Influences of status and recent breeding experience on the moult strategy of the yellow‐nosed albatross Diomedea chlororhynchos

Abstract

The primary moult of individually colour‐ringed, adult yellow‐nosed albatrosses at nests on Gough Island was examined in 1983 and related to the status of each bird and its breeding history in the previous year. Adults renew only about half of their primaries each winter and suspend moult while breeding. Birds that bred successfully renewed fewer primaries than did unsuccessful birds or nonbreeders. There were no differences in primary moult between the sexes or in relation to size. Yellow‐nosed albatrosses show complex wave moult as an adaptation to slow renewal of flight feathers. The energy, nutrient or time requirements for feather renewal may conflict with breeding annually so that there is a trade‐off between the extent of moult desirable to maintain flight efficiency and the benefits of breeding in successive seasons.