They were bound to drown. How scientists discovered a new island home for these seabirdsSnowflake took off on 16 June. The strong, cold wind from Guadalupe Island helped it make its first flight. The young albatross, a black-footed albatross, had flown above the North Pacific Ocean before. Five months prior, Snowflake, a baby, had flown over 6000 km on a commercial airlinein economy and seating from Midway Atoll, Hawaii, to remote Guadalupe Island, Mexico.Just 3 days before World Albatross Day was, Snowflakes' flight marked a significant milestone in a binational US-Mexico project that aims to protect the birds from rising sea levels. According to Julio Hernndez Montoya (a conservation biologist at the non-profit Island Ecology and Conservation Group, GECI), they were destined for drowning on Midway.The Calgary Zoo's Axel Moehrenschlager says that the albatross will now be more resilient to environmental threats because their nesting areas are on higher ground. He says that one of the most important things about this project is that you put more eggs into more baskets. Moehrenschlager is the chair of the translocation specialist group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. He says the project is potentially revolutionary. He says that this is the first transfer of seabird species between countries.While translocations may not be the first-line intervention for saving species, he and other conservation scientists warn that they can sometimes be the only option. He notes that translocations of species, from corals and elephants, have increased by 300% in the last 30 years.Albatrosses are the top predators of the oceans food chain. They can fly thousands of kilometers and spend years on their own, often flying for food. They return each year to the islands where their parents were born to mate and nest. Nearly 95% of world's black-footed albatrosses, Phoebastria.nigripes, nest on the Hawaiian islands. Midway Atoll in Hawaii, located in a remote area of the state, houses close to 21600 breeding pairs. This is about one-third the global breeding population.These 3kg seabirds nest on sandy beaches that are low and vulnerable to flooding and sea level rise. Eric VanderWerf (a bird biologist at the non-profit Pacific Rim Conservation) says that 30,000 albatross nests were destroyed by the tsunami of 2011. The seabirds are listed as endangered by the IUCN, along with their cousin the Laysan albatross. According to a 2015 study, storm waves and sea level rises of 2 meters could occur in the next century. This scenario would flood 91% of the black-footed albatross nests located on the Eastern Island at Midway Atoll.Michelle Hester, a seabird biologist with Oikonos (a non-profit that studies Pacific ecosystems), says it is alarming how habitat loss could impact their lives.VanderWerf teamed with GECI colleagues to move the black-footed albatross chicks and eggs from Midway to Guadalupe Island. This reserve is located some 260 km off Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, where they used to nest. Since 2000, the Mexican nonprofit has worked on the island to eradicate invasive species. They have removed nearly 50,000 goats and nearly 1500 feral cats. The island was transformed from a moonscape into a lush, green recovering island after their removal, according to Brad Keitt, an American Bird Conservancy seabird biologist who is not involved with the project.Hernndez Montoyas' team tried before to attract black-footed albatrosses onto the island with decoys, recorded courtship sounds and lures. However, none of them settled in. Scientists from Pacific Rim, GECI and GECI met in Oahu in 2016. They came up with the idea to reestablish a colony on the Mexican island. The birds eggs and chicks would be moved before they imprinted on the Hawaiian location. Once imprinted, the birds would then return to the Hawaiian island to breed. The VanderWerfs team had successfully relocated Laysan and black-footed albatrosses eggs from Midway to Oahu (a higher island in Hawaii). The two species nest very close together and have similar behavior. They also face the same environmental threats including plastic pollution and sea level rise.Hernndez Montoyas' team was monitoring a Laysan albatross colony on Guadalupe. They kept it safe from feral cats and other predators on a fenced off peninsula. VanderWerf admits that the idea of transporting birds across the Pacific was somewhat wild. He says that Guadalupe, which is hot and tropical, is more suitable for albatross. Both can be fine.The process took years of planning and dozens of permits from both sides. They also received half a million dollars from various nongovernmental organizations. Additional complications were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In January, 21 black-footed albatross egg pairs from Midway were chosen and flown to Honolulu, San Diego, Tijuana, Mexico, and Guadalupe Island. After a four-hour ride in an all-terrain vehicle and a 30-minute hike to reach the island's southern tip, they found their foster parents, Laysan albatross couples who had never fertilized or broken eggs. Eighteen Midway eggs were hatched in February.Although the new parents cared for their adopted children, it is not certain that they will teach their young black-footed albatrosses specific behaviors, such as courtship behavior. However, it seems that this behavior is innate. The team used decoys to encourage natural behavior and recorded black-footed albatross vocalizations to encourage it.The team traveled across the Pacific with 12 1-month-old fluffy, black-footed chicks. They were worried about the care of the eggs imported from Laysan. Nine of them reached the island safely. The GECIs team raised them, again exposing the chicks as decoys and recording their vocalizations. Scientists keep an eye on the chicks until their ashy-gray fluff turns to adult feathers. Then they fly off; three of them have so far. Research has shown that 93% of albatross chicks raised by hand fledged. However, there is no data on breeding success.Hester points out that artificially creating a new colony of seabirds is difficult and rarely possible. She says that translocating birds is a highly skilled skill and may provide lessons for other bird projects. She says Albatrosses make a great species to start with because they are friendly and can nest on the ground. They also take foster care very well.Keitt states that this project sets an example for international cooperation. This was a bold, bold move by regulators and governments.The team is happy so far. VanderWerf said that this was a complex project. It was difficult to do all this in the middle of the pandemic. It fills us both with amazement and joy.VanderWerf said that the teams are discussing the possibility of moving other seabirds to Guadalupe, or other Mexican islands, such as the Leachs stormpetrel and black-vented shearwater. These were once paradises for seabirds until the arrival of invasive predators. The islands are now capable of a lot more than they were before the arrival of invasive predators.The Snowflakes team plans to bring 80 more albatross eggs to Guadalupe Island over the next few years as the Snowflakes friends take to the helm. They won't be able to see how the project works until Snowflake returns in five years, when they will start looking for mates. VanderWerf states that it will be a significant moment when the birds return.
