Short-tailed albatross were the creatures of the habit, according to a new study that found they returned to Vancouver Island to feed for generations for 4,200 years before being driven to the brink of extinction by feather hunters. The data may be the key to helping the birds return from extinction, said study lead author Eric Guiry, a lecturer at the University of Leicester in England. The potential range of the birds extends to thousands of miles wide, open spaces along the Pacific coast and along the oceans, but Guiry said the animals still prefer certain hunting and food areas. “This kind of eating behavior was only recently discovered in birds today,” he said in an interview. “But we have evidence that it has been happening for thousands of years. “The same birds go to the same area for the rest of their lives.” The researchers analyzed these food-seeking patterns using chemical fingerprints or isotopic compositions preserved in albatross bones found in archeological excavations and museum specimens, according to a study published this month in the open access journal Communications Biology. One of the sites where researchers collected ancient bone samples is a village of Mowachaht Nuu-chah-nulth on Nootka Island off the west coast of Vancouver Island, dating to 2300 BC. The study compared samples found on Vancouver Island with those found in the United States, Russia and Japan. Scientists have been able to attach various dots to the chemical fingerprints to compose the puzzle of the short-tailed albatross’s migration and eating pattern for 4,250 years, Guiry said. By mapping biological markers to known isotopic baselines across the species’ food search area – which were thousands and thousands of miles each year of migration – the researchers were able to create a picture of the migratory and foraging behavior of hundreds of birds, he said. . The birds’ food-finding behavior gives researchers an idea of their vulnerability, he said. The short-tailed albatross almost disappeared on its wings between 1880 and 1930, leaving no functional breeding colony in the North Pacific, from Japan to Russia, Vancouver Island south to California, the study said. Known for their pink bills, the wingspan of an albatross can exceed two meters. Their white and gray feathers fade to yellow on their heads. Once in the millions, seabirds regain population but remain at less than one percent of pre-collapse levels. Birds are classified as endangered by the Commission on Endangered Wildlife in Canada. “As population growth continues, understanding the factors that govern how and where short-tailed albatrosses choose, and allocating their time between, specific food search areas may be key to developing effective conservation approaches.” the study states. Guiry said the birds would have “good reasons” to return to the same sites for food. He said it was not clear what the birds were eating then, but they know the squid was in their diet. “It will be very rich areas with hot spots for feeding. “This is especially true when you have highs and lows, so there is a lot of water rich in nutrients, and this is important for the types of food they are looking for.” This behavior may return as the population recovers, he said. “The fact that this seems to be happening to such an extent for such a long time makes you wonder if something more fundamental is happening.” What surprised him most, Guiry said, was the unchanging course and pattern. “Only the huge distance they travel over thousands of kilometers to the same areas,” he said. “The fact that a species travels huge distances and happens from generation to generation for thousands of years. That’s just a remarkable degree of consistency. “ The Morning and Afternoon Newsletters are compiled by Globe editors, giving you a brief overview of the day’s most important headlines. Register today.
