A population and distributional study of white-capped albatross (Auckland Islands) Contract POP20 0 5/ 0 2 David Thom pson, Leigh Torres & Paul Sagar
Disappointm ent Island ~ 10 0 ,0 0 0 South West Cape ~ 5,0 0 0 Adam s Island ~ 10 0
20 0 8 / 0 9 breeding season… • Fieldwork during incubation (Nov-Dec), plus short visit during chick-guard (Feb) • Banding and re-sighting adults – 120 breeding adults, 55 pairs • Breeding frequency, nest occupancy • GPS tracking at South West Cape • PTT tracking at Disappointm ent Isl. • Retrieval of geolocation tags
Tracking… • GPS data acquired to augm ent 0 7/ 0 8 data • 15 PTTs deployed at Disappointm ent Isl. • 10 geolocation tags retrieved - 23 data sets
Sum m ary of geolocation data… • To date 3 of 23 (13%) birds m igrate to South Africa (~ 10 -20 %) • Migration destinations appear consistent • Most within Australasia → NZ’s EEZ • NW Tasm ania • Im plications for fishing m ortality estim ates
Prelim inary nesting observations… • In 0 8 / 0 9 ~ 38 % nests unused • Pop. estim ates for 0 6/ 0 7, 0 7/ 0 8 & 0 8 / 0 9 – Disappointm ent: ~ 111k, 8 6k & 92k – SW Cape: ~ 6.5k, 4.8 k & 5.3k • Only ~ 37% successful birds in 0 6/ 0 7 attem pted to breed in 0 7/ 0 8 , 52% for 0 7/ 0 8 and 0 8 / 0 9
Conclusions… • Data point towards white-capped albatross being predom inantly a biennial breeder • Adult white-capped albatross dispersive – Visit Tasm ania except during guard stage – Sm all proportion m igrate to South Africa
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