Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Dietary evidence of trophic segregation between Campbell albatross Thalassarche impavida and grey-headed albatross T. chrysostoma at subantarctic Campbell Island

  • Original paper
  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Diet and trophic relationships of New Zealand albatrosses are poorly known, while comprehensive information on their feeding ecology are needed in an ecological and evolutionary context, but also for effective conservation management. Here, food samples of the sympatric Campbell albatross Thalassarche impavida and grey-headed albatross T. chrysostoma were collected at subantarctic Motu Ihupuku Campbell Island to (1) detail their prey items, (2) investigate segregating mechanisms allowing co-existence, and (3) look at potential overlaps between albatrosses and human activities. Chick food of the two albatrosses overlapped greatly in terms of the most consumed prey species but segregated in terms of prey groups. The most abundant item was epipelagic young-of-the-year Micromesistius australis, a species that is commercially-exploited when adult. The myctophid Electrona carlsbergi and various macrourids constituted other significant fish prey, while juveniles of Moroteuthopsis ingens and Martialia hyadesi were the main squid prey. Campbell albatross fed their chicks more on fish (79% vs. 27% by mass) and grey-headed albatross more on cephalopods (67% vs. 18%). Albatrosses also segregated by their foraging habitats, with Campbell albatross favoring neritic prey and grey-headed albatross oceanic prey from colder waters. A few plastic debris and no fishery-related items were found in food samples, indicating limited interactions with human activities at the time of sample collection. However, the nutritional importance of naturally-caught juvenile M. australis for albatrosses has to be taken into account for a sustainable management of the resource, its predators and the trawl fishery targeting adult fish.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The dataset generated during the current study is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

References

  • ACAP, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (2012) http://www.acap.aq/. Accessed 23 Jan 2023

  • Anderson OF, Bagley NW, Hurst RJ, Francis MP, Clark MR, McMillan PJ (1998) Atlas of New Zealand fish and squid distributions from research bottom trawls. NIWA technical report 42

  • Arata J, Xavier JC (2003) The diet of black-browed albatrosses at the Diego Ramirez Islands, Chile. Polar Biol 26:638–647

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arata J, Robertson G, Valencia J, Xavier JC, Moreno CA (2004) Diet of grey-headed albatrosses at the Diego Ramirez Islands, Chile: ecological implications. Antarct Sci 16:263–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arkhipkin AI, Laptikhovsky VV (2010) Convergence in life-history traits in migratory deep-water squid and fish. ICES J Mar Sci 67:1444–1451

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bagley NW, Anderson OF, Hurst RJ, Francis MP, Taylor PR, Clark MR, Paul LJ (2000) Atlas of New Zealand fish and squid distributions from midwater trawls, tuna longline sets, and aerial sightings. NIWA technical report 72

  • Bailey RS (1982) The population biology of blue whiting in the North Atlantic. Adv Mar Biol 19:257–355

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Begon M, Harper JL, Townsend CR (1990) Ecology: individuals, populations and communities, 2nd edn. Blackwell, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Bentley LK, Kato A, Ropert-Coudert Y, Manica A, Phillips RA (2021) Diving behaviour of albatrosses: implications for foraging ecology and bycatch susceptibility. Mar Biol 168:36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berrow SD, Croxall JP (1999) The diet of white-chinned petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis, Linnaeus 1758, in years of contrasting prey availability at South Georgia. Antarct Sci 11:283–292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boltovskoy D (1999) South Atlantic zooplankton, vol 2. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden

    Google Scholar 

  • Burg TM, Croxall JP (2001) Global relationships amongst black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses: analysis of population structure using mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites. Mol Ecol 10:2647–2660

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burg TM, Catry P, Ryan PG, Phillips RA (2017) Genetic population structure of black-browed and Campbell albatrosses, and implications for assigning provenance of birds killed in fisheries. Aquat Conserv Mar Freshw Ecosyst 27:1156–1163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Catry P, Phillips RA, Phalan B, Silk JRD, Croxall JP (2004) Foraging strategies of grey-headed albatrosses Thalassarche chrysostoma: integration of movements, activity and feeding events. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 280:261–273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cherel Y (2020) A review of Southern Ocean squids using nets and beaks. Mar Biodivers 50:98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cherel Y, Bocher P (2022) Diet of the soft-plumaged petrel (Pterodroma mollis) at Kerguelen Islands and a review of the food of gadfly petrels (Pterodroma spp.) worldwide. Mar Biol 169:31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cherel Y, Klages N (1998) A review of the food of albatrosses. In: Robertson G, Gales R (eds) Albatross biology and conservation. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, pp 113–136

    Google Scholar 

  • Cherel Y, Weimerskirch H (1995) Seabirds as indicators of marine resources: black-browed albatrosses feeding on ommastrephid squids in Kerguelen waters. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 129:295–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cherel Y, Waugh S, Hanchet S (1999) Albatross predation of juvenile southern blue whiting (Micromesistius australis) on the Campbell Plateau. N Z J Mar Freshw Res 33:437–441

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cherel Y, Weimerskirch H, Trouvé C (2000) Food and feeding ecology of the neritic-slope forager black-browed albatross and its relationships with commercial fisheries in Kerguelen waters. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 207:183–199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cherel Y, Weimerskirch H, Trouvé C (2002) Dietary evidence for spatial foraging segregation in sympatric albatrosses (Diomedea spp.) rearing chicks at Iles Nuageuses, Kerguelen. Mar Biol 141:1117–1129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cherel Y, Xavier JC, de Grissac S, Trouvé C, Weimerskirch H (2017) Feeding ecology, isotopic niche, and ingestion of fishery-related items of the wandering albatross Diomedea exulans at Kerguelen and Crozet Islands. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 565:197–215

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chiswell SM, Bostock HC, Sutton PJH, Williams MJM (2015) Physical oceanography of the deep seas around New Zealand: a review. N Z J Mar Freshw Res 49:286–317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark MR (1985) The food and feeding of seven fish species from the Campbell Plateau, New Zealand. N Z J Mar Freshw Res 19:339–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark MR, King KJ, McMillan PJ (1989) The food and feeding relationships of black oreo, Allocyttus niger, smooth oreo, Pseudocyttus maculatus, and eight other fish species from the continental slope of the south-west Chatham Rise, New Zealand. J Fish Biol 35:465–484

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke MR (1986) A handbook for the identification of cephalopod beaks. Clarendon Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Cleeland JB, Alderman R, Bindoff A, Lea MA, McMahon CR, Phillips RA, Raymond B, Sumner MD, Terauds A, Wotherspoon SJ, Hindell MA (2019) Factors influencing the habitat use of sympatric albatrosses from Macquarie Island, Australia. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 609:221–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen DM, Inada T, Iwamoto T, Scialabba N (1990) FAO species catalogue. Vol 10. Gadiform fishes of the world (Order Gadiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cods, hakes, grenadiers and other gadiform fishes known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis 125, FAO, Rome

  • Collins MA, Xavier JC, Johnston NM, North AW, Enderlein P, Tarling GA, Waluda CM, Hawker EJ, Cunningham NJ (2008) Patterns in the distribution of myctophid fish in the northern Scotia Sea ecosystem. Polar Biol 31:837–851

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connan M, McQuaid CD, Bonnevie BT, Smale MJ, Cherel Y (2014) Combined stomach content, lipid and stable isotope analyses reveal spatial and trophic partitioning among three sympatric albatrosses from the Southern Ocean. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 497:259–272

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Croxall JP, McCann TS, Prince PA, Rothery P (1988) Reproductive performance of seabirds and seals at South Georgia and Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, 1976–1987: implications for Southern Ocean Monitoring studies. In: Sahrhage D (ed) Antarctic Ocean and RESOURCES VARIABILITY. Springer, Berlin, pp 261–285

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham DM, Moors PJ (1994) The decline of rockhopper penguins Eudyptes chrysocome at Campbell Island, Southern Ocean and the influence of rising sea temperatures. Emu 94:27–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daponte MC, Palmieri MA, Casareto BE, Esnal GB (2013) Reproduction and population structure of the salp Iasis zonaria (Pallas, 1774) in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean (34°30′ to 39°30′ S) during three successive winters (1999–2001). J Plankton Res 35:813–830

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Baker AC, Boden BP, Brinton E (1990) A practical guide to the euphausiids of the world. Natural History Museum Publications, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Delord K, Cotté C, Péron C, Marteau C, Pruvost P, Gasco N, Duhamel G, Cherel Y, Weimerskirch H (2010) At-sea distribution and diet of an endangered top predator: relationship between white-chinned petrels and commercial longline fisheries. Endanger Species Res 13:1–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delord K, Barbraud C, Bost CA, Cherel Y, Guinet C, Weimerskirch H (2013) Atlas of top predators from French Southern Territories in the Southern Indian Ocean. CEBC-CNRS, France. https://doi.org/10.15474/AtlasTopPredatorsOI_CEBC.CNRS_FrenchSouthernTerritories

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dias MP, Martin R, Pearmain EJ, Burfield IJ, Small C, Phillips RA, Yates O, Lascelles B, Borboroglu PG, Croxall JP (2019) Threat to seabirds: a global assessment. Biol Conserv 237:525–537

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duffy DC, Jackson S (1986) Diet studies of seabirds: a review of methods. Colon Waterbirds 9:1–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duhamel G, Gasco P, Davaine P (2005) Poissons des Iles Kerguelen et Crozet. Guide régional de l’océan Austral. Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Escobar-Flores PC, Décima M, O’Driscoll RL, Ladroit Y, Roberts J (2022) Multiple sampling methods to develop indices of mid-trophic levels abundance in open ocean ecosystems. Limnol Oceanogr Methods 20:789–810

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esnal GB (1990) Pyrosomatida. In: Boltovskoy D (ed) South Atlantic zooplankton, vol 2. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, pp 1401–1408

    Google Scholar 

  • Favier V, Verfaillie D, Berthier E, Menegoz M, Jomelli V, Kay JE, Ducret L, Malbéteau Y, Brunstein D, Gallée H, Park YH, Rinterknecht V (2016) Atmospheric drying as the main driver of dramatic glacier wastage in the southern Indian Ocean. Sci Rep 6:32396

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fenwick GD (1978) Plankton swarms and their predators at the Snares Islands. N Z J Mar Freshw Res 12:223–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisheries New Zealand (2022) Fisheries Assessment Plenary, May 2022: stock assessments and stock status. Vol 3: red gurnard to yellow-eyed mullet. Compiled by the Fisheries Science Team, Fisheries New Zealand, Wellington

    Google Scholar 

  • Goetz KT, Stephenson F, Hoskins A, Bindoff AD, Orben RA, Sagar PM, Torres LG, Kroeger CE, Sztukowski LA, Phillips RA, Votier SC, Bearhop S, Taylor GA, Thompson DR (2022) Data quality influences the predicted distribution and habitat of four Southern-Hemisphere albatross species. Front Mar Sci 9:782923

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guilford T, Padget O, Maurice L, Catry P (2022) Unexpectedly deep diving in an albatross. Curr Biol 32:R26–R28

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hanchet SM, Uozumi Y (1996) Age validation and growth of southern blue whiting, Micromesistius australis Norman, in New Zealand. N Z J Mar Freshw Res 30:57–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harper PC (1987) Feeding behaviour and other notes on 20 species of Procellariiformes at sea. Notornis 34:169–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Hedd A, Gales R (2001) The diet of shy albatrosses (Thalassarche cauta) at Albatross Island. J Zool Lond 253:69–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter S, Klages NTW (1989) The diet of grey-headed albatrosses Diomedea chrysostoma at the Prince Edward Islands. S Afr J Antarct Res 19:31–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurst RJ, Bagley NW, Anderson OF, Francis MP, Griggs LH, Clark MR, Paul LJ, Taylor PR (2000) Atlas of juvenile and adult fish and squid distributions from bottom and midwater trawls and tuna longlines in New Zealand waters. NIWA technical report 84

  • Imber MJ (1992) Cephalopods eaten by wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans L.) breeding at six circumpolar localities. J R Soc N Z 22:243–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Imber MJ (1999) Diet and feeding ecology of the royal albatross Diomedea epomophora—King of the shelf break and inner slope. Emu 99:200–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Imber MJ, Russ R (1975) Some foods of the wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans). Notornis 22:27–36

    Google Scholar 

  • IUCN red list of threatened species (2023) https://www.iucnredlist.org/. Accessed 23 Jan 2023

  • James GD, Stahl JC (2000) Diet of southern Buller’s albatross (Diomedea bulleri bulleri) and the importance of fishery discards during chick rearing. N Z J Mar Freshw Res 34:435–454

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jereb P, Roper CFE (2010) Cephalopods of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cephalopod species known to date. Vol 2. Myopsid and oegopsid squids. FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes 4, FAO, Rome

  • Jones MRL (2008) Biology and diet of Coryphaenoides subserrulatus and Etmopterus baxteri from the Puysegur region, southern New Zealand. N Z J Mar Freshw Res 42:333–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lourenço S, Saunders RA, Collins M, Shreeve R, Assis CA, Belchier M, Watkins JL, Xavier JC (2017) Life cycle, distribution and trophodynamics of the lanternfish Krefftichthys anderssoni (Lönnberg, 1905) in the Scotia Sea. Polar Biol 40:1229–1245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mauchline J (1980) The biology of mysids and euphausiids. Part II. The biology of euphausiids. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • McGowan CP, Allan N, Servoss J, Hedwall S, Woolridge B (2017) Incorporating population viability models into species status assessment and listing decisions under the US Endangered Species Act. Glob Ecol Conserv 12:119–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McInnes JC, Raymond B, Phillips RA, Jarman SN, Lea MA, Alderman R (2016) A review of methods used to analyse albatross diets—assessing priorities across their range. ICES J Mar Sci 73:2125–2137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McInnes JC, Alderman R, Lea MA, Raymond B, Deagle BE, Phillips RA, Stanworth A, Thompson DR, Catry P, Weimerskirch H, Suazo CG, Gras M, Jarman SN (2017) High occurrence of jellyfish predation by black-browed and Campbell albatross identified by DNA metabarcoding. Mol Ecol 26:4831–4845

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mills WF, Xavier JC, Bearhop S, Cherel Y, Votier SC, Waluda CM, Phillips RA (2020) Long-term trends in albatross diets in relation to prey availability and breeding success. Mar Biol 167:29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry for Primary Industries (2022) https://protectedspeciescaptures.nz/PSCv6/. Accessed 14 Dec 2022

  • Moore PJ, Taylor GA, Amey JM (1997) Interbreeding of black-browed albatross Diomedea m. melanophris and New Zealand black-browed albatross D. m. impavida on Campbell Island. Emu 97:322–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore PJ, Burg TM, Taylor GA, Millar CD (2001) Provenance and sex-ratio of black-browed albatross, Thalassarche melanophrys, breeding on Campbell Island, New Zealand. Emu 101:329–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakamura I, Parin NV (1993) FAO species catalogue. Vol 15. Snake mackerels and cutlassfishes of the world (Families Gempylidae and Trichiuridae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the snake mackerels, snoeks, escolars, gemfishes, sackfishes, domine, oilfish, cutlassfishes, scabbardfishes, hairtails, and frostfishes known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis 125, FAO, Rome

  • Nel DC, Lutjeharms JRE, Pakhomov EA, Ansorge IJ, Ryan PG, Klages NTW (2001) Exploitation of mesoscale oceanographic features by grey-headed albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma in the southern Indian Ocean. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 217:15–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pages F, White MG, Rodhouse PG (1996) Abundance of gelatinous carnivores in the nekton community of the Antarctic Polar Frontal Zone in summer 1994. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 141:139–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips RA (2006) Efficacy and effects of diet sampling of albatross chicks. Emu 106:305–308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips RA, Gales R, Baker GB, Double MC, Favero M, Quintana F, Tasker ML, Weimerskirch H, Uhart M, Wolfaardt A (2016) The conservation status and priorities for albatrosses and large petrels. Biol Conserv 201:169–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prince PA (1980) The food and feeding ecology of grey-headed albatross Diomedea chrysostoma and black-browed albatross D. melanophris. Ibis 122:476–488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Provencher JF, Borrelle SB, Bond AL, Lavers JL, van Franeker JA, Kühn S, Hammer S, Avery-Gomm S, Mallory ML (2019) Recommended best practices for plastic and litter ingestion studies in marine birds. FACETS 4:111–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reid K, Croxall JP, Prince PA (1996) The fish diet of black-browed albatross Diomedea melanophris and grey-headed albatross D. chrysostoma at South Georgia. Polar Biol 16:469–477

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richard Y, Abraham ER, Berkenbusch K (2020) Assessment of the risk of commercial fisheries to New Zealand seabirds, 2006–07 to 2016–2017. NZ Aquat Environ Biodivers Rep 237:1–57

    Google Scholar 

  • Richoux NB, Jaquemet S, Bonnevie BT, Cherel Y, McQuaid CD (2010) Trophic ecology of grey-headed albatrosses from Marion Island, Southern Ocean: insights from stomach contents and diet tracers. Mar Biol 157:1755–1766

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ridoux V (1994) The diets and dietary segregation of seabirds at the subantarctic Crozet Islands. Mar Ornithol 22:1–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodhouse PG (1997) Large and meso-scale distribution of the ommastrephid squid Martialia hyadesi in the Southern Ocean: a synthesis of information relevant to fishery forecasting and management. Korean J Polar Res 8:145–154

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodhouse PG, Boyle PR (2010) Large aggregations of pelagic squid near the ocean surface at the Antarctic Polar Front, and their capture by grey-headed albatrosses. ICES J Mar Sci 67:1432–1435

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sallée JB (2018) Southern Ocean warming. Oceanography 31:52–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saunders RA, Collins MA, Foster E, Shreeve R, Stowasser G, Ward P, Tarling GA (2014) The trophodynamics of Southern Ocean Electrona (Myctophidae) in the Scotia Sea (Southern Ocean). Polar Biol 37:789–807

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smale MJ, Watson G, Hecht T (1995) Otoliths atlas of southern African marine fishes. Ichthyological Monographs of the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Grahamstown

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens DW, Dunn MR (2011) Different food preferences in four sympatric deep-sea macrourid fishes. Mar Biol 158:59–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sztukowski LA, van Toor ML, Weimerskirch H, Thompson DR, Torres LG, Sagar PM, Cotton PA, Votier SC (2017) Tracking reveals limited interactions between Campbell albatross and fisheries during the breeding season. J Ornithol 158:725–735

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson KR (1992) Quantitative analysis of the use of discards from squid trawlers by black-browed albatrosses Diomedea melanophris in the vicinity of the Falkland Islands. Ibis 134:11–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson KR (1993) Variation in Magellanic penguin Spheniscus magellanicus diet in the Falkland Islands. Mar Ornithol 21:57–67

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson KR, Riddy MD (1995) Utilization of offal and discards from “finfish” trawlers around the Falkland Islands by the black-browed albatross Diomedea melanophris. Ibis 137:198–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson DR, Goetz KT, Sagar PM, Torres LG, Kroeger CE, Sztukowski LA, Orben RA, Hoskins AJ, Phillips RA (2021) The year-round distribution and habitat preferences of Campbell albatross (Thalassarche impavida). Aquatic Conserv Mar Freshw Ecosyst 31:2967–2978

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vinogradov ME, Volkov AF, Semenova TN (1996) Hyperiid amphipods (Amphipoda, Hyperiidea) of the world oceans. Science Publishers, Lebanon

    Google Scholar 

  • Voskoboinikova OS, Zhukov MY (2021) Comparative osteology of the superfamily Congiopoidea (Pisces: Scorpaenoidei). Zoomorphology 140(373):385

    Google Scholar 

  • Wakefield ED, Phillips RA, Trathan PN, Arata J, Gales R, Huin N, Robertson G, Waugh S, Weimerskirch H, Matthiopoulos J (2011) Habitat preference, accessibility, and competition limit the global distribution of breeding black-browed albatrosses. Ecol Monogr 81:141–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waldron JL, Bennett SH, Welch SM, Dorcas ME, Lanham JD, Kalinowsky W (2006) Habitat specificity and home-range size as attributes of species vulnerability to extinction: a case study using sympatric rattlesnakes. Anim Conserv 9:414–420

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warham J (1990) The petrels, their ecology and breeding systems. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Waugh SM, Weimerskirch H, Cherel Y, Shankar U, Prince PA, Sagar PM (1999) Exploitation of the marine environment by two sympatric albatrosses in the Pacific Southern Ocean. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 177:243–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waugh SM, Weimerskirch H, Cherel Y, Prince PA (2000) Contrasting strategies of provisioning and chick growth in two sympatrically breeding albatrosses at Campbell Island, New Zealand. Condor 102:804–813

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waugh SM, Poupart TA, Miskelly CM, Stahl JC, Arnould JPY (2017) Human exploitation assisting a threatened species? The case of muttonbirders and Buller’s albatross. PLoS ONE 12:e0175458

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Weimerskirch H, Guionnet T (2002) Comparative activity pattern during foraging of four albatross species. Ibis 144:40–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weimerskirch H, Jouventin P, Stahl JC (1986) Comparative ecology of the six albatross species breeding on the Crozet Islands. Ibis 128:195–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weimerskirch H, Collet J, Corbeau A, Pajot A, Hoarau F, Marteau C, Filippi D, Patrick SC (2020) Ocean sentinel albatrosses locate illegal vessels and provide the first estimate of the extent of nondeclared fishing. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 117:3006–3014

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • West JA, Imber MJ (1986) Some foods of Buller’s mollymawk Diomedea bulleri. N Z J Zool 13:169–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xavier JC, Cherel Y (2021) Cephalopod beak guide for the Southern Ocean: an update on taxonomy. British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Xavier JC, Croxall JP, Cresswell KA (2005) Boluses: an effective method for assessing the proportions of cephalopods in the diet of albatrosses. Auk 122:1182–1190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xavier JC, Phillips RA, Cherel Y (2011) Cephalopods in marine predator diet assessments: why identifying upper and lower beaks is important. ICES J Mar Sci 68:1857–1864

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xavier JC, Walker K, Elliot G, Cherel Y, Thompson D (2014) Cephalopod fauna of South Pacific waters: new information from breeding New Zealand wandering albatrosses. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 513:131–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank G. Hedley, S. Kalish and B. Thompson for assistance in the field, G. James for his help to build a reference collection of fish otoliths and bones, and C. Trouvé for her help in food sample analysis. We also thank Invercargill-based staff from the Department of Conservation, including A. Cox and C. West for their assistance with field preparations. Special thanks to Ngai Tahu and their Murihiku iwi representatives for providing their consent for the work at Motu Ihupuku Campbell Island. The PhD thesis of S.M. Waugh was supervised by P.M. Sagar (NIWA Ltd, Christchurch) and H. Weimerskirch (CNRS, Villiers-en-Bois).

Funding

The project was funded by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA Ltd., New Zealand), Department of Conservation (DOC, New Zealand), including the Conservation Services Levy paid by the New Zealand Commercial Fishing Industry, New Zealand Lottery Science Commission, France-New Zealand Cultural Agreement, and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, France).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 du CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France

    Yves Cherel & Susan M. Waugh

  2. BirdLife International, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ, UK

    Susan M. Waugh

  3. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd, 10 Kyle Street, Riccarton, Christchurch, 8011, New Zealand

    Susan M. Waugh

Authors
  1. Yves Cherel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Susan M. Waugh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

YC and SW conceived and designed the research. SW collected food samples in the field. YC and SW analyzed food samples, and YC identified prey items. YC drafted the manuscript, and both authors edited, read, and approved it.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yves Cherel.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.

Ethical approval

Fieldwork was approved by the Department of Conservation (DOC, New Zealand).

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Vitor H. Paiva.

This work is dedicated to Peter Prince (1948–1998) from the British Antarctic Survey who died suddenly one year after the fieldwork at Campbell Island in 1997.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 46 KB)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cherel, Y., Waugh, S.M. Dietary evidence of trophic segregation between Campbell albatross Thalassarche impavida and grey-headed albatross T. chrysostoma at subantarctic Campbell Island. Mar Biol 170, 126 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-023-04267-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-023-04267-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation