Geographic Range
Black-browed albatross,
Thalassarche melanophrys
, can be found circumpolar in the southern hemisphere anywhere in the south Atlantic,
but can travel further north with cold currents. Annually during the months of September
and October, they breed on south Atlantic islands including the Falkland Islands and
South Georgia, South Sandwich, and Cape Horn islands.
- Biogeographic Regions
- ethiopian
- neotropical
- australian
- oceanic islands
- indian ocean
- atlantic ocean
- pacific ocean
Habitat
Black-browed albatross are marine, pelagic birds but commonly come inshore. It is
typical for albatross to move toward shore during violent weather. They may travel
thousands of kilometers off land in search of food. Their breeding grounds are often
on steep slopes with
tussock grass
, cliff terraces, or level ground.
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
- terrestrial
- saltwater or marine
Physical Description
Black-browed albatross are large birds ranging anywhere from 83 to 93 cm in length and weighing from 3 to 5 kg. They have broad, blunt wings with a wingspan of 240 cm. Their back is a dark grey which blends into blackish-grey scapulars. Their blackish-colored underwing is interrupted by a white central stripe that runs the length of the wing, though the prominence of the stripe is variable. They have a yellow bill with a pink tip that curves downward at the tip. Their head is white with a black line at the base of the bill and a black eyebrow encircling and tailing off behind the eye. The iris can range from a pale whitish color to amber. The birds display no sexual dimorphism.
Juvenile black-browed albatross have similar plumage to adults, however they have
a ring of gray feathers around the nape of the neck. Juveniles also have some degree
of black on their beaks.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes alike
Reproduction
Black-browed albatross are monogamous and often mate for life. Pairs often engage
in mutualistic feeding rituals. Black-browed albatross often engage in beak touching
and allopreening between mates. In general, albatross are well-known for elaborate
courtship behaviors.
- Mating System
- monogamous
Black-browed albatross breed from September or October to April. They are colonial
during the breeding season and make their nests out of mud, grass, guano, and seaweed.
They build nests that are on a volcano-shaped dome where they incubate a single egg
for 71 days. The chicks are born with grayish white down and are brooded for one to
four weeks. Chicks fledge after 120 days and they reach sexual maturity after 7 to
9 years.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- oviparous
Both parents participate in egg incubation which can last up to 71 days. Chicks are
born precocial, with downy feathers and eyes open. Both parents feed the young. Parents
tend the hatchling for several months, then abandon the chick before it fledges.
- Parental Investment
- precocial
- male parental care
- female parental care
-
pre-fertilization
- provisioning
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
Black-browed albatross in captivity have a maximum lifespan of 32.5 years. In the
wild they generally live around 30 or more years but have been known to live as long
as 70 years.
Behavior
Black-browed albatross are typically solitary while at sea, except when a large feeding
opportunity exists. During the breeding season they amass in nesting colonies that
can consist of over 180,000 pairs. They are highly mobile birds and will travel between
500 and 3,000 km to forage. They use their large wings to glide for incredible distances
with limited energy expenditure. They are often seen following ships hundreds of miles
offshore, simply gliding behind the ship.
Home Range
Black-browed albatross only establish territory in the breeding season. Breeding
pairs will not allow another individual within 1.5 m of the nest.
Communication and Perception
Black-browed albatross are generally silent, but will make a rapid grunting noise
within breeding colonies. They also make beak-clapping noises. Breeding pairs will
communicate through several different courtship behaviors such as allopreening and
beak touching. Like all birds, black-browed albatross perceive their environments
through visual, auditory, tactile, and chemical stimuli.
Food Habits
Black-browed albatross mainly feed on crustaceans and fish but also squid and carrion
(i.e. penguin corpses). A large portion of their diet consists of krill that they
locate using a method known as local enhancement. This is when an albatross observes
another albatross or foraging species successfully feeding and they come together
to take advantage of the food source. They use their webbed feet to paddle themselves
around and feed by surface-seizing or surface diving. They have often been known to
follow trawlers looking for any discarded catch.
- Animal Foods
- fish
- carrion
- mollusks
- aquatic crustaceans
Predation
Black-browed albatross’ main threat is humans but they have also been known to be
fed on by tiger sharks. Accidental death by long-line fishing methods poses the greatest
threat to black-browed albatross. The recent population decline is believed to be
caused by increases in local long-line fishing. In the past, mariners captured albatross
for their meat and raided their colonies of nests for the eggs. Albatross eggs are
often eaten by rats (
Rattus
) and chicks are preyed upon by skuas (
Stercorarius
).
Ecosystem Roles
As the main dietary component, fish populations are likely impacted by black-browed albatross. Little is known regarding symbiotic relationships.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
There are no known positive effects of black-browed albatross on humans.
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
There are no known adverse effects of black-browed albatross on humans.
Conservation Status
Black-browed albatross are currently listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List. The
rationalization for their conservation status is the rapid decline in their populations.
This decline is due to deaths attributed to long-line and trawl fisheries (net and
line entanglement), disruption in prey populations, plastic ingestion, natural disasters
(floods, fires, & volcanic activity), habitat destruction, pollution, and disease
.
Additional Links
Contributors
Jacob Gardner (author), Florida State University, Emily DuVal (editor), Florida State University, Rachelle Sterling (editor), Special Projects.
- Ethiopian
-
living in sub-Saharan Africa (south of 30 degrees north) and Madagascar.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Neotropical
-
living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Australian
-
Living in Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, New Guinea and associated islands.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- oceanic islands
-
islands that are not part of continental shelf areas, they are not, and have never been, connected to a continental land mass, most typically these are volcanic islands.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Atlantic Ocean
-
the body of water between Africa, Europe, the southern ocean (above 60 degrees south latitude), and the western hemisphere. It is the second largest ocean in the world after the Pacific Ocean.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Pacific Ocean
-
body of water between the southern ocean (above 60 degrees south latitude), Australia, Asia, and the western hemisphere. This is the world's largest ocean, covering about 28% of the world's surface.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- saltwater or marine
-
mainly lives in oceans, seas, or other bodies of salt water.
- pelagic
-
An aquatic biome consisting of the open ocean, far from land, does not include sea bottom (benthic zone).
- coastal
-
the nearshore aquatic habitats near a coast, or shoreline.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- monogamous
-
Having one mate at a time.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- oviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
- young precocial
-
young are relatively well-developed when born
- male parental care
-
parental care is carried out by males
- female parental care
-
parental care is carried out by females
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- nomadic
-
generally wanders from place to place, usually within a well-defined range.
- solitary
-
lives alone
- territorial
-
defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement
- colonial
-
used loosely to describe any group of organisms living together or in close proximity to each other - for example nesting shorebirds that live in large colonies. More specifically refers to a group of organisms in which members act as specialized subunits (a continuous, modular society) - as in clonal organisms.
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- carrion
-
flesh of dead animals.
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- piscivore
-
an animal that mainly eats fish
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
References
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Falklands Conservation, 2010. "Black-browed albatross" (On-line). Accessed March 19, 2010 at http://www.falklandsconservation.com/wildlife/albatross/black-browed-albatross.html .
Grunbaum, D., R. Veit. 2003. Black-browed albatrosses foraging on antarctic krill: density- dependence through local enhancement?. Ecology , Vol. 84 Issue 12: 3265-3275. Accessed March 18, 2010 at http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/stable/3450070?&Search=yes&term=albatross&term=black browed&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dblack-browed%2Balbatross%26x%3D0%26y%3D0%26hp%3D25%26sorigin%3Dwww.ufv.ca%26cookieSet%3D1&item=2&ttl=263&returnArticleService=showArticle .
Mullay, M., Association. 1989. Seabirds an identification guide . London: Croom Helm LTD.
National Audubon Society, , L. Line, F. Russell. 1976. The audubon society book of wild birds . New York: Harry N. Abrams Incorporated.
Tuck, G., H. Heinzel. 1978. A Field Guide to the Seabirds of Britain and the World . St. James's Place, London: HarperCollins.
Wright, J. 2007. "Field guide to birds of North America" (On-line). Accessed March 19, 2010 at http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/1084/overview/Black-browed_Albatross.aspx .
del Hoyo, J., A. Elliot, J. Sargatal. 1992. Handbook of the birds of the world: ostrich to ducks . Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
2010. "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species" (On-line). Accessed March 19, 2010 at http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/144906/0 .