Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L01285:reg:3:p8
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L01285
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 3 (pt 8/26)
Character Range: 91240–94261

an eruption in 1992 (Crossin et al. 2013). The size of this island has also increased dramatically since then, providing potentially new habitat for seabird species including albatrosses and petrels.
Depending on their magnitude and location, earthquakes, either on land or undersea, may trigger landslips, liquefaction or a tsunami that may lead to damage or destruction of nesting habitat for seabirds particularly nearshore, and ground and burrow nesting petrels. The potential for earthquake effects on Australian breeding populations of albatrosses and petrels is poorly understood. Macquarie Island is seismically active with significant past earthquakes.
The recovery plan recognises that there are no feasible actions that might be taken to mitigate the threat posed by geological processes on albatrosses and petrel populations at affected locations.
Climate variability and change
Threats from climate variability and climate change resulting in significant weather changes beyond historical variance, with effects on life history, breeding behaviour and success, breeding habitat condition, and disease prevalence.

Climate change is causing major shifts in the distribution of species throughout the world. However, the consequences for ecosystems and community dynamics are not well understood (Albouy et al. 2014). How seabirds will respond to climate change and whether or not they are capable of adapting to new conditions remains largely unknown (Thompson et al. 2015). If species are unable to adapt, they will be vulnerable to extinction, in some cases because climate change will not be the only pressure experienced.
To be able to adapt, species need to have the ability to alter behaviour, and the capacity to evolve and adapt quickly to changing conditions. However, this option is probably limited for albatrosses and petrels, as they are long-lived, exhibit strong fidelity to breeding sites, and the conditions at the breeding sites can change rapidly.
Acquiring information that demonstrates climate change impacts is often not straightforward because of the complexity and interrelationships of environmental variables. For many seabird species long-term studies are not available and base line data are missing. But there are likely to be species-specific responses, because of the variation in life histories and adaptations among seabirds. Shifts in wind patterns, for example, are strongly linked to El Niño/La Niña events in the Pacific Ocean. Incubating Laysan Albatrosses increased their body mass in El Niño conditions and bred more successfully than during La Niña events, while Black-footed Albatrosses (Phoebastria nigripes) did not benefit from these conditions (Thorne et al. 2016).
Climate change is already altering the phenology (timing of life cycle events) of some species. A long-term study (55 years) of a seabird community in East Antarctica found that some species arrived 5-30 days later at their breeding colonies than in the 1950s, while others also laid their eggs