Kerguelen Petrel
Aphrodroma brevirostris
Number Of Mature
Individuals (Regional)
30 000
Regional
Population Trend
Decreasing
2025
Regional Category
Vulnerable
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CONTENTSOverview
Names
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IOC English Name: |
Kerguelen Petrel |
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SA & IOC Scientific Name: |
Aphrodroma brevirostris |
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BirdLife International Taxonomy (scientific name): |
Aphrodroma brevirostris |
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Order: |
PROCELLARIIFORMES |
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Family: |
Procellariidae |
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Species name author: |
Lesson 1831 |
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Afrikaans: |
Kerguelense Stormvoël |
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Sesotho (South Africa): |
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Sesotho (Lesotho): |
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Siswati: |
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Zulu: |
unontweza waseKerguelen |
Current Assessment Status
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2025 Regional Category [Criteria] |
VU° [B2ab(v)] |
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2024 Global Category [Criteria] |
LC (BirdLife International 2018) |
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Population size (Regional) |
Currently unknown, 15 000 breeding pairs (Ryan and Bester 2008) |
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Population size (Global) |
Currently unknown, 1 000 000 individuals (Brooke 2004) |
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Distribution size (EOO) (Regional) km2 |
720 (breeding) |
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Distribution size (EOO) (Global) km2 |
100 000 000 (breeding/resident) |
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Distribution size (AOO) (Regional) km2 |
334 (island sizes, but nesting area is much less) |
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Generation time |
c. 8 years (Bird et al. 2020) |
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Status change reason |
Error correction |
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Migrant (in the region) |
Native, breeding visitor |
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Regional endemic |
No |
Historic Listing Information
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2000 Regional Status |
LC |
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2015 Regional Status |
NT [D2] |
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Status change reason (if applicable) |
Application of criteria |
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2015 Population size (Regional) |
Unknown |
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2015 Global Status |
LC |
Reason for Inclusion
Reason for Inclusion in the Assessment
The species breeds on the Prince Edward Islands and was listed as Near Threatened in the 2015 regional assessment.
Category Justification
Category Justification
The regional population of Kerguelen Petrel Aphrodroma brevirostris meets the criteria for regionally Endangered under Criterion B2 with an Area of Occupancy <500 km2, locations <10 and continuing decline of mature individuals. Continuing decline is predicted to continue, due principally to the threat of House Mice Mus musculus on Marion Island (Preston et al. 2019). However, since a Regional Rescue Effect is applicable given the pelagic nature of the species, plus a non-threatened global population, the Category is modified to Vulnerable [B2ab(v)].
Population Justification
Studying burrow-nesting seabirds requires accurate identification of burrow occupants and nest status, which can be difficult, and complicates estimation of population numbers (Bird et al. 2022). The global population is estimated at 1 million individuals (Brooke 2004). Ryan and Bester (2008) estimated that 20 000 adult Kerguelen Petrels breed annually on each of the two regional islands. The latest population estimate for Marion Island is 5 000 pairs (Preston et al. 2019). This gives an estimate of 15 000 breeding pairs for both islands altogether. Confidence in this regional population estimate is low.
Trend Justification
The global population is thought to be decreasing (BirdLife International 2018). While the trend at Marion Island has not been recently quantified, the population is likely declining due to House Mice (Preston et al. 2019). The trend at Prince Edward Island is unknown. While the density of Kerguelen Petrel burrows remained relatively constant between the late 1970s and the early 2010s, observations at night and surveys in localized areas suggest that Kerguelen Petrels are less common than a few decades ago (Dilley et al. 2017). Contrary to what was expected, no increase has been observed since the removal of the Feral Cats Felis catus in 1991.
Future population projections based on extinction horizon estimates suggest that significant reductions of 44% may occur within the next three generations (Lee 2025). Ongoing monitoring is essential to validate these projections and determine whether the species is experiencing measurable population decreases.
Biology & Ecology
Taxonomy
Monotypic. Originally considered a Pterodroma (gadfly) petrel, but early taxonomists recognised its distinctiveness. Matthews (1942) placed it in the monotypic genus Lugensa, and Olson (2000) later proposed the genus Aphrodroma. Phylogeny of the Kerguelen Petrel is still debated with early molecular studies placing the species close to fulmarine petrels (Nunn 1994), shearwaters (Nunn and Stanley 1998), or on their own (Welch et al. 2014). The more recent phylogenies place the Kerguelen Petrel back among the gadfly petrels (Torres 2019, Estandía et al. 2021).
Identification
The Kerguelen Petrel is a small, uniformly grey seabird measuring 33–36 cm and weighing 360 g. It has a large head, big black eyes, and a steep forehead. Its sooty grey body features a blackish eye patch, with a slightly paler forehead and chin. Fresh feathers have silvery tips, giving the bird a browner look when worn. The underwings are dark grey with pale-fringed coverts, and silvery patches may appear at sea. Both sexes look alike, and juveniles resemble adults.
Distribution
The Kerguelen Petrel breeds across various island groups in the Southern Ocean, including Gough, Inaccessible, and potentially Tristan da Cunha and Nightingale in the south Atlantic sector (Ryan 2007). It also breeds on Prince Edward and Marion Islands, Crozet, and Kerguelen in the south Indian sector (Marchant and Higgins 1990). Possible breeding at South Georgia requires confirmation (Black et al. 2013). At-sea observations suggest that its primary range is south of the Polar Front (Commins et al. 2014) across the Southern Ocean (Ropert-Coudert et al. 2014). Significant numbers of Kerguelen Petrels have been seen moulting their primary feathers in Antarctic waters (55–65°S, 20°W–30°E; Ryan et al. 2020). The species occasionally appears in substantial numbers in northern waters off South Africa (Ryan et al. 1989), Australia (Brown et al. 1986), and New Zealand (Powlesland 1986), alongside other Southern Ocean seabird species like the Blue Petrel Halobaena caerulea. It has also been found stranded in small numbers on the coasts of Uruguay and Brazil (Maurício et al. 2014).
Ecology
The Kerguelen Petrel is a burrowing petrel that breeds in summer. At Marion Island, laying starts in early October, hatching happens in late November, and chicks fledge from late January (Schramm 1983a). Its generation length is approximately eight years (Bird et al. 2020). Kerguelen Petrels primarily feed at night through surface-seizing, seldom performing shallow dives (Harper 1987). Their diet comprises cephalopods, crustaceans, fish, and scavenged food (Schramm 1986, Ridoux 1994). They rarely associate with fishing vessels (Weimerskirch et al. 2000).
Threats & Conservation
Threats
Cats used to prey upon Kerguelen Petrels at Marion Island in the 1970s (van Aarde 1980). Their removal in 1991 eliminated this threat (Cooper et al. 1995). However, alien invasive House Mice persist on the island, and mouse predation is thought to be the most likely explanation for the limited recovery of Kerguelen Petrel over the last 30 years (Dilley et al. 2017). Brown Skuas Catharacta antarctica also prey on Kerguelen Petrels (Schramm 1983b, Ryan et al. 2009). While disease outbreaks could pose a threat, none have been recorded in the global population. Encountered primarily in southern waters (Commins et al. 2014, Ropert-Coudert et al. 2014), the species could face adverse effects from climate change (Inchausti et al. 2003).
Conservation Measures Underway
No conservation measures focused specifically on the Kerguelen Petrel are currently underway, but various generic conservation principles are in place at its breeding islands. The Prince Edward Islands are listed as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, as a Special Nature Reserve under the Environment Conservation Act (No 73 of 1989) and the Prince Edward Islands Management Plan. The Prince Edward Islands Marine Protected Area was proclaimed in 2013. Various stringent guidelines are in place to prevent pollution, contamination, disturbance and introduction of pathogens or invasive organisms on the islands. Further, no access to Prince Edward Island is allowed except for bona fide research purposes at most every four years.
Conservation Measures Proposed
House Mice should be eradicated from Marion Island as soon as possible to benefit Kerguelen Petrels, other seabirds and the whole island ecosystem. An eradication of mice is being prepared for 2027 should sufficient funding be secured.
Research Priorities and Questions
- Potential impacts of mouse predation on chicks and adults of this species at Marion Island should be investigated.
- Information is required on population numbers and trends on Marion and Prince Edward Islands. Breeding success was last estimated in 1980 at Marion Island (Schramm 1983a).
- Virtually nothing is known about many basic demographic parameters for this species at the Prince Edward Islands. Knowledge of recruitment parameters, longevity, breeding frequency, sex-based differences in parental investment, age/sex structure, etc. would be useful for modelling population trends; currently all this information would have to be inferred from sister taxa.
- Movements of the Kerguelen Petrel during and outside the breeding season are unknown, including the geographical range of juveniles.
Contributors & References
Assessor/s
Maëlle Connan
Reviewer/s
Peter Ryan
References
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Brown R, Norman F, Eades D. 1986. Notes on Blue and Kerguelen Petrels found beach-washed in Victoria, 1984. Emu 86: 228–238. DOI: 10.1071/MU9860228.
Commins ML, Ansorge I, Ryan PG. 2014. Multi-scale factors influencing seabird assemblages in the African sector of the Southern Ocean. Antarctic Science 26: 38–48. DOI: 10.1017/S0954102013000138.
Cooper J, Marais AVN, Bloomer J, Bester M. 1995. A success story: breeding of burrowing petrels (Procellariidae) before and after the extinction of Feral Cats Felis catus at sub-Antarctic Marion Island. Marine Ornithology 23: 33–37.
Dilley BJ, Schramm M, Ryan PG. 2017. Modest increases in densities of burrow-nesting petrels following the removal of cats (Felis catus) from Marion Island. Polar Biology 40: 625–637. DOI: 10.1007/s00300-016-1985-z.
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Preston GR, Dilley BJ, Cooper J, Beaumont J, Chauke LF, Chown, SL, Devanunthan N, Dopolo M, Fikizolo L, Heine J, Henderson S, Jacobs CA, Johnson F, Kelly J, Makhado AB, Marais C, Maroga J, Mayekiso M, McClelland G, Mphepya J, Muir D, Ngcaba N, Ngcobo N, Parkes JB, Paulsen F, Schoombie S, Springer K, Stringer C, Valentine H, Wanless RM, Ryan PG. 2019. South Africa works towards eradicating introduced house mice form the sub-Antarctic Marion Island: the largest island yet attempted for mice. In: Island Invasives: Scaling up to Meet the Challenge. Veitch CR, Clout MN, Martin AR, Russell JC, West CJ (eds), Occasional Paper of the IUCN Species Survival Commission; Vol. 62 pp 40–46. IUCN. https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/48358.
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Schramm M. 1983a. The breeding biologies of the petrels Pterodroma macroptera, P. brevirostris and P. mollis at Marion Island. Emu 83: 75–81.
Schramm M. 1983b. Predation by Subantarctic Skuas Catharacta antarctica on burrowing petrels at Marion Island. South African Journal of Antarctic Research 13: 41–44.
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Torres L. 2019. Phylogéographie et évolution moléculaire chez les Procellariiformes: apport à la diversification des oiseaux marins. PhD, Université La Rochelle, La Rochelle.
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Citation
Connan M 2025. Kerguelen Petrel. In: Lee ATK, Rose S, Banda S, Bezeng SB, Maphalala MI, Maphisa DH, Smit-Robinson H (eds), The 2025 Red Data Book of Birds of South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini. Johannesburg, South Africa: BirdLife South Africa. Available at: https://www.birdlife.org.za/red-list/kerguelen-petrel/
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