South Georgia Marine Ecosystems Science field update 2019-20 Highlights of the 2019-20 Season • Long -term monitoring at Bird Island, & • RRS James Clark Ross (JCR) “Western Core Box” Survey (Nov-Dec 2019) • Braveheart whale survey (Jan-Feb 2020) • Drone surveys of wildlife • Expedition to the South Sandwich Islands (Jan 2020) Bay of Isles Maiviken King Edward Point Bird Island

Larsen Harbour Bird Island: Long term monitoring

• Fur seal, albatross, petrel & penguin population studies • Diet sampling • Sampling of chick feathers for biochemical & pollutant studies Bird Island: Fur seal demography & studies

• Long- term demography (39th year) on Seal Study Beach; • Counts of male, female & pups • Tagging & pup weighing • Scat analysis

• Also collaborative work funded by German Research Foundation investigating genetic fitness of fur seals. Bird Island: Fur seal demography & studies

SSB Pups 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019

50 45 Pup mortality (%) 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 Bird Island & Maiviken: Fur seal pup condition

Maiviken

Bird Island Bird Island: Macaroni penguin monitoring

1 0.9 BI Macaroni Breeding Successs 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 Gentoo breeding success

Gentoo Breeding Success 1.8 1.6 Bird Is. 1.4

1.2 Maiviken

1

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 Bird Island: Albatross population declines Bay of Isles: wandering albatross monitoring

• Initiated in 1999 by Surveys (Sally Poncet); • Annual census of breeding pairs on Albatross & Prion islands (Jan) • Chick counts on Prion in Mar & Oct.

January 2020 • Albatross Is: 139 pairs (ave. 134) • Prion Is: 27 pairs (ave. 32)

2019 • 86 % hatching success (Apr) • 76 % fledging (Oct) Bay of Isles: wandering albatross monitoring

200 180 Albatross nests with eggs 160 140 120 100 Albatross Is.

80 Prion Is. 60 40 20 0 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 JCR Western Core Box & Associated Science JCR Western Core Box & Associated Science WCB krill density

300

250

) 200 -2

150

Krilldensity(m 100

50

0 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 Year The Wild Water Whale Survey on Braveheart

Buss

Olson Southern right whales

Amy Kennedy Southern right whale tracking

Amy Kennedy

https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/south-georgia-right-whale- project/south-georgia-right-whale-project-whale-tracking/ Antarctic blue whales Humpback whales: a story of recovery? Citizen science delivers new insights into humpback and right whale movements

South Georgia, December 2019 Brazil, June 2018

https://happywhale.com/ Citizen science delivers new insights into humpback and right whale movements

https://happywhale.com/

Surveying wildlife with a UAV (drone)

• Elephant seals King Edward Cove St Andrews Bay Hound Bay • Gentoo penguins Maiviken • Fur seals Maiviken • Weddell seals Larsen Harbour • Wandering albatross Bay of Isles • Whales Weddell seals in Larsen Harbour Elephant seals at St Andrews Bay Elephant seals at St Andrews Bay Expedition to the South Sandwich Islands Expedition to the South Sandwich Islands

• BAS Ecosystems Acknowledgements Programme, • Jen Jackson & Braveheart team • Sophie Fielding and JCR team • Tom Hart, Skip Novak and all on Pelagic Australis • John Dickens, Phil Hollyman & KEP science teams • Richard Phillips, Jaume Forcada, Norm Ratcliffe & BI scientists • Sally Poncet & team, Pharos SG crew • Eugene Murphy & Phil Trathan