Foraging Ranges and Partitioning of Feeding Zones in Three Species of Southern Albatrosses

Foraging ranges and zones of breeding Black-browed (Diomedea melanophris), Gray-headed (D. chrysostoma), and Wandering (D. exulans) albatrosses were studied in the southwest Indian Ocean, using individuals color-marked at the Kerguelen Islands. Black-browed Albatrosses forage mainly over the surrounding continental shelf and had a maximum foraging range of 470 km; Gray-headed and Wandering albatrosses foraged over pelagic waters up to 1,850 km and 1,420 km respectively from their nest. Black-browed Albatrosses breeding at two Kerguelen colonies appeared to have essentially separate foraging zones but overlap occurred in an area where trawlers provided an additional food source. Our findings support the hypothesis that separation of feeding zones is an extensive means of resource partitioning in albatross communities and populations.