Translocations of Laysan and black-footed albatrosses in Hawaii, USA, to create new protected breeding colonies safe from climate change

Summary

More than 95% of Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) and black-footed albatross (P. nigripes) nest on low-lying Northwestern Hawaiian atolls threatened by sea-level rise and storm surge. Pacific Rim Conservation set out to establish new, higher-elevation breeding colonies at James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge (JCNWR) on Oahu, proactively creating climate-safe habitat before the atoll colonies are lost. A predator-proof fence enclosing 6.56 hectares was completed at JCNWR in October 2016, and feral cats, mongooses and rats within it were removed. Laysan albatross eggs were flown from a hazard-abatement program at the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, incubated, then placed in foster nests at two existing Oahu colonies so chicks would hatch imprinted on the correct species; three cohorts moved in 2015-2017 produced 50 chicks raised at JCNWR, with hatching rates improving to 76% by 2017. A first cohort of 15 black-footed albatross chicks was moved from Midway Atoll in February 2017. All chicks were hand-fed a blended fish, squid and vitamin diet and grew faster than wild reference chicks, fledging at rates of 92% (Laysan) and 93% (black-footed), both above wild rates. A social-attraction system of decoys and broadcast courtship calls drew 354 visits from wild adult Laysan albatrosses in 2017, though no black-footed adults visited given the distance to the nearest existing colony. Because albatrosses take three to nine years to return and begin breeding, the project's ultimate success will not be confirmed until translocated birds start returning starting around 2018; it rates itself successful so far, citing effective predator exclusion, strong fledging rates and improved egg-translocation techniques.