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November 25,2021

Anna Murray 

According to a study published November 24 by New Zealand's Royal Society, which provides funding and policy advice in the sciences and humanities, albatrosses, which are known for their monogamy, may be forced to "divorce" as a result of climate change.

A team of researchers from Universidade de Lisboa, the University of Montana, the South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute, and Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco studied a wild population of 15,500 breeding black-browed albatross pairs in the Falkland Islands over a 15-year period. The likelihood of divorce, according to the report, was directly affected by the environment, increasing in years with warm sea surface temperature anomalies.

Warmer water kills fish, forcing birds to spend more time and travel farther to feed. Harsher conditions, in turn, can disrupt hormone levels, making chick survival less likely. With more difficult breeding conditions and a scarcity of food, it can cause more stress and a partner can be blamed for poor performance, which can eventually lead to divorce.

Previously, wildlife researchers discovered that albatross couples were statistically more likely to split up after a failed breeding attempt, as the birds sought more compatible mating partners. As a result, divorce caused by environmental factors may be an unnoticed side effect of global warming.