EN
Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos



Taxonomy

Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Brooke, M. de L. 2004. Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Christidis, L. and Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
Robertson, C. J. R.; Nunn, G. B. 1998. Towards a new taxonomy for albatrosses. In: Robertson, G.; Gales, R. (ed.), Albatross biology and conservation, pp. 13-19. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, Australia.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable
- A4bd; B2ab(v) A4bd; B2ab(v)

Red List history
Year Category Criteria
2018 Endangered A4bd; B2ab(v)
2016 Endangered A4bd; B2ab(v)
2012 Endangered A4bd;B2ab(v)
2010 Endangered A4b,d; B2a+b(v)
2008 Endangered A4b,d; B2a+b(v)
2007 Endangered
2005 Endangered
2004 Endangered
2003 Endangered
2000 Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1994 Not Recognised
1988 Not Recognised
Species attributes

Migratory status full migrant Forest dependency does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type Average mass -
Range

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) 29,100,000 km2 medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) 16,800,000 km2 medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident) 80 km2 medium
Number of locations 4 -
Severely fragmented? no -
Population
Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Population size 35000-73500 mature individuals poor estimated 2012
Population trend decreasing medium estimated 1983-2055
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) 50-79% - - -
Generation length 23.7 years - - -
Number of subpopulations 1 - - -
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation 100% - - -

Population justification:

On Gough Island, the population was estimated at c.5,300 breeding pairs in 2000-2001 (Cuthbert and Sommer 2004). In 2015, the number of breeding pairs in the Tristan da Cunha group was estimated to be 15,250 on Tristan da Cunha Island, 4000 on Nightingale Island in 2007, 40 on Middle Island in 2010, 210 on Stoltenhoff Island in 2009 (Fraser et al. 1988, Ryan and Ronconi 2011, RSPB unpubl. data) equating to 52,000 mature individuals (range: 35,000-73,500). 

Trend justification: On Inaccessible Island, a partial count in 1999-2000 suggests that the population may have decreased since the late 1980s (Ryan and Moloney 2000). On Nightingale, the population has declined from 3,000 pairs in 1972-1974 to 1,000 pairs in 1999 (P. G. Ryan in litt. 2000), and counts at 4 sites indicate an annual decrease of 3-4% between 2005-2015 (RSPB, Tristan Government unpublished data). Counts of the Gough Island study colony indicate that numbers within this small area underwent a period of decline (from 1982 to 1994) followed by an increase (1994 to 2008), with numbers now at similar levels to the early 1980s. Population counts from 11 representative areas of Gough Island (c. 5% of breeding habitat) indicate a decline of 2-3% per year, similar to population modelling with 20 years of demographic data (1982-2001) predicts annual rates of decrease of between 1.5-2.8% on Gough Island and 5.5% on Tristan da Cunha (Cuthbert et al. 2003; though one small study area is stable, perhaps because of immigration), and overall declines are estimated to exceed 70% over 72 years (three generations), placed here in the band 50-79% because of the level of uncertainty involved.


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding visitor Non-breeding visitor Passage migrant
Angola extant native yes
Argentina extant native yes
Australia extant vagrant
Brazil extant native yes
Falkland Islands (Malvinas) extant vagrant
High Seas extant native yes
Mozambique extant native yes
Namibia extant native yes
New Zealand extant vagrant yes
South Africa extant native yes
St Helena (to UK) extant native yes
Uruguay extant native yes
USA extant vagrant

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Country/Territory IBA Name
Brazil Trindade e Martim Vaz
St Helena (to UK) Gough Island
St Helena (to UK) Inaccessible Island
St Helena (to UK) Nightingale Island group
St Helena (to UK) Tristan Island

Habitats & altitude
Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Grassland Tundra major breeding
Marine Coastal/Supratidal Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands major breeding
Marine Neritic Pelagic major non-breeding
Marine Neritic Pelagic major breeding
Marine Oceanic Epipelagic (0-200m) major non-breeding
Marine Oceanic Epipelagic (0-200m) major breeding
Altitude   Occasional altitudinal limits  

Threats & impact
Threat (level 1) Threat (level 2) Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest] Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Majority (50-90%) Slow, Significant Declines Medium Impact: 6
Stresses
Species mortality
Biological resource use Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target) Timing Scope Severity Impact
Past, Unlikely to Return Minority (<50%) Slow, Significant Declines Past Impact
Stresses
Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Mus musculus Timing Scope Severity Impact
Ongoing Minority (<50%) Slow, Significant Declines Low Impact: 5
Stresses
Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Sus scrofa Timing Scope Severity Impact
Past, Unlikely to Return Minority (<50%) Slow, Significant Declines Past Impact
Stresses
Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success

Utilisation
Purpose Scale
Food - human subsistence, national

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/atlantic-yellow-nosed-albatross-thalassarche-chlororhynchos on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.