Population trends and breeding success of albatrosses and giant petrels at Gough Island in the face of at-sea and on-land threats

A critical decline of 3% annually in the population of the Critically Endangered Tristan albatross at Gough Island has been linked to chick predation by invasive house mice, highlighting a significant on-land threat. This study monitored three albatross species and southern giant petrels over time, revealing stable populations for the latter but interannual variability for Atlantic yellow-nosed and sooty albatrosses. The research used long-term population tracking to correlate Tristan albatross breeding success (23%) with localized predation rates, underscoring the urgency of addressing introduced mammal threats. While trends for other species remain uncertain due to small sample sizes, the findings reinforce the conservation priority of the Tristan albatross and call for broader data collection to assess global population dynamics.

Cuthbert, R. J., Cooper, J., & Ryan, P. G. (2013). Population trends and breeding success of albatrosses and giant petrels at Gough Island in the face of at-sea and on-land threats. Antarctic Science, 26(2), 163–171. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102013000424