The southern giant petrel (''Macronectes giganteus''), also known as the Antarctic giant petrel, giant fulmar, stinker, and stinkpot, is a large

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same envir ...

of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly with the similar

northern giant petrel The northern giant petrel (''Macronectes halli''), also known as Hall's giant petrel, is a large predatory seabird of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly, but is slightly north of, the similar southern giant petrel (''Macronec ...

, though it overall is centered slightly further south. Adults of the two species can be distinguished by the colour of their bill-tip: greenish in the southern and reddish in the northern.

Taxonomy

The southern giant petrel was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist

Johann Friedrich Gmelin , fields = , workplaces = University of GöttingenUniversity of Tübingen , alma_mater = University of Tübingen , doctoral_advisor = Philipp Friedrich Gmelin Ferdinand Christoph Oetinger , academic_advisors = , docto ...

. He placed it with all the other petrels in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

'' Procellaria'' and coined the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bo ...

''Procellaria gigantea''. Gmelin cited the "giant petrel" that had been described and illustrated in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. The southern giant petrel is now placed with the

in the genus '' Macronectes'' that was introduced in 1905 by the American ornithologist Charles Wallace Richmond. The genus name ''Macronectes'' combines the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

''makros'' meaning "great" and ''nēktēs'' meaning "swimmer". The specific epithet ''giganteus'' is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

and means "gigantic". The species is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

: no

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all specie ...

are recognised.

Description

Macronectes giganteus -East Falkland -flying-8b-4c

This and its sister species are the largest members of the Procellariidae. The southern giant petrel measures with a wingspan of . Both this and the northern giant petrel vary considerably in size, with southern colonies averaging larger than northern colonies, in line with

Bergmann's rule Bergmann's rule is an ecogeographical rule that states that within a broadly distributed taxonomic clade, populations and species of larger size are found in colder environments, while populations and species of smaller size are found in warmer r ...

. Due to the large amount of size variability, it is difficult to determine which is the larger species, but the largest-bodied colonies of the southern species are slightly larger on average, in both mass and linear dimensions, than the largest in the northern giant petrel. Body mass can vary widely, from , with males averaging larger than females. The largest average weights come from Macquarie Island, where 20 males averaged and 21 females averaged . On the

South Orkney Islands The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean, about north-east of the tip of the Antarctic PeninsulaPatagonia, 15 males averaged and 21 females averaged .''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses, 2nd Edition'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (2008), . However another study from Patagonia, found that 26 males averaged and 27 females averaged . They have a very large yellow

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pla ...

, with a green tip and greyish-brown legs. There are two different morphs, the dark which resembles the

, and the more distinct light morph. On the dark morph the upper breast, head and neck are light with the remainder of its plumage being mottled brown.Maynard, B. J. (2003) The leading edge of its wing is lighter as is the base of the inner

primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

, on the underside. The light morph is rarer and very distinct with only slight black speckles on an otherwise all white look. As juveniles, the dark morph starts off more sooty brown and pales as it ages. Both giant petrels have strong legs and can move around on land effectively. Finally, when in flight this

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

has a somewhat hunchbacked appearance.Harrison, C. & Greensmith, A. (1993) It, like all members of the

Procellariiformes Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, the petrels and shearwaters, and two families of storm petrels. Formerly called Tubinares and still called tubenoses in English, procellariiforms are oft ...

, have features that set them apart from other birds. First, they have nasal passages called naricorns, that attach to the upper bill. The nose holes on the petrels are on the top of the bill. The bills of all Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between seven and nine horny plates. They produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This can be sprayed out of their mouths as a defence against predators and used as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. They have above the nasal passage a salt gland, which helps to remove salt from their blood; this salt, primarily sodium chloride, is in their marine invertebrate food and in the large amount of ocean water that they imbibe; it excretes a concentrated salt solution from the nostrils.

Distribution and habitat

The range of this bird is quite large as it ranges from

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

to the

subtropics The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° nort ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, and has an occurrence range of . It

breeds A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance ( phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

on numerous islands throughout the southern oceans. The islands with larger populations include the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

, South Georgia,

South Orkney Islands The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean, about north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

, South Shetland, Heard Island, Macquarie Island, the

Prince Edward Islands The Prince Edward Islands are two small uninhabited islands in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean that are part of South Africa. The islands are named Marion Island (named after Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, 1724–1772) and Prince Edward Islan ...

, and the

Crozet Islands The Crozet Islands (french: Îles Crozet; or, officially, ''Archipel Crozet'') are a sub-Antarctic archipelago of small islands in the southern Indian Ocean. They form one of the five administrative districts of the French Southern and Antarcti ...

. The other locations with small populations are the

Kerguelen Islands The Kerguelen Islands ( or ; in French commonly ' but officially ', ), also known as the Desolation Islands (' in French), are a group of islands in the sub-Antarctic constituting one of the two exposed parts of the Kerguelen Plateau, a lar ...

Gough Island upright=1.3, Map of Gough island Gough Island ( ), also known historically as Gonçalo Álvares, is a rugged volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a dependency of Tristan da Cunha and part of the British overseas territory of Sai ...

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcano, volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the Extreme points of Earth, most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town, Sou ...

, Diego Ramirez, Isla Noir as well as four locations on the continent of Antarctica, including Terre Adélie, and small islands off the coast of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

near

Chubut Province Chubut ( es, Provincia del Chubut, ; cy, Talaith Chubut) is a province in southern Argentina, situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), the 46th parallel south (bordering Santa Cruz Province), the Ande ...

. The colonies are visited year round.

Behavior

Breeding

The southern giant petrel achieves sexual maturity at six or seven years of age; however the average age of first breeding is ten years. Its breeding season begins in October. Its nest is a mound of

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ...

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

, and stones with a depression in the centre and is located on bare or grassy ground. They form loose

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

except in the

where the colonies are much larger. One immaculate white egg that is is laid. It is incubated for 55–66 days, where it is always guarded by at least one of the parents. When the white chick is born it is brooded for two to three weeks and it fledges at 104–132 days. The chicks are vulnerable to introduced mammalian predators like small rodents. These are generally not recognized as threats by the members of a colony, and thus can kill many chicks.

Feeding

This petrel will feed on fish, krill,

squid True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fittin ...

, offal and waste from vessels in coastal and

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or w ...

waters, where they often follow

fishing boats A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing. The total number of fishing vessels in the world in 2016 was e ...

and

cruise ships Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "sho ...

. Unlike most other

, this

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

will eat

carrion Carrion () is the decaying flesh of dead animals, including human flesh. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures ...

. The Southern Giant petrel is an extremely aggressive predator and will kill other seabirds (usually penguin chicks, sick or injured adult penguins and the chicks of other seabirds). It has been seen preying on the adult Australasian gannet by holding it underwater and drowning it. These birds have also been observed drowning yellow-nosed and black-browed

albatrosses Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Paci ...

. The males exclude females from the carcasses that they are feeding on.

Conservation

2009 was a good year for this species as it was upgraded to a status of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. ...

from

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

, by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

. This downgrade was due to a clearer picture and more accurate censuses. Overall population trends show that in the 1980s there were 38,000 pairs which dropped to 31,000 in the late 1990s followed by 46,800 presently. The

and most of the South Georgia Archipelago have shown increases from the 1980s to the present. Terre Adélie has shown a drastic reduction as the count fell to 10—15 pairs from 80 pairs in the 1980s. The official generation trend is listed by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

at a 1%—9% decline, but it is stated that this is a conservative number. They elaborate that a best case scenario puts it at a 17% increase and a worst-case scenario of a 7.2% reduction.BirdLife International (2009) ARC Centre of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies. (2015, December 21). Scientists discover rare sea snakes, previously thought extinct, off Western Australia. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 10, 2016 from www. sciencedaily .com/releases/2015/12/151221071511.htm Major threats to the well-being of this species start with the typical accidental deaths caused by

longline fishing Longline fishing, or longlining, is a commercial fishing angling technique that uses a long ''main line'' with baited hooks attached at intervals via short branch lines called ''snoods'' or ''gangions''.trawl fishing near the

. Between 2,000 and 4,000 were killed in 1997—1998 due to illegal longline fishing. Also the number of southern elephant seals, which is an important source of food as

, has been shrinking. Human disturbances have also adversely affected this bird. To assist in this bird's continued survival it was placed in CMS Appendix II and ACAP Annex I. Many of the islands that it breeds on are nature reserves, and

and Macquarie Island are World Heritage Sites. Monitoring is done on South Georgia,

Marion Island The Prince Edward Islands are two small uninhabited islands in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean that are part of South Africa. The islands are named Marion Island (named after Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, 1724–1772) and Prince Edward Isla ...

, the

, Terre Adélie, and Macquarie Island.

has had two censuses in the last decade. Continued monitoring and surveys at major breeding sites have been proposed, as well as researching movement and migration. Finally, continued promotion of "best-practice mitigation measures" via existing methods outlined in CCAMLR,

CMS CMS may refer to: Computing * Call management system * CMS-2 (programming language), used by the United States Navy * Code Morphing Software, a technology used by Transmeta * Collection management system for a museum collection * Color manage ...

, and FAO.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * *

External links

Southern giant petrel Photos
* Southern and Northern Giant Petrels
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
{{Taxonbar, from=Q276185 southern giant petrel Birds of Patagonia Birds of Southern Africa Birds of New South Wales Birds of South Australia Birds of Victoria (Australia) Birds of Western Australia Birds of Tasmania Birds of New Zealand Birds of subantarctic islands Birds of the Southern Ocean Nature Conservation Act endangered biota southern giant petrel southern giant petrel