Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L01285:reg:3:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L01285
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 3 (pt 1/26)
Character Range: 71546–74578

3                   Threats

3.1           Nature of threats
Albatross and petrel life history strategies are a major factor influencing their conservation. Procellariiform seabirds including the albatross and petrel species in this recovery plan are characterised by their longevity, naturally high adult survival rates, delayed sexual maturity and low fecundity (Warham 1990). Over the 60 years from 1950 to 2010, 324 monitored seabird populations have decreased by nearly 70% worldwide (Paleczny et al. 2015). Changes in adult mortality rates have greater impact on Procellariiform populations than other demographic factors (Croxall & Rothery 1991). Pelagic seabirds are more threatened than coastal resident seabirds, as they tend to have small breeding populations and many are restricted to single islands or island groups (Croxall et al. 2012). When a population cannot be stabilised through local recruitment or immigration, any additional mortality is likely to lead to a decrease of a population (Longcore & Smith 2013). The breeding season of albatrosses and petrels is typically protracted, and if during this time, one parent dies or is killed the death of the dependent offspring may occur, and a loss of breeding opportunities will occur until a new pair bond is established, further jeopardising population viability (Weimerskirch & Jouventin 1987, Croxall et al. 1990). Human activities, such as fishing, disturbance, development and pollution, as well as direct take, either kill seabirds directly or alter the structure and function of their ecosystem (Baum & Worm 2009). Significant modification of their breeding and foraging habitats due to changes to climate have the potential to also affect Australia's albatross and petrel populations directly and indirectly (Tweedie & Bergstrom 2000, Chown et al. 2005, Thost & Allison 2005, Thost & Truffer 2008, Thomson et al. 2015). Albatrosses and petrels are also susceptible to a wide range of diseases. However, the frequency of occurrence and impact of infectious diseases remains largely unknown (Uhart et al. 2018).
Albatrosses and petrels are subject to an array of threats throughout all stages of their life history (Dias et al 2019). These comprise terrestrial threats at breeding sites and marine threats that reduce the survivorship of albatrosses and petrels and/or their capacity to reproduce successfully (Baker et al. 2002, Phillips et al. 2016) (Table 4). Various aspects of albatross and petrel biology and ecology are still not well known. Such understandings are vital to the interpretation and measurement of the likely impact of threats and are important for population viability analysis and other modelling. Despite considerable work, particularly concerning foraging distribution (BirdLife International 2004), details of the breeding biology, feeding ecology, foraging distribution and population trend of many albatross and petrel species are still lacking because of a lack of long-term studies (Phillips et al. 2016). Cumulatively, these