New research: How climate change causes ‘divorce’ among albatrosses

What is the news?

A new study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B has provided evidence of the effect of environmental conditions on the longevity of relationships among a population of albatrosses.

What does the report suggest?

It suggests that environmental conditions cause splits between black-browed albatrosses in the South Atlantic, which otherwise have long-term monogamous relationships.

The “divorce rate” in the study population varied substantially across years and was directly modulated by environmental variability at different times.

-Higher “divorce rates” were recorded in lower-quality years.

How exactly can a changing environment cause these birds to split up?

Split between albatrosses partners, in long-lived monogamous sea populations, is an adaptive strategy.

-It is triggered by breeding failure and also for some reproductive benefits, particularly for females which are more likely to find new partners and attain a higher breeding success.

About Albatross:

The wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) are large flying seabirds. Their species of the genus Diomedea (great albatrosses) have the longest wingspans of any extant birds.

Range: They are found widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. They are absent from the North Atlantic.

IUCN status– Of the 22 species of albatrosses recognized by the IUCN, all are listed as at some level of concern.

-Critically endangered-3; Endangered-5; Near threatened-7; Vulnerable-7.

Threat- Numbers of albatrosses have declined in the past due to harvesting for feathers.

-They are also threatened by introduced species, like rats and feral cats that attack eggs, chicks, and nesting adults.

-By pollution and serious decline in fish stocks in many regions largely due to overfishing.

–Longline fishing-It poses the greatest threat, as feeding birds are attracted to the bait, become hooked   on the lines, and drown.

Source: This post is based on the article “New research: How climate change causes ‘divorce’ among albatrosses” published in the Indian Express on 27th November 2021.