Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross
Encyclopedia
The Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, Thalassarche carteri, in the albatross
family
, and is the smallest of the mollymawk
s. In 2004, BirdLife International split this species from the Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross; however Clements has not split it yet, and the SACC has not either, but recognizes the need for a proposal.
order, along with Shearwater
s, Fulmar
s, Storm-petrel
s, and Diving-petrels. They share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. Although the nostrils on the Albatross are on the sides of the bill. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between 7 and 9 horny plates. Finally, they produce a stomach oil made up of wax ester
s and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus
. This is used against predators as well as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. They also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe. It excretes a high saline solution from their nose.
and Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross
, the latter with which it was long considered conspecific and is still considered by some a subspecies
of. It can be distinguished from the Atlantic Yellow-nosed by its head, the grey plumage of which is lighter on the Indian Yellow-nosed.
is laid. the nesting season begins in August, with laying occurring around September/October. Incubation
lasts around 70 days. After hatching the chick takes around 115 days to fledge
.
It breeds on Prince Edward Islands
, the Crozet Islands
, Kerguelen Island, Amsterdam Island and St Paul Island
s in the Indian Ocean
. When feeding during incubation, birds will forage up to 1500 km (932.1 mi) from the colony. At sea it ranges from South Africa
to the Pacific Ocean
just beyond New Zealand
, ranging from 30° S to 50° S.
by the IUCN, due to dramatic declines in the last seventy years, caused by interactions with longline fisheries and the outbreak of introduced disease
s, such as Avian Cholera
and Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae
.
It has an occurrence range of 35300000 km² (13,629,406.2 sq mi) and a breeding range of 1400 km² (540.5 sq mi). A 2004 population estimate established that around a total of 65,000 adult birds are alive. This is based on earlier counts as follows: 27,000 breeding pairs breed on Amsterdam Island, and 7,500 pair on Prince Edward Island
, 7,030 on Crozet Island, 50 on Kerguelen Island, and 3 pair on St. Paul Island
for a total of 41,580 pair or 83,000 mature individuals. Take into account decreasing trends for the stated number.
Monitoring of the birds and studying of its foraging is an ongoing project on Amsterdam Island, and Prince Edward Islands
is a nature preserve. A vaccination has been developed but remains untested. Finally, in 2006, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission adopted a measure to require longline boats to use a bird streamer south of 30°S, and South Africa
requires its boats to use a variety of mitigation processes.
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, and is the smallest of the mollymawk
Mollymawk
The mollymawks are a group of medium sized albatrosses that form the genus Thalassarche. The name has sometimes been used for the genus Phoebetria as well, but these are correctly called sooty albatrosses. They are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, where they are the most common of the...
s. In 2004, BirdLife International split this species from the Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross; however Clements has not split it yet, and the SACC has not either, but recognizes the need for a proposal.
Taxonomy
Mollymawks are a type of Albatross that belong to Diomedeidae family and come from the ProcellariiformesProcellariiformes
Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels...
order, along with Shearwater
Shearwater
Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds. There are more than 30 species of shearwaters, a few larger ones in the genus Calonectris and many smaller species in the genus Puffinus...
s, Fulmar
Fulmar
Fulmars are seabirds of the family Procellariidae. The family consists of two extant species and two that are extinct.-Taxonomy:As members of Procellaridae and then the order Procellariiformes, they share certain traits. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called...
s, Storm-petrel
Storm-petrel
Storm petrels are seabirds in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. These smallest of seabirds feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.Storm petrels have a cosmopolitan...
s, and Diving-petrels. They share certain identifying features. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. Although the nostrils on the Albatross are on the sides of the bill. The bills of Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between 7 and 9 horny plates. Finally, they produce a stomach oil made up of wax ester
Wax ester
An ester of a fatty acid and a long-chain alcohol. These oils have similar properties as triglycerides, but are indigestible. They are found in some fish such as orange roughy, oilfish, escolar, black oreo, smooth oreo and other deep water fish. They are also present in marine copepods. Wax...
s and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus
Proventriculus
The proventriculus is part of the digestive system of birds, invertebrates and insects.-Birds:The proventriculus is a standard part of avian anatomy...
. This is used against predators as well as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. They also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe. It excretes a high saline solution from their nose.
Description
The Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross weighs 2.55 kg (5.6 lb), is 76 cm (29.9 in) long and is 2 m (6.6 ft) across the wings. The adult has a pale grey or white head and nape, with a dark grey mantle, upperwing, and tail. Its rump and underparts are white, and its underwing is white with a black tip with a narrow black margin at the leading edge. Its bill is black with a yellow upper ridge and a red tip. The juvenile has a white head and all black bill. It is difficult to distinguish from the closely related Grey-headed AlbatrossGrey-headed Albatross
The Grey-headed Albatross, Thalassarche chrysostoma, also known as the Grey-headed Mollymawk, is a large seabird from the albatross family. It has a circumpolar distribution, nesting on isolated islands in the Southern Ocean and feeding at high latitudes, further south than any of the other...
and Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross
The Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross, Thalassarche chlororhynchos, is a large seabird in the albatross family. This small mollymawk was once considered conspecific with the Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross and known as the Yellow-nosed Albatross...
, the latter with which it was long considered conspecific and is still considered by some a subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of. It can be distinguished from the Atlantic Yellow-nosed by its head, the grey plumage of which is lighter on the Indian Yellow-nosed.
Reproduction
Like all albatrosses the Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross is a colonial breeder. It breeds annually, and the adults begin breeding at the age of eight years. A mud nest is built in bare rocky areas or in tussock grass or ferns, and a single eggEgg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
is laid. the nesting season begins in August, with laying occurring around September/October. Incubation
Avian incubation
Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...
lasts around 70 days. After hatching the chick takes around 115 days to fledge
Fledge
Fledge is the stage in a young bird's life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. It also describes the act of a chick's parents raising it to a fully grown state...
.
Range and habitat
| Location | Population | Date | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam Island | 27,000 pair | 1997 | Declining |
| Prince Edward Islands Prince Edward Islands The Prince Edward Islands are two small islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean that are part of South Africa. The islands, named Marion Island and Prince Edward Island, are located at .... |
7,500 pair | 2002 | Stable |
| Crozet Island | 7,030 pair | 2007 | |
| Kerguelen Island | 50 pair | 1998 | |
| Île Saint-Paul Île Saint-Paul Île Saint-Paul is an island forming part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the Indian Ocean, with an area of . It is located about southwest of the larger Île Amsterdam, and south of Réunion... |
3 pair | 2007 | |
| Total | 65,000 | 2004 | Declining |
It breeds on Prince Edward Islands
Prince Edward Islands
The Prince Edward Islands are two small islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean that are part of South Africa. The islands, named Marion Island and Prince Edward Island, are located at ....
, the Crozet Islands
Crozet Islands
The Crozet Islands are a sub-antarctic archipelago of small islands in the southern Indian Ocean. They form one of the five administrative districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.-Geography:...
, Kerguelen Island, Amsterdam Island and St Paul Island
Île Saint-Paul
Île Saint-Paul is an island forming part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the Indian Ocean, with an area of . It is located about southwest of the larger Île Amsterdam, and south of Réunion...
s in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
. When feeding during incubation, birds will forage up to 1500 km (932.1 mi) from the colony. At sea it ranges from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
just beyond New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, ranging from 30° S to 50° S.
Conservation
It is considered to be an endangered speciesEndangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
by the IUCN, due to dramatic declines in the last seventy years, caused by interactions with longline fisheries and the outbreak of introduced disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
s, such as Avian Cholera
Fowl cholera
Fowl cholera is also called avian cholera, avian pasteurellosis, avian hemorrhagic septicemia. It is the most common pasteurellosis of poultry. As the causative agent is Pasteurella multocida, it is considered as a zoonosis....
and Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae
Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae
Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae is a gram-positive, catalase-negative, rod-shaped bacterium. It grows aerobically and anaerobically and does not contain endotoxin. Distributed worldwide, E. rhusiopathiae is primarily considered an animal pathogen, causing a disease known as erysipelas in animals...
.
It has an occurrence range of 35300000 km² (13,629,406.2 sq mi) and a breeding range of 1400 km² (540.5 sq mi). A 2004 population estimate established that around a total of 65,000 adult birds are alive. This is based on earlier counts as follows: 27,000 breeding pairs breed on Amsterdam Island, and 7,500 pair on Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
, 7,030 on Crozet Island, 50 on Kerguelen Island, and 3 pair on St. Paul Island
Île Saint-Paul
Île Saint-Paul is an island forming part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the Indian Ocean, with an area of . It is located about southwest of the larger Île Amsterdam, and south of Réunion...
for a total of 41,580 pair or 83,000 mature individuals. Take into account decreasing trends for the stated number.
Monitoring of the birds and studying of its foraging is an ongoing project on Amsterdam Island, and Prince Edward Islands
Prince Edward Islands
The Prince Edward Islands are two small islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean that are part of South Africa. The islands, named Marion Island and Prince Edward Island, are located at ....
is a nature preserve. A vaccination has been developed but remains untested. Finally, in 2006, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission adopted a measure to require longline boats to use a bird streamer south of 30°S, and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
requires its boats to use a variety of mitigation processes.