Birds
Antipodean Albatross
Diomedea antipodensis · also called Antipodean wandering albatross
Only recognised as its own species after being separated from the wandering albatross, an Antipodean albatross has seen its females decline sharply as they range into subtropical waters where longline tuna fleets operate, a pattern rarely documented so clearly by sex in any seabird.
Overview
The Antipodean albatross, Diomedea antipodensis, is an Endangered seabird native to ocean habitat across the South Pacific, breeding only on remote New Zealand subantarctic islands. Its recent recognition as a distinct species, its massive wingspan, and its unusual sex-specific decline pattern make it one of the more urgently conservation-relevant albatross species found anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere.
A decline written into one sex
Rather than declining evenly across the population, the Antipodean albatross has lost females at a far faster rate than males, a pattern traced directly to the different ocean regions each sex prefers to forage in and the fishing fleets concentrated in the waters females favour.
Status
Endangered, with populations declining significantly in recent decades, driven largely by longline fishing bycatch disproportionately affecting females that forage in subtropical waters overlapping commercial fishing fleets.
Antipodean Albatross: common questions
How is the Antipodean albatross different from the wandering albatross?
This species was recognised as its own distinct species, separate from the closely related wandering albatross, after genetic and physical differences were confirmed, and it is generally smaller and darker in plumage.
Why has the Antipodean albatross declined so sharply?
This species has suffered a population decline concentrated heavily among females, which forage further into subtropical waters that overlap more with longline fishing fleets than the areas typically used by males.
Where does the Antipodean albatross breed?
This species breeds mainly on the Antipodes Islands and Auckland Islands, remote and difficult-to-access island groups south of New Zealand, rather than across a wider geographic range.
How big is the Antipodean albatross's wingspan?
This species has one of the largest wingspans of any living bird, allowing it to glide enormous distances across the Southern Ocean while expending very little energy in flight.