American researchers have unearthed the first fossil breeding ground of the Great Albatross on Bermuda Island. This site contains numerous bones of the species, but there are no living individuals today, either there or in other areas of the North Atlantic.
According to Storrs Olson from the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., 400,000 years ago, rising sea levels of over 20 meters above current levels forced the Great Albatross out of this region. He stated: “They would likely still be there if sea levels hadn’t risen. Future sea level rise due to global warming could similarly impact bird species and coastal life.”
All bird species that once existed in Bermuda were short-tailed albatrosses (Phoebastria albatrus). This critically endangered species currently resides on a few islands off the coast of Japan. Feather collectors nearly drove them to extinction about a century ago. In other regions, the Great Albatross is threatened by fishing activities.
The Great Albatross breeds on islands. Humans have long wondered whether this species had a territory in the North Atlantic, and if so, where it was located. They have now found the answer. The Bermuda territory is buried several meters under sand from a storm, including both adult birds, eggs, and chicks. It was submerged around the time when the West Antarctic ice sheet melted, causing a sudden rise in sea levels. This rise likely submerged breeding sites on Bermuda as well as many other islands.
About 5 million years ago, another species of Great Albatross also existed in the North Atlantic. However, scientists believe that the merger of North and South America approximately 3 million years ago separated the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. This event likely altered ocean conditions, making it increasingly difficult for the Atlantic albatross species to survive. The short-tailed albatross currently lives in the North Pacific. Occasionally, they stray to England from the Southern Hemisphere, and it remains unclear why they have never returned to inhabit the North Atlantic.
