The foraging ranges of Black-footed Albatross Diomedea nigripes breeding in the Bonin Islands, southern Japan, as determined by GPS tracking

Abstract

The foraging movements of six Black-footed Albatross Diomedea nigripes (an endangered species) breeding in the Mukojima Islands (a subset of the Bonin Islands) were successfully tracked over a period of two weeks using back-mounted global positioning system (GPS) data loggers (GDBL-II) during the nest-guarding period. Ninety percent of foraging was done over relatively shallow waters within 200 km of the breeding site. The population of this species in the Bonin Islands has not decreased during last ten years, while the area of long-line fishing is likely to overlap with the albatross foraging area around the islands. The effect on population should be assessed carefully.