Laysan Albatross
- Lansing Crawford
- Nov 30, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 2, 2023
Written by: Lansing Crawford
About
Laysan albatrosses (Phoebastria immutabilis) also known as Mōlī in Hawaiian are truly amazing birds. These birds can live over 50 years, and the majority of time will stick with only one mate over the course of their lives. Additionally, they have a massive wingspan of over 6 feet, which allows them to fly very long distances without the need to constantly flap their wings, and making it so they can go years without ever needing to touch land (Smithsonian).
One very special Laysan Albatross, named “Wisdom” is the oldest wild bird in the entire world, being first banded in 1956. As she was not a chick when she was first found, she is over 70 years old today. Throughout her life, it is estimated that she has flown over 3 millions miles (120 laps around earth) and has raised 30-40 chicks (American Bird Conservatory).
Laysan Albatross pairs mate for life and usually begin looking for a mate around 3 or 4 years old. Even if they do not spend winter together, they will reconnect at their breeding grounds annually. Successful pairs will produce only one egg per season which takes a lot of effort from both parents to raise. Both parents will work together to incubate the egg, with the male taking over incubation for 3 weeks straight. Once the chick hatches, they will leave the nest after around 5-6 months, spending the next 3-5 years at sea (American Bird Conservatory).
Geographic and Population Changes
The range of the Laysan Albatross has not changed much, the majority of the breeding is done on Midway Atoll, part of the Hawaiian archipelago. Some Albatross nest off of Japan and more recently, in the past 40 years, some birds have begun to nest on islands off of Mexico’s west coast (American Bird Conservatory).
99.7% of Laysan Albatross breed and live on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (Wikipedia).
The current population is around 1.6 million individuals, the overall population has remained fairly stable from 1992-2005. However, looking towards the future, there is an expected decline of 20-29% from 1992-2078 due to all the different threats the Albatross are facing (IUCN).
ICUN Listing
The Laysan Albatross is currently listed as Near Threatened, being assessed on 07 August 2018 (IUCN). But in the past, it has been listed as vulnerable due to declines in the population.
The biggest problem threatening the Laysan Albatross is that they are eating plastic that is dumped into the oceans. Sometimes, birds will accidentally eat plastic that is floating on the surface of the water as they mistake it for food. However, with the Laysan Albatross this problem is further intensified. The Laysan Albatross hunt for food by skimming the surface of the water with their beak, looking to catch food like fish and squid. Because of this, they often will pick up lots of plastic as they search for food. Then, the Albatross will feed this to their chicks, leading to mass amounts of chicks dying as they are unable to regurgitate the plastic fed to them, causing their stomachs to fill up with plastic (Smithonian).
While it has yet to be proven, it is believed that the plastic can cut up the interior of the stomach and make the chicks feel “full” due to the plastic taking up lots of space. This leads to the chicks starving to death as they are not properly eating. Additionally, many chicks die due to lead poisoning. "Laysan chicks raised in nests close to 90 buildings left behind by the Navy are ingesting lead-based paint chips. This is causing shockingly high lead concentrations in their blood, leading to severe neurological disorders, and eventual death," said George Fenwick, president of American Bird Conservancy (Wikipedia).
Climate change could also have an import on the Laysan Albatross due to sea levels rising. The large majority of the Albatross population nest on low-lying islands meaning that huge portions of their nesting grounds may be lost to the ocean (IUCN).
Additionally, invasive species such as cats and dogs have also led to a major increase in nest failure at some colonies. The dogs and cats will kill adults and chicks causing hundreds of deaths annually (IUCN).
Images: https://www.acap.aq/latest-news/the-laysan-albatrosses-of-midway-atoll-creating-artworks-from-plastic-pollution
Recovery Plan
Some actions that have been taken to help protect the Laysan Albatross include things like habitat protection. In 2006, the Papahânaumokuâkea Marine National Monument was established which encompasses all of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. In 2016, the Marine Monument was expanded from 362,073 km^2 to 1,508,870 km^2 (IUCN). Additionally, as of 2006, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission requires that long-line fishing vessels have “at least two seabird bycatch mitigation measures when fishing north of 23 degrees North” (IUCN).
Some proposed conservation plans for the future include the continued removal of lead paint from buildings that the Laysan Albatross nests near as well as continued studies of long-line fishing and the best ways to reduce bycatch (IUCN).
What Can You Do?
As discussed previously, one of the biggest threats to the Laysan Albatross is plastic pollution in the ocean. Because of this, it goes without saying that you should absolutely not litter and be proactive in recycling your trash and ensuring that you are throwing things away properly. Additionally, some of the best things that you and your family can do are working to remove single-use plastics from your day to day life. Here are some simple ways that you can cut back on your single-use plastic: (Maes).
1. Carry Reusable Shopping Bags
2. Drink Your Coffee From a Reusable Cup
3. Avoid Bottled Water
4. Avoid Plastic Straws
6. Shop at Farmers Markets
7. Swap Out Bottles of Soap for Bars
8. Avoid Buying Clothes Made With Plastic
Additionally, to help protect against bycatch from long-line fishing and other destructive forms of commercial fishing, you can buy fish that are caught sustainably. This can help to reduce the demand for unsustainable and destructive forms of fishing, in turn helping to protect seabirds and other marine animals from being caught as bycatch.
Finally, you can donate to the Midway Albatross which is an island conservation campaign which is working to help ensure that Midway Atoll remains protected as the Pacific’s most important nesting grounds for Albatross. This campaign has helped to fight issues such as eradicating invasive mice which were attacking adult Albatross and eating chicks (Island Conservation).
Works Cited
10 simple ways to cut back on single-use plastic in your life. Global Citizen. (n.d.). https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/tips-reduce-plastic/?gclid=CjwKCAiA3aeqBhBzEiwAxFiOBsmMEbafzWWKQ2xnlgHKJTe_sIIDTsI1yYoGE4ab1z5XjxAgt_dDmhoCm4YQAvD_BwE
Albatross Conservation on Midway Atoll. Island Conservation. (2021, January 7). https://www.islandconservation.org/albatross-conservation/
Asma.mahdi. (2013, July 23). Debris impact on Laysan albatross: OR&R’s Marine Debris Program. asma.mahdi. https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/debris-impact-laysan-albatross
International), B. I. (BirdLife. (2018, August 7). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22698365/132643073#population
Laysan albatross. American Bird Conservancy. (2022, April 26). https://abcbirds.org/bird/laysan-albatross/#:~:text=The%20majority%20of%20Laysan%20Albatrosses,extension%20of%20thousands%20of%20miles
Laysan albatross. Audubon. (2023, November 8). https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/laysan-albatross
The Laysan albatrosses of Midway Atoll: Creating displays and artworks from plastic pollution. Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels. (n.d.). https://www.acap.aq/latest-news/the-laysan-albatrosses-of-midway-atoll-creating-artworks-from-plastic-pollution
Smithsonian. (2018, May 14). Laysan albatrosses’ plastic problem. Laysan Albatrosses’ Plastic Problem. https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/seabirds/laysan-albatrosses-plastic-problem
Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, November 22). Laysan albatross. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laysan_albatross
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