Buller’s Albatross is a lightly built albatross that is 76–80 cm long and has a wingspan of 200–213 cm. Males are slightly larger than females. The bill is long and slender, with striking black and yellow colouration: yellow on the top and bottom of the bill, and black on the sides. They have a light grey head, prominent white or silvery-white forcap and a dark area in front of the eyes. The underparts are very pale grey, with a wide black margin on the leading edge of the wing, a narrow black margin on the trailing edge and white in-between.
Buller's Albatross, Pacific Albatross |
Thalassarche bulleri
Status: Vulnerable on the EPBC Act list
Government evidence of impact of climate change:
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IUCN Red List Assessment, Thalassarche bulleri
Climate change and associated extreme weather events (storms and flooding) also pose a threat; although seemingly of lower severity than for other albatross spp. (e.g.
Threats due to climate change are becoming evident and local environmental conditions (rainfall; air temperature; and sea surface height) during the chick rearing stage; have been shown to be significantly correlated with breeding success (Thompson et al. 2015).
While recent climate models predict little change in future local average rainfall; increases are forecast in both temperature and upwelling; with detrimental and beneficial effects respectively on breeding success (Thompson et al. 2015).
Effects of climate change and fisheries bycatch on shy albatross (Thalassarche cauta) in southern Australia.