Capture and blood sampling do not affect foraging behaviour, breeding success and return rate of a large seabird: the black-browed albatross

During the last decades, eco-physiological studies have usually relied on the collection of blood from wild organisms in order to obtain relevant physiological measures. However, accurate estimates of the impact of capture and blood collection on performances of Polar seabird species have rarely been conducted. We investigated for the first time the effects of a blood sampling process on subsequent foraging behaviour, reproductive performance and return rate of black-browed albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophris) at Kerguelen Islands. We did not find any evidence that the blood sampling process as conducted in our study had detrimental effects on the breeding or foraging strategies or performance of black-browed albatrosses. Because blood collection can be performed in several different ways, we recommend that eco-physiologists conduct pilot studies to test whether their blood sampling process affects the performances of their study species.