Salvin's albatross research - aerial survey 2013

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POP2012-06 Salvin's albatross aerial population estimate 2013 (PDF, 537K)

Summary

Salvin’s albatrosses Thalassarche salvini is an abundant albatross species present throughout the year on all continental shelf areas around New Zealand. This species is essentially endemic to New Zealand, breeding mainly on the Bounty Islands and the Western Chain of The Snares.

The population status of this species is poorly known. In October 2010 and 2013 we completed aerial surveys of the Bounty Islands and photographed all albatross colonies we observed. The photographs were used to compile photo-montages of each colony, and these images were used to count the breeding birds on each island. Ground counts of nesting Salvin’s albatrosses were also undertaken on Proclamation Island on 23 October 2013, to determine the proportions of nests containing eggs and non-breeding birds present in the colony.

Publication information

This report was commissioned by the Department of Conservation, Project POP2012-06

By G. Barry Baker, Katrina Jensz & Paul Sagar

Estimated annual counts for all breeding sites in the Bounty Islands were adjusted to account for the presence of non-breeding birds, giving an estimate of the annual breeding pairs in 2013 of 39,995 (95% CI 39,595 - 40,395).

Aerial survey of the Bounty Islands proved to be an effective method of rapidly assessing the population size of Salvin’s albatross in the Bounty Islands, and our population estimates of represent the first complete population surveys of the species on the archipelago.