User:Madrid Alexis/Amsterdam albatross

Conservation[edit]
The Amsterdam albatross is listed as endangered, by the IUCN, with an occurrence range of 4,400,000 km2 (1,700,000 sq mi) and a breeding range of only 7 km2 (2.7 sq mi). They are also considered endangered by the Bonn Convention, an international convention to conserve migratory species, and critically endangered by Birdlife International. The population upon discovery was just five breeding pairs; with conservation this has increased to eighteen to twenty-five breeding pairs. Monitored continuously since 1983, the world population is estimated at 80 mature individuals and a total of some 130 birds. The island on which the albatross breeds have undergone a significant decline in habitat condition due to the introduction of ship rats, feral cats and cattle, while the birds are threatened at sea by the practice of longline fishing. The draining of a peat bog on the plateau has degraded the breeding environment, and because there is only one breeding location, they are also especially vulnerable to diseases such as Pasteurella multocida (avian cholera) and Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae.

To help in conservation efforts banding of the birds and frequent censuses are undertaken. Feral cattle were eliminated from Amsterdam Island in 2010.