Laysan Albatross

I recently took an online course entitled "Marine Megafauna" and had an assignment for which I wrote about the Laysan Albatross:

I first learned about albatrosses when reading "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" in 9th grade English. I was taught that the phrase "albatross around one's neck" has become an idiom to mean someone has a burden of guilt that stands in his or her way. It wasn't until years later, at a marine debris course, that I thought about albatrosses again. The Laysan Albatross is a large, beautiful seabird. Although they are dwarfed by the larger Great Albatrosses, the average wingspan of a Laysan Albatross is still more than 6 feet. I enjoy demonstrating this to people by showing them that my own six foot wingspan is smaller than that of a Laysan Albatross! Another thing that stands out and makes this bird appear so beautiful are the black feathers surrounding the eye that look like eyeliner. The benefit to this is similar to that of a football player who applies black ink below his eyes to minimize glare.

The Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) is a seabird in the order Procellariiformes, also known as the tubenoses. Characteristics of the Procellariiformes include presence of a tubular nasal passage and specialized techniques to minimize exertion while flying. Although the tubenoses have different migration patterns, most of them spend lengthy amounts of time flying and utilize dynamic soaring and slope soaring to assist in energy saving. Other Precellariiforme species include petrels, shearwaters, fulmars, and the other 20 species of albatrosses.  The Black-footed Albatross, Short-tailed Albatross, and Waved Albatross are the most closely related species to the Laysan Albatross and are all included in the genus Phoebastria.

As mentioned above, the Laysan Albatross is one of the smaller albatrosses with an average wingspan of 195-203cm. However, their average height of 80cm is not nearly as impressive. Males weigh 2.2-4.3kg and are slightly larger than females, which weigh 1.9-3.6kg. Many people think these birds look similar to seagulls, with a mostly white plumage and some blackish-grey coloring on the wing, back, and tail. A closer look would show that they differ in size, presence of tubular nostrils, and black coloration around the eyes. The Laysan Albatross has a large range in the northern Pacific Ocean. They spend much of their life foraging at sea and will fly long distances, sometimes averaging nearly 350 miles per day. There are 16 known nesting sites but the majority of breeding pairs are found on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, specifically on Midway Atoll and Laysan Island. They are pelagic during their time at sea and prefer to nest on sandy or grassy island habitats. Laysan Albatrosses have a history of population threats due to human impact ranging from being hunted for their feathers to predation due to introduced predators. Their numbers have rebounded to an estimated 591,000 breeding pairs, but current threats include longline fishing bycatch, plastic ingestion, and a loss of nesting habitat due to rising sea levels.

The lifespan of Laysan Albatrosses has not yet been ascertained, but they are considered long-lived and there is one individual that has been banded for 58 years. This particular bird, Wisdom, was estimated to be 5 years old when banded in 1956 and is the oldest banded bird in the wild. She has since raised between 30 and 35 chicks with her partner. Laysan Albatrosses mate for life and participate in elaborate mating dances when choosing their mate and each season before breeding. Like humans, it may take just a season or several years to find a mate so the age of the bird at their first breeding season can vary from 6 to 12 years old. There can sometimes be separations or infidelity and new research has shown that there are same-sex female pairs. The females lay one egg at a time, sometimes each year but often skipping years. It takes about 64 days from fertilization for the egg to hatch and the parents then give extensive care to the chicks before they fledge six months later.

Laysan Albatrosses are pelagic foragers and skim the surface of the water for food. Their most common prey items are squid, shrimp, and fish eggs but they will also eat a variety of other invertebrates and small fish. They will fly thousands of miles for days at a time while foraging for food. They are able to achieve this by locking their wings open and flying in conjunction with the wind which is an extremely energy efficient process called dynamic soaring. If it is during a breeding season, the albatross will return to the nest and regurgitate their stomach contents to the chick. Unfortunately foraging albatrosses often mistake plastic items for food and while they have the ability to regurgitate inedible items, the chicks do not. Scientists estimate that 40% of Laysan Albatross chicks die each year from plastic ingestion, making these animals the poster child for plastic pollution.

One of the major nesting sites for Laysan Albatrosses is Midway Atoll. Midway Atoll is located near the equator and is a part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Midway Atoll was made a national wildlife refuge in 1988, but there is a very precarious history for the albatrosses on Midway Atoll. The US military had an active air facility on Midway Atoll until 1993 and it was most famously used during World War II. Men stationed here nicknamed the albatrosses "gooney birds" because of their goofy, unbalanced walking style. Many birds were killed to prevent the dangerous possibility of them colliding with the planes. Even though the station has long been closed, it is still a funny site to see photos of the albatrosses laying nests on the old runways or perching on the abandoned artillery batteries.

Laysan Albatrosses are currently classified as near threatened by the IUCN. They have recovered from past threats of egg and feather gathering so there is faith that they can recover from the current problems of plastic pollution, longline fishing bycatch, invasive predators, and lead poisoning from deteriorating military buildings on the nesting islands. Invasive predators and lead particles can be removed from the island, but the first two problems are more difficult to address because they are worldwide problems. There are commercial fishing regulations, but in many instances they are not strict enough or difficult to enforce. Some regulation changes have included changing the style of hooks used in longline fisheries to allow bycaught animals to free themselves easier. Consumers can help by making conscientious seafood choices and lessening their use of plastic. Even though these birds are foraging out at sea, it is estimated that at least 80% of marine plastic is land based. We can start by refusing single use disposable plastic bags, water bottles, and coffee cups. We can demand extended producer responsibility by writing to our government representatives. We can educate our friends and family. We need to remember that there is no "away" in what has become a throwaway society. If we work hard to change our actions of convenience we can save the Laysan Albatross and other species affected by plastic pollution.

Lindsay Young is a wildlife biologist who works for Pacific Rim Conservation. She received her MS from University of Hawaii where her dissertation research focused on the Laysan Albatross. She has published many scientific papers, some of which I included links to below. Lindsay is also involved in several seabird organizations including Pacific Seabird Group, North Pacific Albatross Working Group, and Agreement of the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels.

For more information on Albatrosses:

Carl Safina, 2002, Eye of the Albatross (This is a book by a great author who has written many marine themed books and I would highly recommend everyone checking out his books if they haven't already.)

Young, et al, 2009, Bringing Home the Trash: Do Colony-Based Differences in Foraging Distribution Lead to Increased Plastic Ingestion in Laysan Albatrosses:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0007623

Brothers, et al, 2010, Seabird Bycatch in Pelagic Longlinge Fisheries is Grossly Underestimated When Using Only Haul Data:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0012491

Suryan, et al, 2008, Wind, Waves, and Wing Loading: Morphological Specialization May Limit Range Expansion of Endangered Albatross:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0004016

Young & VanderWerf, 2013, Adaptive Value of Same-sex Pairing in Laysan Albatross:

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/281/1775/20132473.abstract

This is not a reading, but a very interesting live camera that I also wanted to include:

http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/41/Laysan_Albatross/