrosses procellariids, Storm-petrels and Diving They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. The Southern Ocean, also known as the Great Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Ocean and the South Polar Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions They are absent from the North Atlantic, although fossil remains show they once occurred there too and occasional vagrants turn up. FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. Albatrosses are amongst the largest of flying birds, and the great albatrosses (genus Diomedea) have the largest wingspans of any extant birds. Flight is the main mode of locomotion used by most of the world's bird species The great albatrosses are Seabirds in the Genus Diomedea in the Albatross family. A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic Extant is a term commonly used to refer to Taxa (such as Species, genera or families) that are still in existence (living The albatrosses are usually regarded as falling into four genera, but there is disagreement over the number of species. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank.

Albatrosses are highly efficient in the air, using dynamic soaring and slope soaring to cover great distances with little exertion. Dynamic Soaring is a Gliding technique used to gain Kinetic energy by repeatedly crossing the boundary between air masses of significantly different horizontal They feed on squid, fish and krill by either scavenging, surface seizing or diving. Squid are marine Cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two Krill are a type of Shrimp -like marine Invertebrate animal These small Crustaceans are important organisms of the Zooplankton, particularly Albatrosses are colonial, nesting for the most part on remote oceanic islands, often with several species nesting together. A seabird colony is a site which Seabirds visit to breed typically during the summer Pair bonds between males and females form over several years, with the use of 'ritualised dances', and will last for the life of the pair. In Biology, a pair bond is the strong affinity that develops in some Species between the Male and Female in a breeding pair A breeding season can take over a year from laying to fledging, with a single egg laid in each breeding attempt. The breeding season is the most suitable season usually with favorable conditions and abundant food and water for breeding among some wild animals and birds (wildlife Fledge is the stage in a young Bird 's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight In most Birds and Reptiles an egg ( Latin ovum) is the Zygote, resulting from Fertilization of the Ovum.

Of the 21 species of albatrosses recognised by the IUCN, 19 are threatened with extinction. In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa. Numbers of albatrosses have declined in the past due to harvesting for feathers, but today the albatrosses are threatened by introduced species such as rats and feral cats that attack eggs, chicks and nesting adults; by pollution; by a serious decline in fish stocks in many regions largely due to overfishing; and by long-line fishing. Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering or Plumage, on Birds They are considered the most complex integumentary structures An introduced species (also known as naturalized species or exotic species) is an Organism that is not indigenous to a given location but Rats are various medium sized long-tailed Rodents of the superfamily Muroidea A feral cat (or stray cat, alley cat) is a Cat which has been separated from Domestication through abandonment loss or running away and becomes Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability disorder harm or discomfort to the physical systems or living organisms they are in For other meanings of "longline" see Longline. Longline fishing is a commercial Fishing technique that uses hundreds or even Long-line fisheries pose the greatest threat, as feeding birds are attracted to the bait, become hooked on the lines, and drown. Bait is any substance used to attract Prey, eg in a Mousetrap. Identified stakeholders such as governments, conservation organisations and people in the fishing industry are all working toward reducing this bycatch.

Albatross biology

Taxonomy and evolution

The albatrosses comprise between 13 and 24 species (the number of species is still a matter of some debate, 21 being the most commonly accepted number) in 4 genera. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. The four genera are the great albatrosses (Diomedea), the mollymawks (Thalassarche), the North Pacific albatrosses (Phoebastria), and the sooty albatrosses or sooties (Phoebetria). The great albatrosses are Seabirds in the Genus Diomedea in the Albatross family. The mollymawks are a group of medium sized Albatrosses that form the Genus Thalassarche. The North Pacific albatrosses are large Seabirds from the Genus Phoebastria in the Albatross family. The sooty albatrosses are small Albatrosses from the Genus Phoebetria. Of the four genera, the North Pacific albatrosses are considered to be a sister taxon to the great albatrosses, while the sooty albatrosses are considered closer to the mollymawks.

The taxonomy of the albatross group has been a source of a great deal of debate. Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification The word comes from the Greek, taxis (meaning 'order' 'arrangement' and, nomos The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy places seabirds, birds of prey and many others in a greatly enlarged order Ciconiiformes, whereas the ornithological organisations in North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand retain the more traditional order Procellariiformes. The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy is a radical bird Taxonomy proposed by Charles Sibley and Jon Edward Ahlquist. Birds of prey are Birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing using their keen senses especially vision Traditionally the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large long-legged wading birds with large bills Storks Herons Egrets Procellariiformes is an order of Seabirds that comprises four families: the Albatrosses procellariids, Storm-petrels and Diving The albatrosses can be separated from the other Procellariiformes both genetically and through morphological characteristics, size, their legs and the arrangement of their nasal tubes (see Morphology and flight). Genetics (from Ancient Greek grc-Latn genetikos, “genitive” and that from grc-Latn genesis, “origin” a discipline of Biology, is

Within the family the assignment of genera has been debated for over a hundred years. Originally placed into a single genus, Diomedea, they were rearranged by Reichenbach into four different genera in 1852, then lumped back together and split apart again several times, acquiring 12 different genus names in total (though never more than eight at one time) by 1965 (Diomedea, Phoebastria, Thalassarche, Phoebetria, Thalassageron, Diomedella, Nealbatrus, Rhothonia, Julietata, Galapagornis, Laysanornis, and Penthirenia). Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach ( January 8, 1793 - March 17, 1879) was a German Botanist and Ornithologist Lumping and splitting refers to a well known problem in any discipline which has to place individual examples into rigorously defined categories

By 1965, in an attempt to bring some order back to the classification of albatrosses, they were lumped into two genera, Phoebetria (the sooty albatrosses which most closely seemed to resemble the procellarids and were at the time considered "primitive" ) and Diomedea (the rest). ^[1] Though there was a case for the simplification of the family (particularly the nomenclature), the classification was based on the morphological analysis of Elliott Coues in 1866, and paid little attention to more recent studies and even ignored some of Coues's suggestions. Elliott Coues ( September 9, 1842 &ndash December 25, 1899) was an American army surgeon, Historian, Ornithologist

Phylogenetic relationships of the 4 albatross genera. Based on Nunn et al 1996.

More recent research by Gary Nunn of the American Museum of Natural History (1996) and other researchers around the world studied the mitochondrial DNA of all 14 accepted species, finding that there were four, not two, monophyletic groups within the albatrosses. The American Museum of Natural History ( AMNH) located on the Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York, USA is one of the largest and most Mitochondrial DNA ( mtDNA) is the DNA located in Organelles called mitochondria. ^[2] They proposed the resurrection of two of the old genus names, Phoebastria for the North Pacific albatrosses and Thalassarche for the mollymawks, with the great albatrosses retaining Diomedea and the sooty albatrosses staying in Phoebetria. Both the British Ornithologists' Union and the South African authorities split the albatrosses into four genera as Nunn suggested, and the change has been accepted by the majority of researchers. BOU may also stand for Bank of Uganda, the central bank of Uganda The British Ornithologists' Union ( BOU) aims to encourage

Black-browed Albatross, a mollymawk. The mollymawks are a group of medium sized Albatrosses that form the Genus Thalassarche.

While there is some agreement on the number of genera, there is less agreement on the number of species. Historically, up to 80 different taxa have been described by different researchers; most of these were incorrectly identified juvenile birds. ^[3]

Based on the work on albatross genera, Robertson and Nunn went on in 1998 to propose a revised taxonomy with 24 different species,^[4] compared to the 14 then accepted. This interim taxonomy elevated many established subspecies to full species, but was criticised for not using, in every case, peer reviewed information to justify the splits. In Zoology, as in other branches of Biology, subspecies is the Taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a Species. Peer review (also known as refereeing) is the process of subjecting an author's scholarly work research or Ideas to the scrutiny of others who are Since then further studies have in some instances supported or disproved the splits; a 2004 paper analysing the mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites agreed with the conclusion that the Antipodean Albatross and the Tristan Albatross were distinct from the Wandering Albatross, per Robertson and Nunn, but found that the suggested Gibson's Albatross, Diomedea gibsoni, was not distinct from the Antipodean Albatross. Mitochondrial DNA ( mtDNA) is the DNA located in Organelles called mitochondria. Microsatellites, or Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs are polymorphic loci present in nuclear and organellar DNA that consist of repeating The Antipodean Albatross ( Diomedea antipodensis) is a large Seabird, at 110 cm (43 in from the Albatross family. The Tristan Albatross ( Diomedea dabbenena) is a large Seabird from the Albatross family. The Wandering Albatross ( Diomedea exulans) is a large Seabird from the family Diomedeidae which has a circumpolar range in the Southern ^[5] For the most part, an interim taxonomy of 21 species is accepted by the IUCN and many other researchers, though by no means all — in 2004 Penhallurick and Wink called for the number of species to be reduced to 13 (including the lumping of the Amsterdam Albatross with the Wandering Albatross),^[6] although this paper was itself controversial. The Amsterdam Albatross ( Diomedea amsterdamensis) is a huge Albatross which breeds only on the Plateau des Tourbières on Amsterdam Island ( French The Wandering Albatross ( Diomedea exulans) is a large Seabird from the family Diomedeidae which has a circumpolar range in the Southern ^[3][7] On all sides, there is the widespread agreement on the need for further research to clarify the issue.

Sibley and Ahlquist's molecular study of the evolution of the bird families has put the radiation of the Procellariiformes in the Oligocene period (35–30 million years ago), though this group probably originated earlier, with a fossil sometimes attributed to the order, a seabird known as Tytthostonyx, being found in late Cretaceous rocks (70 mya). The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy is a radical bird Taxonomy proposed by Charles Sibley and Jon Edward Ahlquist. eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008 An adaptive radiation is a rapid Evolutionary radiation characterized by an increase in the morphological and ecological diversity of a single rapidly diversifying lineage Procellariiformes is an order of Seabirds that comprises four families: the Albatrosses procellariids, Storm-petrels and Diving The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene period and extends from about 33 FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. Tytthostonyx is a Genus of prehistoric Seabird. Found in the much-debated Hornerstown Formation which straddles the Cretaceous-Paleocene The Cretaceous (kriːˈteɪʃəs, usually abbreviated 'K' for its German translation "Kreide" is a geologic period and system, reaching from the end of In Astronomy, Geology, and Paleontology, mya or " mya " is an abbreviation for "million years ago". The molecular evidence suggests that the storm-petrels were the first to diverge from the ancestral stock, and the albatrosses next, with the procellarids and diving petrels separating later. The earliest fossil albatrosses were found in Eocene to Oligocene rocks, although some of these are only tentatively assigned to the family and none appear to be particularly close to the living forms. The Eocene epoch (558 ± 02 - 339 ± 01 Ma) is a major division of the Geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in They are Murunkus (Middle Eocene of Uzbekistan), Manu (early Oligocene of New Zealand), and an undescribed form from the Late Oligocene of South Carolina. Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( Uzbek: O‘zbekiston Respublikasi or Ўзбекистон Республикаси is a doubly Manu was a Genus of Bird which lived during the Early Oligocene. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island South Carolina ( is a state in the southern region ( Deep South) of the United States of America. Similar to the last was Plotornis, formerly often considered a petrel but now accepted as an albatross. It is from the Middle Miocene of France, a time when the split between the four modern genera was already underway as evidenced by Phoebastria californica and Diomedea milleri, both being mid-Miocene species from Sharktooth Hill, California. The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene period and extends from about 23 This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. These show that the split between the great albatrosses and the North Pacific albatrosses occurred by 15 mya. Similar fossil finds in the southern hemisphere put the split between the sooties and mollymawks at 10 mya. ^[8] The fossil record of the albatrosses in the northern hemisphere is more complete than that of the southern, and many fossil forms of albatross have been found in the North Atlantic, which today has no albatrosses. The remains of a colony of Short-tailed Albatrosses have been uncovered on the island of Bermuda,^[9] and the majority of fossil albatrosses from the North Atlantic have been of the genus Phoebastria (the North Pacific albatrosses); one, Phoebastria anglica, has been found in deposits in both North Carolina and England. The Short-tailed Albatross or Steller's Albatross ( Phoebastria albatrus) is a large rare Seabird from the North Pacific. Ba (officially The Bermuda Islands or The Somers Isles) is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. North Carolina ( is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland See the genus accounts for more data on fossil species.

Morphology and flight

Unlike most Procellariiformes, albatrosses, like this Black-footed Albatross, can walk well on land.

The albatrosses are a group of large to very large birds; they are the largest of the procellariiformes. Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. The bill is large, strong and sharp-edged, the upper mandible terminating in a large hook. Anatomy Stegosaurus --> Beaks can vary significantly in size and shape from species to species This bill is composed of several horny kids, and along the sides are the two "tubes", long nostrils that give the order its former name. This article is about the taxonomic rank for the sequence of species in a taxonomic list see Taxonomic order In scientific classification used The tubes of all albatrosses are along the sides of the bill, unlike the rest of the Procellariiformes where the tubes run along the top of the bill. Procellariiformes is an order of Seabirds that comprises four families: the Albatrosses procellariids, Storm-petrels and Diving These tubes allow the albatrosses to have an acute sense of smell, an unusual ability for birds. Like other Procellariiformes they use this olfactory ability while foraging in order to locate potential food sources. Olfaction (also known as olfactics or smell) refers to the Sense of smell. ^[10] The feet have no hind toe and the three anterior toes are completely webbed. The legs are strong for Procellariiformes, in fact, almost uniquely amongst the order in that they and the giant petrels are able to be models. The giant petrels are two large Seabirds from the Genus Macronectes.

The adult plumage of most of the albatrosses is usually some variation of dark upper-wing and back, white undersides, often compared to that of a gull. Plumage refers both to the layer of Feathers that cover a Bird and the pattern colour and arrangement of those feathers Gulls (often informally Seagulls) are birds in the family Laridae Of these, the species range from the Southern Royal Albatross which is almost completely white except for the ends and trailing edges of the wings in fully mature males, to the Amsterdam Albatross which has an almost juvenile-like breeding plumage with a great deal of brown, particularly a strong brown band around the chest. The Southern Royal Albatross, Diomedea epomophora, is a large Seabird from the Albatross family. The Amsterdam Albatross ( Diomedea amsterdamensis) is a huge Albatross which breeds only on the Plateau des Tourbières on Amsterdam Island ( French Several species of mollymawks and North Pacific albatrosses have face markings like eye patches or have grey or yellow on the head and nape. The mollymawks are a group of medium sized Albatrosses that form the Genus Thalassarche. The North Pacific albatrosses are large Seabirds from the Genus Phoebastria in the Albatross family. Three albatross species, the Black-footed Albatross and the two sooty albatrosses, vary completely from the usual patterns and are almost entirely dark brown (or dark grey in places in the case of the Light-mantled Sooty Albatross). The Black-footed Albatross, Phoebastria nigripes, is a large Seabird from the North Pacific. The sooty albatrosses are small Albatrosses from the Genus Phoebetria. Albatrosses take several years to get their full adult breeding plumage.

The wingspans of the largest great albatrosses (genus Diomedea) are the largest of any bird, exceeding 340 cm (over 11 feet), although the other species' wingspans are considerably smaller. The wingspan (or just span) of an airplane or a Bird, is the distance from the left wingtip to the right wingtip The wings are stiff and cambered, with thickened streamlined leading edges. Albatrosses travel huge distances with two techniques used by many long-winged seabirds, dynamic soaring and slope soaring. Dynamic soaring enables them to minimise the effort needed by gliding across wave fronts gaining energy from the vertical wind gradient. In Physics and other Sciences energy (from the Greek grc ἐνέργεια - Energeia, "activity operation" from grc ἐνεργός In common usage wind gradient, more specifically wind speed gradient or wind velocity gradient,or alternatively shear wind,is the vertical Slope soaring is more straightforward: the albatross turns to the wind, gaining height, from where it can then glide back down to the sea. Albatross have high glide ratios, around 22:1 to 23:1, meaning that for every metre they drop, they can travel forward 22 metres. Glide ratio, also called Lift-to-drag ratio, glide number or finesse is an Aviation term that refers to the distance an Aircraft will move forward for They are aided in soaring by a shoulder-lock, a sheet of tendon that locks the wing when fully extended, allowing the wing to be kept outstretched without any muscle expenditure, a morphological adaptation they share with the giant petrels. A tendon (or sinew) is a tough band of Fibrous connective tissue that usually connects Muscle to Bone and is capable of withstanding tension ^[11]

Taking off is one of the main times albatrosses use flapping in order to fly, and is the most energetically demanding part of a journey.

Albatrosses combine these soaring techniques with the use of predictable weather systems; albatrosses in the southern hemisphere flying north from their colonies will take a clockwise route, and those flying south will fly counterclockwise. The weather is a set of all the phenomena occurring in a given Atmosphere at a given Time. Southern Hemisphere is the half of a Planet that is South of the Equator —the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' A clockwise motion is one that proceeds 'like the Clock 's hands' from the top to the right then down and then to the left and back to the top A clockwise motion is one that proceeds 'like the Clock 's hands' from the top to the right then down and then to the left and back to the top ^[12] Albatrosses are so well adapted to this lifestyle that their heart rates while flying are close to their basal heart rate when resting. Measuring heart rate The Pulse rate (which in most people is identical to the heart rate can be measured at any point on the body where an Artery 's pulsation This efficiency is such that the most energetically demanding aspect of a foraging trip is not the distance covered, but the landings, take-offs and hunting they undertake having found a food source. ^[13] This efficient long-distance travelling underlies the albatross's success as a long-distance forager, covering great distances and expending little energy looking for patchily distributed food sources. Their adaptation to gliding flight makes them dependent on wind and waves, however, as their long wings are ill-suited to powered flight and most species lack the muscles and energy to undertake sustained flapping flight. Albatrosses in calm seas are forced to rest on the ocean's surface until the wind picks up again. They also sleep while resting on the surface (and not while on the wing as is sometimes thought). The North Pacific albatrosses can use a flight style known as flap-gliding, where the bird progresses by bursts of flapping followed by gliding. ^[14] When taking off, albatrosses need to take a run up to allow enough air to move under the wing to provide lift. In the context of a Fluid flow relative to a body the lift force is the component of the Aerodynamic force that is Perpendicular to the flow

Distribution and range at sea

The distribution of albatrosses across the world.

Most albatrosses range in the southern hemisphere from Antarctica to Australia, South Africa and South America. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a The exceptions to this are the four North Pacific albatrosses, of which three occur exclusively in the North Pacific, from Hawaii to Japan, California and Alaska; and one, the Waved Albatross, breeds in the Galapagos Islands and feeds off the coast of South America. The Waved Albatross, Phoebastria irrorata - also known as Galapagos Albatross - is the only member of the Diomedeidae family located in the tropics The need for wind in order to glide is the reason albatrosses are for the most part confined to higher latitudes; being unsuited to sustained flapping flight makes crossing the doldrums extremely difficult. The Doldrums (often capitalized when referring to the geographic region is an area of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean affected by the Intertropical The exception, the Waved Albatross, is able to live in the equatorial waters around the Galapagos Islands because of the cool waters of the Humboldt Current and the resulting winds. The equator (sometimes referred to colloquially as "the Line") is the intersection of the Earth 's surface with the plane perpendicular to the The Humboldt 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

Albatrosses range over huge areas of ocean and regularly circle the globe.

It is not known for certain why the albatrosses became extinct in the North Atlantic, although rising sea levels due to an interglacial warming period are thought to have submerged the site of a Short-tailed Albatross colony that has been excavated in Bermuda. In Biology and Ecology, extinction is the cessation of existence of a Species or group of taxa. Mean sea level (MSL is the average (mean height of the Sea, with reference to a suitable reference surface An interglacial is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature that separates Glacial periods within an Ice age. ^[9] Some southern species have occasionally turned up as vagrants in the North Atlantic and can become exiled, remaining there for decades. See also Vagrancy (people for an alternative use of the term Vagrancy is a phenomenon in Biology whereby individual animals appear well One of these exiles, a Black-browed Albatross, returned to gannet colonies in Scotland for many years in a lonely attempt to breed. The Black-browed Albatross, Thalassarche melanophrys, is a large Seabird of the Albatross family Diomedeidae. The Northern Gannet ( Morus bassanus, formerly Sula bassana) is a Seabird and is the largest member of the Gannet family Sulidae Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. ^[15]

The use of satellite tracking is teaching scientists a great deal about the way albatrosses forage across the ocean in order to find food. They undertake no annual migration, but disperse widely after breeding, in the case of southern hemisphere species, often undertaking circumpolar trips. Bird migration refers to the regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of Birds Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability ^[16] There is also evidence that there is separation of the ranges of different species at sea. A comparison of the foraging niches of two related species that breed on Campbell Island, the Campbell Albatross and the Grey-headed Albatross, showed the Campbell Albatross primarily fed over the Campbell Plateau whereas the Grey-Headed Albatross fed in more pelagic, oceanic waters. In Ecology, a niche (pronounced nich nēsh or nish A shorthand definition of niche is how an organism makes a living The Campbell Albatross or Campbell Mollymawk ( Thalassarche impavida) is a medium sized Mollymawk in the Albatross family. The Grey-headed Albatross, ( Thalassarche chrysostoma) also known as the Grey-headed Mollymawk, is a large Seabird from the Albatross The Campbell Plateau is a large submarine plateau to the south of New Zealand and the Chatham Rise. Any water in the sea that is not close to the bottom is in the pelagic zone. Wandering Albatrosses also react strongly to bathymetry, feeding only in waters deeper than 1000 m (3281 ft); so rigidly did the satellite plots match this contour that one scientist remarked, "It almost appears as if the birds notice and obey a 'No Entry' sign where the water shallows to less than 1000 m". The Wandering Albatross ( Diomedea exulans) is a large Seabird from the family Diomedeidae which has a circumpolar range in the Southern Bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to Hypsometry. The name comes from Greek βαθυς deep, and μετρον measure. ^[8] There is also evidence of different ranges for the two sexes of the same species; a study of Tristan Albatrosses breeding on Gough Island showed that males foraged to the west of Gough and females to the east. The Tristan Albatross ( Diomedea dabbenena) is a large Seabird from the Albatross family. Gough Island (rhymes with cough; also known historically as Diego Alvarez) is a Volcanic island rising from the South Atlantic Ocean to

See also: List of albatross breeding locations

Diet

The albatross diet is predominantly cephalopods, fish and crustaceans, although they will also scavenge carrion and feed on other zooplankton. The following is a list of locations where Albatrosses breed together with a list of the species found at each location The cephalopods ( Greek plural (kephalópoda "head-feet" are the Mollusc class Cephalopoda characterized by Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two Structure of crustaceans As Arthropods crustaceans have a stiff Exoskeleton, which must be shed to allow the animal to grow ( Ecdysis or molting Carrion (from the Latin caro, meaning meat refers to the carcass of a dead animal Zooplankton are the Heterotrophic (sometimes detritivorous) type of Plankton. ^[12] It should be noted that for most species, a comprehensive understanding of diet is only known for the breeding season, when the albatrosses regularly return to land and study is possible. The importance of each of these food sources varies from species to species, and even from population to population; some concentrate on squid alone, others take more krill or fish. Squid are marine Cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species Krill are a type of Shrimp -like marine Invertebrate animal These small Crustaceans are important organisms of the Zooplankton, particularly Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two Of the two albatross species found in Hawaii, one, the Black-footed Albatross, takes mostly fish while the Laysan feeds on squid. The State of Hawaii ( or həˈwaɪʔiː Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is a state in the United States located on an Archipelago in the The Black-footed Albatross, Phoebastria nigripes, is a large Seabird from the North Pacific. The Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria immutabilis, is a large Seabird that ranges across the North Pacific.

Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses regularly dive in order to feed and can dive to below 12 m.

The use of dataloggers at sea that record ingestion of water against time (providing a likely time of feeding) suggest that albatross predominantly feed during the day. Analysis of the squid beaks regurgitated by albatrosses has shown that many of the squid eaten are too large to have been caught alive,^[17] and include mid-water species likely to be beyond the reach of albatross, suggesting that, for some species (like the Wandering Albatross), scavenged squid may be an important part of the diet. The Wandering Albatross ( Diomedea exulans) is a large Seabird from the family Diomedeidae which has a circumpolar range in the Southern Scavenging, or necrophagy, is a Carnivorous Feeding behaviour in which a predator consumes Corpses or Carrion that were killed The source of these dead squid is a matter of debate; some certainly comes from squid fisheries, but in nature it primarily comes from the die-off that occurs after squid spawning and the vomit of squid-eating whales (sperm whales, pilot whales and Southern Bottlenose Whales). For the fishing industry and the practice of fishing see Fishing. Whales are marine mammals which are neither Dolphins (ie members of the families Delphinidae or Platanistoidae) nor Porpoises Orcas The Sperm Whale ( Physeter macrocephalus or Physeter catodon) is the largest of all Toothed whales and largest living toothed animal The pilot whale is either of two Species of Cetacean in the Genus Globicephala. A bottlenose whale is one of two Species of Whale in the Ziphiid family. The diet of other species, like the Black-browed Albatross or the Grey-headed Albatross, is rich with smaller species of squid that tend to sink after death, and scavenging is not assumed to play a large role in their diet. The Black-browed Albatross, Thalassarche melanophrys, is a large Seabird of the Albatross family Diomedeidae. The Grey-headed Albatross, ( Thalassarche chrysostoma) also known as the Grey-headed Mollymawk, is a large Seabird from the Albatross

Until recently it was thought that albatross were predominantly surface feeders, swimming at the surface and snapping up squid and fish pushed to the surface by currents, predators or death. The deployment of capillary depth recorders, which record the maximum dive depth undertaken by a bird (between attaching it to a bird and recovering it when it returns to land), has shown that while some species, like the Wandering Albatross, do not dive deeper than a metre, some species, like the Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, have a mean diving depth of almost 5 m and can dive as deep as 12. The Wandering Albatross ( Diomedea exulans) is a large Seabird from the family Diomedeidae which has a circumpolar range in the Southern 5 m. ^[18] In addition to surface feeding and diving, they have now also been observed plunge diving from the air to snatch prey. ^[19]

Breeding and dancing

Wandering Albatrosses are colonial but have large widely spaced territories. Here a pair performs their famous breeding dance.

Albatrosses are colonial, usually nesting on isolated islands; where colonies are on larger landmasses, they are found on exposed headlands with good approaches from the sea in several directions, like the colony on the Otago Peninsula in Dunedin, New Zealand. A seabird colony is a site which Seabirds visit to breed typically during the summer The Otago Peninsula is a long rugged indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin New Zealand. Dunedin (dəˈneɪdɪn) Ōtepoti in Maori is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the region of Colonies vary from the very dense aggregations favoured by the mollymawks (Black-browed Albatross colonies on the Falkland Islands have densities of 70 nests per 100 m²) to the much looser groups and widely spaced individual nests favoured by the sooty and great albatrosses. The Black-browed Albatross, Thalassarche melanophrys, is a large Seabird of the Albatross family Diomedeidae. All albatross colonies are on islands that historically were free of land mammals. Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands Albatrosses are highly philopatric, meaning they will usually return to their natal colony to breed. In Animal Behaviour philopatry is the tendency of a migrating animal to return to a specific location in order to breed or feed This tendency to return to their point of origin to breed is so strong that a study of Laysan Albatross showed that the average distance between hatching site and the site where a bird established its own territory was 22 metres. The Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria immutabilis, is a large Seabird that ranges across the North Pacific. ^[20]

Like most seabirds, albatrosses are K-selected with regard to their life history, meaning they live much longer than other birds, they delay breeding for longer, and invest more effort into fewer young. In Ecology, r/K selection theory relates to the selection of traits which promote success in particular environments Albatrosses are very long lived; most species survive upwards of 50 years, the oldest recorded being a Northern Royal Albatross that was ringed as an adult and survived for another 51 years, giving it an estimated age of 61. The Northern Royal Albatross ( Diomedea sanfordi) is a large Seabird from the Albatross family. Bird ringing (also known as bird Banding) is an aid to studying wild Birds by attaching a small individually numbered metal or plastic ring to their legs ^[21] Given that most albatross ringing projects are considerably younger than that, it is thought likely that other species will prove to live that long and even longer.

Sky-pointing is one of the stereotyped actions of Laysan Albatross breeding dances.

Albatrosses reach sexual maturity slowly, after about five years, but even once they have reached maturity, they will not begin to breed for another couple of years (even up to 10 years for some species). Sexual maturity is the age or stage when an Organism can reproduce. Young non-breeders will attend a colony prior to beginning to breed, spending many years practising the elaborate breeding rituals and "dances" that the family is famous for. ^[22] Birds arriving back at the colony for the first time already have the stereotyped behaviours that compose albatross language, but can neither "read" that behaviour as exhibited by other birds nor respond appropriately. A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them ^[12] After a period of trial and error learning, the young birds learn the syntax and perfect the dances. In the fields of Neuropsychology, Personal development and Education, Learning is one of the most important Mental function of humans In Linguistics, syntax (from Ancient Greek grc συν- syn-, "together" and grc τάξις táxis, "arrangement" is the This language is mastered more rapidly if the younger birds are around older birds.

The repertoire of behaviour involves synchronised performances of various actions such as preening, pointing, calling, bill clacking, staring, and combinations of such behaviours (like the sky-call). Personal grooming (also called titivating) is the art of cleaning grooming and maintaining parts of the body ^[23] When a bird first returns to the colony it will dance with many partners, but after a number of years the number of birds an individual will interact with drops, until one partner is chosen and a pair is formed. They then continue to perfect an individual language that will eventually be unique to that one pair. Having established a pair bond that will last for life, however, most of that dance will never be used ever again. In Biology, a pair bond is the strong affinity that develops in some Species between the Male and Female in a breeding pair

Albatrosses are held to undertake these elaborate and painstaking rituals to ensure that the appropriate partner has been chosen and to perfect partner recognition, as egg laying and chick rearing is a huge investment. Even species that can complete an egg-laying cycle in under a year seldom lay eggs in consecutive years. ^[8] The great albatrosses (like the Wandering Albatross) take over a year to raise a chick from laying to fledging. The Wandering Albatross ( Diomedea exulans) is a large Seabird from the family Diomedeidae which has a circumpolar range in the Southern Fledge is the stage in a young Bird 's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight Albatrosses lay a single egg in a breeding season; if the egg is lost to predators or accidentally broken, then no further breeding attempts are made that year. In most Birds and Reptiles an egg ( Latin ovum) is the Zygote, resulting from Fertilization of the Ovum. The "divorce" of a pair is a rare occurrence, usually only happening after several years of breeding failure.

An albatross chick at Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Monument, Midway Atoll. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is a US National Monument encompassing of ocean waters and ten islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Midway Atoll (or Midway Island or Midway Islands; Hawaiian: Pihemanu Kauihelani) is a 2

All the southern albatrosses create large nests for their egg, whereas the three species in the north Pacific make more rudimentary nests. A bird nest is the spot in which a Bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young The Waved Albatross, on the other hand, makes no nest and will even move its egg around the pair's territory, as much as 50 m, sometimes causing it to lose the egg. The Waved Albatross, Phoebastria irrorata - also known as Galapagos Albatross - is the only member of the Diomedeidae family located in the tropics ^[24] In all albatross species, both parents incubate the egg in stints that last between one day and three weeks. Incubation lasts around 70 to 80 days (longer for the larger albatrosses), the longest incubation period of any bird. It can be an energetically demanding process, with the adult losing as much as 83 g of body weight a day. ^[25]

After hatching, the chick is brooded and guarded for three weeks until it is large enough to defend and thermoregulate itself. Thermoregulation is the ability of an Organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries even when temperature surrounding is very different During this period the parents feed the chick small meals when they relieve each other from duty. After the brooding period is over, the chick is fed in regular intervals by both parents. The parents adopt alternative patterns of short and long foraging trips, providing meals that weigh around 12% of their body weight (around 600 g). The meals are composed of both fresh squid, fish and krill, as well as stomach oil, an energy-rich food that is lighter to carry than undigested prey items. Squid are marine Cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two Krill are a type of Shrimp -like marine Invertebrate animal These small Crustaceans are important organisms of the Zooplankton, particularly Stomach oil is the light Oil composed of neutral dietary Lipids found in the fore-gut or proventriculus of birds in the order Procellariiformes Food energy is the amount of Energy in food that is available through Digestion. ^[26] This oil is created in a stomach organ known as a proventriculus from digested prey items by most tubenoses, and gives them their distinctive musty smell. The proventriculus is part of the Digestive system of Birds, Invertebrates and Insects Birds The proventriculus is a standard

Albatrosses brood young chicks until they are large enough to defend themselves and thermoregulate.

Albatross chicks take a long time to fledge. In the case of the great albatrosses, it can take up to 280 days; even for the smaller albatrosses, it takes anywhere between 140 and 170 days. ^[27] Like many seabirds, albatross chicks will gain enough weight to be heavier than their parents, and prior to fledging they use these reserves to build up body condition (particularly growing all their flight feathers), usually fledging at the same weight as their parents. Albatross chicks fledge on their own and receive no further help from their parents, who return to the nest after fledging, unaware their chick has left. Studies of juveniles dispersing at sea have suggested an innate migration behaviour, a genetically coded navigation route, which helps young birds when they are first out at sea. ^[28]

Albatrosses and humans

Etymology

The name albatross is derived from the Arabic al-câdous or al-ġaţţās (a pelican; literally, "the diver"), which travelled to English via the Portuguese form alcatraz ("gannet"), which is also the origin of the title of the former prison, Alcatraz. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language A pelican is a large water Bird with a distinctive pouch under the beak belonging to the Bird family Pelecanidae. Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. Gannets are Seabirds in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies. Alcatraz Island, sometimes informally referred to as simply Alcatraz or locally as the Rock, is a small island located in the middle of San Francisco Bay The OED notes that the word alcatraz was originally applied to the frigatebird; the modification to albatross was perhaps influenced by Latin albus, meaning "white", in contrast to frigatebirds which are black. The Oxford English Dictionary ( OED) published by the Oxford University Press (OUP is a comprehensive Dictionary of the English The frigatebirds are a family Fregatidae, of Seabirds There are five Species in the single Genus Fregata. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. ^[12] The Portuguese word albatroz is of English origin. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

They were once commonly known as Goonie birds or Gooney birds, particularly those of the North Pacific. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions In the southern hemisphere, the name mollymawk is still well established in some areas, which is a corrupted form of malle-mugge, an old Dutch name for the Northern Fulmar. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname The Northern Fulmar ( Fulmarus glacialis) or Arctic Fulmar lives in the north Atlantic and north Pacific. The name Diomedea, assigned to the albatrosses by Linnaeus, references the mythical metamorphosis of the companions of the Greek warrior Diomedes into birds. Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for Diomēdēs or Diomed ( Greek: Διομήδης English translation: "God-like cunning" or "advised by Zeus" is a Hero

Albatrosses and culture

A Northern Royal Albatross in flight at the colony in Taiaroa Head, New Zealand.

Albatrosses have been described as "the most legendary of all birds". ^[27] An albatross is a central emblem in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge; a captive albatross is also a metaphor for the poète maudit in a poem of Charles Baudelaire. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (original The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere) is the longest major Poem by the English Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( 21 October 1772 &ndash 25 July 1834) was an English Poet, Critic and philosopher Metaphor (from the Greek: μεταφορά - metaphora, meaning "transfer" is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects A poète maudit (accursed poet is a Poet living a life outside or against society It is from the former poem that the usage of albatross as a metaphor is derived; someone with a burden or obstacle is said to have 'an albatross around their neck', the punishment given in the poem to the mariner who killed the albatross. The word albatross is sometimes used to mean an encumbrance or a wearisome burden In part due to the poem, there is a widespread myth that sailors believe it disastrous to shoot or harm an albatross; in truth, however, sailors regularly killed and ate them,^[15] but they were often regarded as the souls of lost sailors. An urban legend or urban myth is a form of modern Folklore consisting of stories thought to be factual by those circulating them More recently, they have become part of popular culture, for example, in a Monty Python sketch, and in the movie Serenity, as well as a symbolic incarnation of Aslan in the fifth book of The Chronicles of Narnia, "The Voyage of The Dawn Treader," by C. Popular culture (or pop culture) is the Culture — patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance — Monty Python (sometimes known as The Pythons) is the collective name of the six creators of Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British Television Serenity is a 2005 space western Film written and directed by Joss Whedon. S. Lewis. The Royal Air Force also use an image of an albatross on their officer's cap badge as did the former Air Ministry. The Air Ministry was formerly a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force. Despite popular opinion that the bird is some sort of eagle, the characteristics of the albatross are clearly visible. There were efforts during the 1930's and 1940's to make the bird appear more like an eagle and ultimately more war like, but the Royal College of Arms still recognises the bird as an Albatross in a displayed pose with its head turned to the right. The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is an office regulating Heraldry and granting new Armorial bearings for England, Wales

"Albatroz" - Woodcut from the journal "O Panorama" 1837 edition (From the Dr. Nuno Carvalho de Sousa Private Collections - Lisbon)

Albatrosses are popular birds for birdwatchers and their colonies popular destinations for ecotourists. Birdwatching or birding is the observation and study of Birds with the naked eye or through a visual enhancement device like Binoculars. Ecotourism, also known as ecological tourism, is a form of Tourism that appeals to ecologically and socially conscious individuals Regular birdwatching trips are taken out of many coastal towns and cities, like Monterey, Kaikoura, Wollongong and Sydney, to see pelagic seabirds, and albatrosses are easily attracted to these sightseeing boats by the deployment of fish oil into the sea. Monterey is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kaikoura is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 Any water in the sea that is not close to the bottom is in the pelagic zone. Seabirds are Birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment Visits to colonies can be very popular; the Northern Royal Albatross colony at Taiaroa Head in New Zealand attracts 40,000 visitors a year,^[8] and more isolated colonies are regular attractions on cruises to sub-Antarctic islands. The Northern Royal Albatross ( Diomedea sanfordi) is a large Seabird from the Albatross family. Taiaroa Head is a headland at the end of the Otago Peninsula in New Zealand, overlooking the mouth of the Otago Harbour.

Threats and conservation

In spite of often being accorded legendary status, albatrosses have not escaped either indirect or direct pressure from humans. Early encounters with albatrosses by Polynesians and Aleut Indians resulted in hunting and in some cases extirpation from some islands (such as Easter Island). Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over The Aleuts ( self-denomination from Aleut language allíthuh 'community' older or regional self-denomination Unangax̂, Unangan or As Europeans began sailing the world, they too began to hunt albatross, "fishing" for them from boats to serve at the table or blasting them for sport. The European peoples are the various Nations and Ethnic groups of Europe. ^[29] This sport reached its peak on emigration lines bound for Australia, and only died down when ships became too fast to fish from, and regulations stopped the discharge of weapons for safety reasons. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. In the 19th century, albatross colonies, particularly those in the North Pacific, were harvested for the feather trade, leading to the near extinction of the Short-tailed Albatross. The Short-tailed Albatross or Steller's Albatross ( Phoebastria albatrus) is a large rare Seabird from the North Pacific.

This Black-browed Albatross has been hooked on a long-line.

Of the 21 albatross species recognised by IUCN on their Red List, 19 are threatened, and the other two are near threatened. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List) created in 1963 is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global ^[30] Two species (as recognised by the IUCN) are considered critically endangered: the Amsterdam Albatross and the Chatham Albatross. An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming Extinct because it is either few in numbers or threatened by changing environmental or predation The Amsterdam Albatross ( Diomedea amsterdamensis) is a huge Albatross which breeds only on the Plateau des Tourbières on Amsterdam Island ( French The Chatham Albatross ( Thalassarche eremita) is a medium-sized black-and-white Albatross which breeds only on The Pyramid a large rock stack in the Chatham Islands One of the main threats is commercial long-line fishing,^[31] as the albatrosses and other seabirds which will readily feed on offal are attracted to the set bait become hooked on the lines and drown. For other meanings of "longline" see Longline. Longline fishing is a commercial Fishing technique that uses hundreds or even Seabirds are Birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment Offal is the Entrails and Internal organs of a Butchered Animal. An estimated 100,000 albatross per year are killed in this fashion. Unregulated pirate fisheries exacerbate the problem. Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering

On Midway Atoll, collisions between Laysan Albatross and aircraft have resulted in human and bird deaths as well as severe disruptions in military flight operations. Midway Atoll (or Midway Island or Midway Islands; Hawaiian: Pihemanu Kauihelani) is a 2 The Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria immutabilis, is a large Seabird that ranges across the North Pacific. Studies were made in the late 1950s and early 1960s that examined the results of control methods such as the killing of birds, the leveling and clearing of land to eliminate updrafts and the destruction of annual nesting sites. ^[32] Tall structures such as traffic control and radio towers killed 3000 birds in flight collisions during 1964-1965 before the towers were taken down. Closure of Naval Air Facility Midway Island in 1993 eliminated the problem of collisions with military aircraft. Recent reductions in human activity on the island have helped reduce bird deaths, though lead paint pollution near military buildings continues to poison birds by ingestion. ^[33]

Another threat to albatrosses is introduced species, such as rats or feral cats, which directly attack the albatross or its chicks and eggs. An introduced species (also known as naturalized species or exotic species) is an Organism that is not indigenous to a given location but A feral cat (or stray cat, alley cat) is a Cat which has been separated from Domestication through abandonment loss or running away and becomes Albatrosses have evolved to breed on islands where land mammals are absent and have not evolved defences against them. Even species as small as mice can be detrimental; on Gough Island the chicks of Tristan Albatrosses are attacked and eaten alive by introduced house mice. Gough Island (rhymes with cough; also known historically as Diego Alvarez) is a Volcanic island rising from the South Atlantic Ocean to The Tristan Albatross ( Diomedea dabbenena) is a large Seabird from the Albatross family. The House Mouse ( Mus musculus) is one of the most numerous species of the genus Mus commonly termed a Mouse. ^[34] Introduced species can have other indirect effects: cattle overgrazed essential cover on Amsterdam Island threatening the Amsterdam Albatross; on other islands introduced plants reduce potential nesting habitat. Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family New Amsterdam or Île Amsterdam ˈilɑmstəˈdɑm (meaning Amsterdam island after the Dutch Capital) is a French

The remains of this Laysan Albatross chick show the plastic ingested before death, including a bottle cap and lighter.

Ingestion of plastic flotsam is another problem, one faced by many seabirds. Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products The amount of plastic in the seas has increased dramatically since the first record in the 1960s, coming from waste discarded by ships, offshore dumping, litter on beaches and waste washed to sea by rivers. It is impossible to digest and takes up space in the stomach or gizzard that should be used for food, or can cause an obstruction that starves the bird directly. The gizzard, also referred to as the ventriculus, gastric mill, and gigerium, is an organ in the digestive tract found in Birds Reptiles Studies of birds in the North Pacific have shown that ingestion of plastics results in declining body weight and body condition. Although many people prefer the less-ambiguous term body mass, the term body weight is overwhelmingly used in daily English speech and in biological and medical science contexts ^[35] This plastic is sometimes regurgitated and fed to chicks; a study of Laysan Albatross chicks on Midway Atoll showed large amounts of ingested plastic in naturally dead chicks compared to healthy chicks killed in accidents. The Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria immutabilis, is a large Seabird that ranges across the North Pacific. Midway Atoll (or Midway Island or Midway Islands; Hawaiian: Pihemanu Kauihelani) is a 2 ^[36] While not the direct cause of death, this plastic causes physiological stress and causes the chick to feel full during feedings, reducing its food intake and the chances of survival.

Scientists and conservationists (most importantly BirdLife International and their partners, who run the Save the Albatross campaign) are working with governments and fishermen to find solutions to the threats albatrosses face. BirdLife International (formerly known as the International Council for Bird Preservation, not to be confused with Birds International) is the international conservation A fisherman or fisher is someone who gathers Fish, Shellfish, or other animals from a body of water Techniques such as setting long-line bait at night, dying the bait blue, setting the bait underwater, increasing the amount of weight on lines and using bird scarers can all reduce the seabird by-catch. ^[37] For example, a collaborative study between scientists and fishermen in New Zealand successfully tested an underwater setting device for long-liners which set the lines below the reach of vulnerable albatross species. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island ^[38] The use of some of these techniques in the Patagonian Toothfish fishery in the Falkland Islands is thought to have reduced the number of Black-browed Albatross taken by the fleet in the last 10 years. The Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides is a fish found The Black-browed Albatross, Thalassarche melanophrys, is a large Seabird of the Albatross family Diomedeidae. ^[39] Conservationists have also worked on the field of island restoration, removing introduced species that threaten native wildlife, which protects albatrosses from introduced predators. The ecological restoration of islands, or island restoration, is the application of the principles of Ecological restoration to Islands and island groups

One important step towards protecting albatrosses and other seabirds is the 2001 treaty the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, which came into force in 2004 and has been ratified by eight countries, Australia, Ecuador, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, France, Peru and the United Kingdom. Seabirds are Birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment A Treaty is an agreement under International law entered into by actors in international law namely States and International organizations. The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP is a legally binding international treaty signed in 2001 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Ecuador topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The treaty requires these countries to take specific actions to reduce by-catch, pollution and to remove introduced species from nesting islands. The treaty has also been signed but not ratified by another three countries, Argentina, Brazil and Chile. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the

Species

Current thinking divides the albatrosses into four genera. The number of species is a matter of some debate. The IUCN and BirdLife International among others recognise the interim taxonomy of 21 extant species, other authorities retain the more traditional 14 species, and one recent paper proposed a reduction to 13:

• Great albatrosses (Diomedea)
  • Wandering Albatross D. BirdLife International (formerly known as the International Council for Bird Preservation, not to be confused with Birds International) is the international conservation The great albatrosses are Seabirds in the Genus Diomedea in the Albatross family. The Wandering Albatross ( Diomedea exulans) is a large Seabird from the family Diomedeidae which has a circumpolar range in the Southern exulans
  • Antipodean Albatross D. The Antipodean Albatross ( Diomedea antipodensis) is a large Seabird, at 110 cm (43 in from the Albatross family. (exulans) antipodensis
  • Amsterdam Albatross D. The Amsterdam Albatross ( Diomedea amsterdamensis) is a huge Albatross which breeds only on the Plateau des Tourbières on Amsterdam Island ( French (exulans) amsterdamensis
  • Tristan Albatross D. The Tristan Albatross ( Diomedea dabbenena) is a large Seabird from the Albatross family. (exulans) dabbenena
  • Northern Royal Albatross D. The Northern Royal Albatross ( Diomedea sanfordi) is a large Seabird from the Albatross family. (epomorpha) sanfordi
  • Southern Royal Albatross D. The Southern Royal Albatross, Diomedea epomophora, is a large Seabird from the Albatross family. epomophora
• North Pacific albatrosses (Phoebastria)
  • Waved Albatross P. The North Pacific albatrosses are large Seabirds from the Genus Phoebastria in the Albatross family. The Waved Albatross, Phoebastria irrorata - also known as Galapagos Albatross - is the only member of the Diomedeidae family located in the tropics irrorata
  • Short-tailed Albatross P. The Short-tailed Albatross or Steller's Albatross ( Phoebastria albatrus) is a large rare Seabird from the North Pacific. albatrus
  • Black-footed Albatross P. The Black-footed Albatross, Phoebastria nigripes, is a large Seabird from the North Pacific. nigripes
  • Laysan Albatross P. The Laysan Albatross, Phoebastria immutabilis, is a large Seabird that ranges across the North Pacific. immutabilis
• Mollymawks (Thalassarche)
  • Black-browed Albatross T. The mollymawks are a group of medium sized Albatrosses that form the Genus Thalassarche. The Black-browed Albatross, Thalassarche melanophrys, is a large Seabird of the Albatross family Diomedeidae. melanophris
  • Campbell Albatross T. The Campbell Albatross or Campbell Mollymawk ( Thalassarche impavida) is a medium sized Mollymawk in the Albatross family. (melanophris) impavida
  • Shy Albatross T. The Shy Albatross, Thalassarche cauta, is a medium sized Albatross that breeds off Australia and New Zealand 's sub- Antarctic cauta
  • Chatham Albatross T. The Chatham Albatross ( Thalassarche eremita) is a medium-sized black-and-white Albatross which breeds only on The Pyramid a large rock stack in the Chatham Islands (cauta) eremita
  • Salvin's Albatross T. Salvin's Albatross, or Salvin's Mollymawk ( Thalassarche salvini) is a large Seabird that ranges across the Southern Ocean. (cauta) salvini
  • Grey-headed Albatross T. The Grey-headed Albatross, ( Thalassarche chrysostoma) also known as the Grey-headed Mollymawk, is a large Seabird from the Albatross chrysostoma
  • Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross T. The Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, ( Thalassarche chlororhynchos) is a large Seabird in the Albatross family. chlororhynchos
  • Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross T. The Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, ( Thalassarche carteri) is a small Mollymawk in the Albatross family. (chlororhynchos) carteri
  • Buller's Albatross T. Buller's Albatross or Buller's Mollymawk, Thalassarche bulleri, is a small Mollymawk in the Albatross family. bulleri
• Sooty albatrosses (Phoebetria)
  • Dark-mantled Sooty Albatross P. The sooty albatrosses are small Albatrosses from the Genus Phoebetria. fusca
  • Light-mantled Sooty Albatross P. palpebrata.

Notes and references

External links

• Diomedeidae (TSN 174514). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Integrated Taxonomic Information System ( ITIS) is a partnership designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the Taxonomy of biological Species Retrieved on 4 May 2006. Events 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
• HANZAB complete species list (Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. )
• BirdLife International Save the Albatross campaign
• The Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP)
• Albatross: Don Roberson's family page
• Tracking Ocean Wanderers The global distribution of albatrosses and petrels: Results from the Global Procellariiform Tracking Workshop, 1–5 September, 2003, Gordon’s Bay, South Africa. BirdLife International
• Albatross videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Recovery plan for albatrosses in the Chatham Islands 2001-2011 (PDF). BirdLife International (formerly known as the International Council for Bird Preservation, not to be confused with Birds International) is the international conservation Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand (2001). Retrieved on 2007-09-28. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 48 BC - Pompey the Great is assassinated on orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt.