Sex determination by morphological measurements of black-browed albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophrys) using discriminant analysis

  • Miguel Ferrer
  • , Virginia Morandini
  • , Lynelle Perry
  • , Marc Bechard

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

To provide an easy and reliable work tool to identify the sex of individuals, adult Black-browed Albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophrys) (n = 31) were weighed and measured, and the sex determined using DNA analyses. Stepwise discriminant analysis showed upper bill depth and weight to be the best predictor variables for sex determination. This model classified correctly 95.0% of the males and 81.8% of the females (overall success was 90.3%). Additionally, a single measure discriminant analysis of upper bill depth was developed that is able to separate sexes using a threshold upper bill depth of 29.87 mm, with values above this point being males and values below it being females.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)295-299
Number of pages5
JournalWaterbirds
Volume39
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2016

Keywords

  • Black-browed Albatross
  • discriminant analysis
  • forearm
  • morphometric
  • sea birds
  • sex determination
  • Thalassarche melanophrys
  • upper bill depth

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