The New South Wales Albatross Study Group (NSWASG) was an amateur ornithological fieldwork group that banded albatrosses and other seabirds off the coast of eastern New South Wales, Australia. Primarily targeting winter feeding aggregations of wandering albatrosses near Sydney, it developed its own catching methods and initiated what has become the longest-running continuous albatross research study in the world.
The origins of the NSWASG lie in the pioneer albatross banding activities started by Doug Gibson and Allan Sefton in 1956 at Bellambi in the Illawarra region, and by Bill Lane and Harry Battam in 1958 at Malabar, some 56 km further north in south-eastern Sydney. This followed the realisation that large concentrations of great albatrosses appeared in winter off the New South Wales coast not far from Sydney, and raised the possibility among local amateur ornithologists of catching useful numbers at sea for banding. Black-browed albatrosses also occurred in similar numbers, but wandering albatrosses were considered easier to catch because of their "more phlegmatic disposition", so the banding programs focussed on the latter. [1] At the time there were thought to be only two great albatross species – the wandering and royal albatrosses, with the royal (now split into northern royal and southern royal albatrosses) not known to occur along the coast of eastern Australia. The group, incorporating both banding programs, was formed in 1958 to operate as part of the Australian Bird Banding Scheme. [1] [2] Its objective was "to accumulate… as much information as possible concerning Diomedea exulans when at sea". [3]
The Bellambi site attracted large numbers of albatrosses because of the seasonal abundance of breeding aggregations of a favoured prey species, the Australian giant cuttlefish, with the albatrosses feasting both on live cuttlefish and the debris from predation by dolphins. [1] At Malabar the attraction was the presence of a major submarine sewage outfall which, during the 1950s, discharged large quantities of meaty and fatty wastes from abattoirs and tanneries and acted as a feeding station for albatrosses and other seabirds. According to local ornithologist Keith Hindwood, "Towards the end of April or early in May there is a large influx [of wandering albatrosses], and for the next six months it is not unusual to record from 100 to upwards of 400 birds close to the sewer outlets or resting on the water near the drift-line extending for half a mile or more from the cliffs". [4]
Catching albatrosses was only possible because, in light winds and while the birds were burdened with food, it was very difficult for them to take off from the water. Experiments began with the use of a metal triangle on a float; it was baited with cuttlefish meat to catch the albatross attempting to grasp the bait by the nail, or hooked tip of its upper mandible, and so draw it into a boat where it could be measured and banded. However, this method was slow and uncertain and it was replaced by the use of a hand-held hoop net, 1.35 m in diameter, which could be thrown over the bird as the boat approached it downwind while it struggled to become airborne. [1]
During the first 13 months of operations the group caught and banded 197 "wandering" and two black-browed albatrosses, 63% of which were caught at Bellambi. The group's first international recovery was of an adult male Wanderer, banded at Bellambi on 23 August 1958, which was present on Bird Island, South Georgia, in the South Atlantic Ocean, from 29 December 1958 to 6 March 1959. [1] In 1959 the group caught and banded 551 Wanderers, 21 of which were retraps from the previous year, as well as a bird banded in South Georgia. [3] By the end of the 1962 winter banding season, a total of 1238 Wanderers had been banded. Of these the proportion of retraps from previous years increased annually and it became clear that many birds returned each year. There were also many recoveries of banded birds in South Georgia. [5]
The group continued to operate for over thirty years despite the deaths of several of its founders and the end of Malabar as a suitable banding site with improvements in sewage treatment. As well as South Georgia, recoveries of albatrosses banded in New South Wales have been made in the Crozet Archipelago, the Prince Edward Islands, the Antipodes and Auckland Islands, with the body of research, which is ongoing, described as the longest continuous study of albatrosses anywhere in the world. [2] One product of the research was the Gibson Plumage Index, developed to categorise the variation in plumage colouring and, with the measurements, indicating differences between island populations. [3] [6]
The "Wanderer" group of albatrosses has been split into several taxa including, as well as the wandering albatross, the Antipodean, Gibson's, Tristan and Amsterdam albatrosses, not all of which are recognised by all authorities. Although the taxonomy is still in flux, the work of the group was instrumental in first indicating the genetic isolation of several island breeding populations. [7] The group was eventually subsumed into, and its work continued by, the Southern Oceans Seabird Study Association (SOSSA), established in 1994 by members of the NSWASG as an umbrella organisation for many groups involved in studies of the biodiversity of the Southern Ocean. [2]
The snowy albatross, also known as the white-winged albatross, wandering albatross, or goonie, is a large seabird from the family Diomedeidae; they have a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. It is the most recently described species of albatross and was long considered to be the same species as the Tristan albatross and the Antipodean albatross. Together with the Amsterdam albatross, it forms the wandering albatross species complex. When the complex was split into four species, the English name of the nominate form was changed from wandering albatross to snowy albatross.
The black-browed albatross, also known as the black-browed mollymawk, is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae; it is the most widespread and common member of its family.
The Scotia Sea is a sea located at the northern edge of the Southern Ocean at its boundary with the South Atlantic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the Drake Passage and on the north, east, and south by the Scotia Arc, an undersea ridge and island arc system supporting various islands. The sea sits atop the Scotia Plate. It is named after the expedition ship Scotia. Many icebergs melt there.
The Amsterdam albatross or Amsterdam Island albatross,, is a large albatross which breeds only on Amsterdam Island in the southern Indian Ocean. It was only described in 1983, and was thought by some researchers to be a subspecies of the wandering albatross, D. exulans. BirdLife International and the IOC recognize it as a species, James Clements does not, and the SACC has a proposal on the table to split the species. More recently, mitochondrial DNA comparisons between the Amsterdam albatross, the wandering albatross Diomedea exulans, the Antipodean albatross D. antipodensis and the Tristan albatross D. dabbenena, provide clear genetic evidence that the Amsterdam albatross is a separate species.
The great albatrosses are seabirds in the genus Diomedea in the albatross family. The genus Diomedea formerly included all albatrosses except the sooty albatrosses, but in 1996 the genus was split, with the mollymawks and the North Pacific albatrosses both being elevated to separate genera.
The shy albatross, also known as shy mollymawk, is a medium-sized albatross that breeds on three remote islands off the coast of Tasmania, Australia, in the southern Indian Ocean. Its lifespan is about 60 years, and it has been seen as far afield as South Africa and the Pacific coast of the United States. As of June 2020, the species is listed as "Endangered" in Australia; there are thought to be 15,000 pairs of shy albatross left. It is Australia's only endemic albatross.
The Antipodean albatross is a large seabird in the albatross family. Antipodean albatrosses are smaller than snowy albatrosses, and breed in predominantly brown plumage, but are otherwise difficult to distinguish from young snowy albatrosses.
The southern royal albatross or toroa, is a large seabird from the albatross family. At an average wingspan of above 3 m (9.8 ft), it is one of the two largest species of albatross, together with the wandering albatross. Recent studies indicate that the southern royal albatross may, on average, be somewhat larger than the wandering albatross in mass and have a similar wingspan, although other sources indicate roughly similar size for the two species and the wandering species may have a larger average wingspan in some colonies.
The Tristan albatross is a large seabird from the albatross family. One of the great albatrosses of the genus Diomedea, it was only widely recognised as a full species in 1998.
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes. They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. They are absent from the North Atlantic, although fossil remains of short-tailed albatross show they once lived there up to the Pleistocene, and occasional vagrants are found. Great albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds, with wingspans reaching up to 2.5–3.5 metres (8.2–11.5 ft) and bodies over 1 metre (3.3 ft) in length. The albatrosses are usually regarded as falling into four genera, but disagreement exists over the number of species.
Mitchell Durno Murray was an Australian veterinary scientist, and an ornithologist with a particular interest in seabirds. He was born and educated in England before moving to New Zealand and then Australia. He was the first regional organiser for New South Wales of the Australian Bird Banding Scheme. He was instrumental in establishing the New South Wales Albatross Study Group, now the Southern Oceans Seabird Study Association (SOSSA). He was President of the Australian Bird Study Association 1973–1974, Editor of its journal Corella 1990–1994, and largely responsible for its 'Seabird Islands' series.
John Douglas Gibson was an Australian amateur ornithologist who became an internationally respected expert on the Diomedeidae or albatross family.
The Southern Indian Ocean Islands tundra is a tundra ecoregion that includes several subantarctic islands in the southern Indian Ocean.
The Southern Oceans Seabird Study Association (SOSSA) is an Australian natural history research and conservation organisation. It is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. It was formally established in 1994 by members of the New South Wales Albatross Study Group Lindsay Smith and Harry Battam to be an umbrella organisation for groups involved with biological research on, and concerned about the environment of, the Southern Ocean. However, its origins go back to the start of long-term banding studies of albatrosses by Doug Gibson and Allan Sefton on the coast of New South Wales in the mid-1950s, with SOSSA continuing one of the longest-running albatross research programs in the world.
Gerald Stanley Clark was a New Zealand sailor, writer and ornithologist. He is notable for his ornithological research work on subantarctic islands and for his circumnavigation of Antarctica in his self-built yacht Totorore.
The term seabird is used for many families of birds in several orders that spend the majority of their lives at sea. Seabirds make up some, if not all, of the families in the following orders: Procellariiformes, Sphenisciformes, Pelecaniformes, and Charadriiformes. Many seabirds remain at sea for several consecutive years at a time, without ever seeing land. Breeding is the central purpose for seabirds to visit land. The breeding period is usually extremely protracted in many seabirds and may last over a year in some of the larger albatrosses; this is in stark contrast with passerine birds. Seabirds nest in single or mixed-species colonies of varying densities, mainly on offshore islands devoid of terrestrial predators. However, seabirds exhibit many unusual breeding behaviors during all stages of the reproductive cycle that are not extensively reported outside of the primary scientific literature.
Gibson's albatross, also known as the Auckland Islands wandering albatross or Gibson's wandering albatross, is a large seabird in the great albatross group of the albatross family. It is found principally in the Auckland Islands archipelago of New Zealand, foraging in the Tasman Sea, with most individuals nesting on Adams Island. The common name and trinomial commemorate John Douglas Gibson, an Australian amateur ornithologist who studied albatrosses off the coast of New South Wales for thirty years.
The Gibson Plumage Index (GPI), sometimes known as the Gibson Code, is a system for describing the plumage of great albatrosses. It is named after, and originally devised in the late 1950s by, John Douglas Gibson and other members of the New South Wales Albatross Study Group. Gibson was an Australian amateur ornithologist who carried out fieldwork on albatrosses along the coast of New South Wales for thirty years. The index assigns separate numerical values to the degrees of colouration on four parts of the body - the back, head, inner wing and tail - of albatrosses to indicate variations in age and between different breeding populations. For instance, a bird with a completely brown back would receive a score of 1 for the back, while a bird with an all-white back would be scored as a 6. The index was later expanded by Pierre Jouventin and colleagues to cover the more complex patterning of the Amsterdam albatross, adding belly and tibial feather colouration. This system for categorising the wide and complex variation in appearance of great albatrosses has been instrumental in the discovery of several genetically isolated populations and consequent description of new taxa, and has made field identification easier.