ACAP Data Portal

Waved albatross

Phoebastria irrorata (Salvin, 1883)

Albatros des Galapagos
Albatros de las Galápagos/ Albatros Ondulado

Updated on 16-Aug-2008

Critically Endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

Near Threatened

Least Concern

Not Listed

Sometimes referred to as

Galapagos albatross

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Taxonomy Conservation Listings and Plans Breeding Biology Breeding States Breeding Sites Conservation Listings and Plans for the Breeding Sites	Population Trends Breeding Sites: Threats Foraging Ecology and Diet Marine Distribution Marine Threats Key Gaps in Species Assessment	References Compiled by Contributors Recommended Citation

Any signifies a link showing the relevant reference.

Taxonomy

Order	Procellariiformes
Family	Diomedeidae
Genus	Phoebastria
Species	P. irrorata

Originally described as Diomedea irrorata (Salvin 1883), the species was transferred from Diomedea to Phoebastria along with three other species of North Pacific albatross by Nunn et al. (1996) [1 ].

Conservation Listings and Plans

International
• Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels – Annex 1 [2 ]
• 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species – Critically Endangered (since 2007) [3 ]
• Convention on Migratory Species - Listed Species (Appendix II, as Diomedea irrorata) [4 ]
• Action Plan for Waved Albatross Phoebastria irrorata 2008 [5 ]

Domestic – Ecuador
• Texto Unificado de la Legislación Secundaria del Ministerio del ambiente: Libro IV De La Biodiversidad – Endangered (Annex 1, as Diomedea irrorata) [6 ]

Domestic – Perú
• Categorization of Threatened Wildlife Species - Vulnerable (Decreto Supremo Nº 034-2004-AG) [7 ]

Breeding Biology

Most P. irrorata breed annually, arriving at the colony in March, followed by egg laying from mid-April to late June. The average nestling period is 167 days. Young adults can return to colony for the first time as early as age one year, but this is unusual; representation of age classes in the colony increases with cohort age until age six years, at which age most living cohort members are present. The youngest adults are present late in the breeding season, and older adults appear at progressively earlier dates in the breeding season up to age six years. A minority of adults first breed at age four, and most adults are breeding by the age of six ^[8

Table 1. Breeding cycle P. irrorata.

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

At colonies

Egg laying

Incubating

Chick provisioning

Breeding States

Table 2. Distribution of the global P. irrorata population among Parties to the Agreement that have jurisdiction over the breeding sites of ACAP listed species.

	Argentina	Australia	Chile	Ecuador	France	New Zealand	South Africa		United Kingdom
Breeding pairs	-	-	-	100%	-	-		-	-

Breeding Sites

Virtually the entire breeding population nests on Isla Española (Hood Island), Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, in the southern half of the island. Irregular observations suggest that less than 1% breeds on Isla de La Plata, Ecuador (Figure1) ^[9 ]. At least one egg has been laid on Isla Genovesa, Galápagos, in 2006, but did not hatch (M. Prieto, pers. comm.). The breeding population size on Española is poorly known, estimated most recently as 9,607 pairs in 2001, with an additional 5,495 breeding adults not nesting in 2001, and an unknown number of breeding-capable adults that nonetheless bred in neither year ^{[9 ]}. The breeding population on Isla de La Plata apparently numbers less than 10 pairs, and may often be 0 ^{[9, 10 ]}. The total adult population in 2001 on Española (including adults not present that year) was estimated as 31,818-34,694, with up to 30 birds (but typically <10) present on Isla de La Plata (M. Prieto, pers. comm.), and up to 11 adults (but typically 0) on Isla Genovesa ^{[9 ]}.

Table 3. Monitoring methods and estimates of the population size (annual breeding pairs) for each breeding site. Table based on D. Anderson unpublished data and Anderson et al. 2002^{[9 ]}.

Breeding site location	Jurisdiction	Years monitored	Monitoring method	Monitoring accuracy	Annual breeding pairs (last census)
Isla Española 1°20’ S, 89° 40’ W	Ecuador	1970-1971, 1994, 2001, 2007	A ¹	Low ²	9,607 (2001) ^{[9 ]}
Isla Genovesa 0^o 20’ N, 89^o 58’ W	Ecuador	1961-present, Irregularly ³	A, B, C	High	<1
Isla de La Plata 1^o 16’ S, 81^o 06’ W	Ecuador	1975-1990, irregularly ⁴	A, B, C	Medium	<10

¹corrected for nests not present at time of survey

²The thick vegetation prevents detection of an unknown proportion of birds. The Central Colony has not been counted since 1970

³Casual observations since the 1960s, principally by tour guides and sometimes by scientists

⁴Casual observations for an unknown number of years

Breeding site name	Jurisdiction	Latitude	Longitude	Size of breeding site (hectares)
Isla de La Plata, Isla de La Plata	Ecuador	1° 16' 00" S	81° 04' 00" W	1,214
Isla Espanola, Isla Espanola	Ecuador	1° 22' 30" S	89° 40' 30" W	6,048
Isla Genovesa, Isla Genovesa	Ecuador	0° 19' 40" N	89° 57' 20" W	1,411

Conservation Listings and Plans for the Breeding Sites

International
Isla Española and Isla Genovesa (and surrounding waters)
• UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed in 1978, extended 2001) [17 ]
• UNESCO World Heritage in Danger List – 2007 [18 ]

Domestic - Ecuador
Isla Española and Isla Genovesa
• Ley Especial de la Provincia de Galápagos/ Libro VII - Del Régimen Especial: Galápagos [19 ]
• Galápagos National Park
• Galápagos Marine Reserve (IUCN Category IV)
• Galápagos National Park Management Plan 2006 [20 ]
− zona de Protección Absoluta de Ecosistemas

Isla de La Plata
• Machalilla National Park (IUCN Category Ib)

Population Trends

The breeding population on Isla Española appears to be decreasing in the long term, but there is a lack of accurate, continuous data to allow a trend to be calculated with a high degree of confidence (D. Anderson pers. comm. 2008). The population trends on the other two islands are unknown, with very few birds breeding there.

Table 4. Summary of population trend data for P. irrorata. Table based on Anderson et al. 2008 ^{[21 ]} and unpublished D. Anderson data.

Breeding site	Current Monitoring		Trend Years	% average change per year	Trend
Isla Española		Yes	1970-1971, 1994, 2001, 2007	-	Decreasing* ^{[21 ]}
Isla Genovesa		Yes	1961-present, irregularly	^-	Increasing from unoccupied to occasional presence of <11 adults
Isla de La Plata		Yes	1975-1990, irregularly	-	Unknown

*trend not calculated in this assessment

Mean breeding success in a subpopulation on Española was 22.9% during 2000-2004 (ranging from 7.9% during a mild ENSO event in 2003 to 36.9%) ^{[21 ]} (Table 5). Movement of eggs by parents, up to 40 metres over several days, often results in egg loss, and may be contributing to the low breeding success ^{[8, 10 ]}. Between 1999-2006, average adult survival for males ranged from 85.9% (95% CI 79.2-90.7%) in a mild ENSO event (2002-2003), to between 92.1% (95% CI 87.5-95.1%) and 93.0 % (95%CI 89.5-95.4%) in non-ENSO years. Female survival was virtually identical to males ^[²¹].Juvenile survival has not been assessed.

Breeding success and survival rates have not been investigated for the extremely small populations at La Plata and Genovesa.

Table 5. Demographic data for the three P. irrorata breeding sites. Table based on Anderson et al. 2008 ^{[21 ]}.

Breeding site	Mean breeding success (±SD; Years)	Mean juvenile survival	Mean adult survival (Years)
Isla Española	22.9% (± 9.6%, 2000-2004)	No data	85.9% (ENSO, 2002-2003) 92.1 - 93.0% (non-ENSO, 1999-2001, 2004-2006)
Isla de La Plata	No data	No data	No data
Isla Genovesa	No data	No data	No data

Breeding Sites: Threats

Few threats exist at any of the breeding sites of P. irrorata (Table 6) and all sites are legally protected.

Table 6. Summary of known threats at the breeding sites of P. irrorata. Table based on unpublished D. Anderson data.

Breeding site	Human disturbance	Human take	Natural disaster	Parasite or Pathogen	Habitat loss or degradation	Predation by alien species	Contamination
Isla Española	No	No ^a	No	No ^b	No ^c	No	No
Isla Genovesa	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Isla de La Plata	No	Unknown	No	No	No	No	No

^aSome human take occurs.

b Increased abundance of mosquitoes, Aedes taeniorhynchus, during warm ENSO years with heavy rainfall produces distress in the birds and results in mass abandonment of eggs ^{[22, 23 ]}.

^cIncreasing vegetative cover on Española due to anthropogenic reduction of tortoise, Geochelone hoodensis, populations prior to 1900, and the 1978 eradication of feral goats, Capra hircus, present during the 1900s is speculated to restrict breeding habitat generally, with strong evidence of this effect at one site ^{[8, 9, 24 ]}.

Threats

Nature of threat	Threat sub-category	Severity of threat	Scope of threat	Breeding site name	Threat species
Human disturbance	Recreation/tourism	High	Medium	Isla de La Plata
Human disturbance	Recreation/tourism	None	None	Isla Espanola
Human disturbance	Recreation/tourism	None	None	Isla Espanola
Human disturbance	Recreation/tourism	None	None	Isla Espanola
Human disturbance	Recreation/tourism	High	High	Isla de La Plata
Human disturbance	Recreation/tourism	High	High	Isla de La Plata
Human disturbance	Recreation/tourism	None	None	Isla Espanola
Parasite or pathogen	Parasite	None	Medium	Isla Espanola
Parasite or pathogen	Parasite	Low	Low	Isla Espanola
Parasite or pathogen	Parasite	Low	Low	Isla Espanola
Parasite or pathogen	Parasite	Low	Low	Isla Espanola
Parasite or pathogen	Parasite	Low	Low	Isla Espanola
Parasite or pathogen	Parasite	High	High	Isla de La Plata	Avian Influenza
Parasite or pathogen	Pathogen	None	None	Isla Espanola	Avian Influenza
Stress by alien species	Nest desertion	High	High	Isla de La Plata	Rattus rattus
Stress by alien species	Nest desertion	High	High	Isla de La Plata	Rattus rattus
Stress by alien species	Nest desertion	High	High	Isla de La Plata

Foraging Ecology and Diet

Diet studies in this species are at present limited in extent. Casual observations indicate that both fish and squid are present in the current diet of breeding adults. Regurgitations from nestlings in 1970-1971 showed that squid were present in 52.9% of 259 samples, fish in 41.3% and Crustacea in 71.8%. Other invertebrates (found in a total 1.5% of samples) were the only other items noted. 80% of the squid beaks were in the families Histioteuthidae and Octopoteuthidae. Fish families included Exocetidae, Carangidae, and Clupeidae [8

]. Indirect data on diet from stable isotope ratios from adults suggest that males may consume prey items of higher trophic level such as those obtained from fishery discards and baited hooks [25

Phoebastria irrorata fly mostly during the day in Galápagos waters and rest on the water at night, which may or may not reflect on the timing of foraging activity [13 ].

No data are available from subadults or non-breeders, and there are no studies from Genovesa or La Plata.

Marine Distribution

Satellite tracking provided distribution data for breeders from the Punta Cevallos, Española colony during the incubation periods of 1995, 1996, 2000 and 2001, the brooding periods of 1996 and 2001, and the rearing period of 1996 (summarized in Anderson et al. 2003 ^[12 ]). GPS tracking provided data from breeding birds during the brooding periods of 2003 ^{[13 ]} and 2004 (J. Awkerman unpub.) and non-breeding birds during the 2004 breeding season ^{[26 ]}. These data show a repeatable pattern of distribution, with breeders commuting to the Peruvian continental shelf and shelf break on most trips during the incubation and chick-rearing periods, and remaining near Española during the brooding period, in the south-eastern quadrant of the Galápagos Archipelago. These results are consistent with sea-based observations between 1881 and 1995 which showed the same distribution ^{[16 ]} and with band recoveries in fisheries operations over the Peruvian continental shelf ^{[26 ]}. Absences of non-breeders during the breeding period suggests that they alternate trips to the Peruvian continental shelf with periods spent close to the colony (J. Awkerman unpub.).

There is some indication that P. irrorata distributioncontracts during warm ENSO events, with foraging concentrated in the vicinity of localised upwelling cells that serve as refugia for fish (Jahncke et al. unpub, in ^{[5 ]}).

Satellite-tracking data indicate that the P. irrorata breeding and foraging range overlaps with only one Regional Fisheries Management Organisation known to be particularly important to albatross and petrel conservation, the IATTC (Figure 1). The species also overlaps with the soon to be established South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO) that would cover both pelagic and demersal fisheries in the region (predominantly discrete high seas stocks and those stocks which straddle the high seas and the EEZs of coastal states). Ecuador and Perú are the principal Range States for P. irrorata (Table 7).

Table 7. Summary of the known ACAP Range States, non-ACAP Exclusive Economic Zones and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations that overlap with the marine distribution of P. irrorata.

	Frequency of occurrence in region
	Resident/ Breeding and feeding range	Foraging range only	Few records - outside core foraging range

Known ACAP Range States	Ecuador	Peru

Regional Fisheries Management Organisations	IATTC SPRFMO

Exclusive Economic Zones of non-ACAP countries			Columbia

IATTC - Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission
SPRFMO - South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation

Marine Threats

Artisanal fishing fleets catch significant numbers of birds, perhaps accidentally in some cases ^[12 ] and certainly intentionally in others (^{[26 ]}; D. J. Anderson pers. comm. with fishers), and this mortality has been implicated in the recent decline in annual adult survival ^{[21 ]}. Matrix modelling of available data on vital rates indicate a declining population at Punta Cevallos, Española ^{[21 ]}, and low quality data on population size for Española are consistent with a decline since 1994 ^{[21 ]}. Long-line fishing is currently banned within the Galápagos Marine Reserve (GMR), but fishery mortality has been reported nonetheless when P. irrorata target single baited hooks in the legal artisanal tuna fishery within the GMR ^{[12 ]}.

Observer data on seabird bycatch rates from industrial longline fleets in the central and southeast Pacific IATTC area has not been collected. Although P. irrorata is not reputed to be a ship-follower ^{[10 ]}, its distribution has a high overlap with IATTC longline fishing effort (1997-2004) ^{[27, 28 ]}.

The single year of study of plastic ingestion indicated that this is limited ^{[21 ]}.

Key Gaps in Species Assessment

The interaction of albatrosses with the artisanal fishery off the Peruvian and southern Ecuadorian coastsrequires on-site observation and experimental study in relation to the recently documented take in that fishery and ought to be of highest priority ^[5 ]. One topic of special interest should be the apparently higher risk of males to fishery mortality ^{[26 ]}, which may be involved in the present female bias in adult sex ratio ^{[29 ]}, a bias which has implications for population growth in this species with bi-parental care ^{[21 ]}.

In addition, further study of distribution of different demographic classes at sea and better estimation of vital rates should be undertaken. The general features of at-sea distribution of breeders from Española are reasonably well-studied, but the details of oceanographic features correlated with distribution of this demographic class have been studied only in one year and only during the brooding period ^{[13 ]}. Distributions of non-breeders during the breeding season has been studied in only one year (J. Awkerman unpub.), and distribution of adults during the non-breeding season has not been studied using electronic tracking. The distribution of juveniles and prebreeding subadults is completely unstudied with electronic tracking.

Current monitoring of vital rates estimates annual adult survival, but for one sub-population on Española only. Expansion of this monitoring to other parts of the Española population is advisable, as is similar expansion of monitoring of breeding success, again conducted currently in only two plots. Population size is estimated poorly to date, and requires use of methods that provide estimates of error and overcome current limitations imposed by thick vegetative cover.

The effect (if any) of changing vegetative cover on the breeding grounds deserves attention. Any possible interactions that might occur with the re-introduced Galápagos tortoises are also worth investigating. A significant source of breeding failure is the unique habit of moving eggs across the ground, frequently landing them in holes or other inaccessible locations ^{[8 ]}. Explaining this phenomenon has so far confounded investigators ^{[30 ]}.

Almost nothing is known about the birds found on La Plata and Genovesa and systematic diet studies have not been conducted since 1971.

References

[1] Nunn, G.B., Cooper, J., Jouventin, P., Robertson, C.J.R., and Robertson, G.G. 1996. Evolutionary relationships among extant albatrosses (Procellariiformes: Diomedeidae) established from complete cytochrome-b gene sequences. Auk. 113(4): p. 784-801.

[2] Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels http://www.acap.aq.

[3] BirdLife International. 2008. Phoebastria irrorata. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. . Available from: http://www.birdlife.org.

[4] Bonn Convention (Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals). http://www.cms.int/.

[5] Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrossses and Peterels. 2008. Draft Action Plan for Waved Albatross Phoebastria irrorata.

Compiled by

Dave Anderson
Department of Biology
Wake Forest University, USA

Contributors

Jill Awkerman,

Environmental Protection Agency, USA

Mark Tasker

Vice-chair, ACAP Advisory Committee

ACAP Bycatch Working Group

Contact: Barry Baker

barry.baker@latitude42.com.au

ACAP Breeding Sites Working Group

Contact: Richard Phillips