• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
Brooke, M. de L. 2004. Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
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.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
A4ade	A4ade; B2ab(v)	A4ade; B2ab(v); C1+2a(ii); D2

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Critically Endangered	A4ade
2016	Critically Endangered	A4ade
2015	Critically Endangered	A4ade
2013	Critically Endangered	A4ade
2012	Critically Endangered	A4ade
2010	Critically Endangered	A4a,d,e
2009	Critically Endangered	A4a,d,e
2008	Critically Endangered
2007	Endangered
2005	Endangered
2004	Endangered
2003	Endangered
2000	Endangered
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

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

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	54,900,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	14,100,000 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	80 km2	medium
Number of locations	1	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	3400-4800 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2010
Population trend	decreasing	medium	estimated	1955-2025
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	80-100%	-	-	-
Generation length	28.7 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification:

Breeding populations are essentially restricted to Gough Island, with 2-3 pairs nesting intermittently on Inaccessible Island (McClelland et al. 2016). The annual breeding population is currently estimated to be 1,250-1,750 pairs annually (RSPB and UCT unpubl. data), equivalent to a total population of 5200-7300 individuals for this biennially breeding species (RSPB and UCT unpubl. data). This roughly equates to 3,400-4,800 mature individuals.

Trend justification: Recent counts suggest that the population on Gough has decreased by 28% over 46 years, and at 3-5% annually between 2000 and 2016 (Cuthbert et al. 2014, RSPB and UCT unpubl. data), which is in line with population modelling predicting annual rates of decline of 2.9-5.3% (Ryan et al. 2001, Wanless et al. 2009). More recent population modelling, conducted over three generations since 1980, suggests a decline equivalent to a 96% reduction in population size over three generations, since declines began (BirdLife International unpubl. data). The rate of on-going decline is therefore placed here in the band 80-100% over three generations (86 years).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Angola	extant	native			yes
Argentina	extant	native			yes
Brazil	extant	native			yes
High Seas	extant	native			yes
Namibia	extant	native			yes
South Africa	extant	native			yes
St Helena (to UK)	extant	native		yes
Uruguay	extant	native			yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
High Seas	Atlantic, Southeast 15 - Marine
High Seas	Atlantic, Southeast 16 - Marine
St Helena (to UK)	Gough Island
St Helena (to UK)	Inaccessible Island

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	suitable	breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	suitable	non-breeding
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	suitable	breeding
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	major	non-breeding
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	major	breeding
Marine Oceanic	Mesopelagic (200-1000m)	major	non-breeding
Marine Oceanic	Mesopelagic (200-1000m)	major	breeding
Shrubland	Temperate	major	breeding
Altitude	400 - 700 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

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%)		Very Rapid Declines		High Impact: 8
		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%)		Rapid Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Mus musculus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Rapid Declines		High Impact: 8
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Past Impact
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Sus domesticus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Species mortality

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Tristan Albatross Diomedea dabbenena. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/tristan-albatross-diomedea-dabbenena on 26/12/2024.
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 26/12/2024.