Receding Ice Drove Parallel Expansions in Southern Ocean Penguins
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A Global Population Assessment of the Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis
www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN A global population assessment of the Chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) Noah Strycker1*, Michael Wethington2, Alex Borowicz2, Steve Forrest2, Chandi Witharana3, Tom Hart4 & Heather J. Lynch2,5 Using satellite imagery, drone imagery, and ground counts, we have assembled the frst comprehensive global population assessment of Chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) at 3.42 (95th-percentile CI: [2.98, 4.00]) million breeding pairs across 375 extant colonies. Twenty-three previously known Chinstrap penguin colonies are found to be absent or extirpated. We identify fve new colonies, and 21 additional colonies previously unreported and likely missed by previous surveys. Limited or imprecise historical data prohibit our assessment of population change at 35% of all Chinstrap penguin colonies. Of colonies for which a comparison can be made to historical counts in the 1980s, 45% have probably or certainly declined and 18% have probably or certainly increased. Several large colonies in the South Sandwich Islands, where conditions apparently remain favorable for Chinstrap penguins, cannot be assessed against a historical benchmark. Our population assessment provides a detailed baseline for quantifying future changes in Chinstrap penguin abundance, sheds new light on the environmental drivers of Chinstrap penguin population dynamics in Antarctica, and contributes to ongoing monitoring and conservation eforts at a time of climate change and concerns over declining krill abundance in the Southern Ocean. Chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) are abundant in Antarctica, with past estimates ranging from 3–8 million breeding pairs, and are considered a species of “least concern” by BirdLife International1, but the popula- tion dynamics of this species are not well understood and several studies have highlighted signifcant declines at monitored sites2–6. -
The Fish Component of Pygoscelis Penguin Diets by Nina J Karnovsky
The fish component of Pygoscelis penguin diets by Nina J Karnovsky A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Biological Sciences Montana State University © Copyright by Nina J Karnovsky (1997) Abstract: Long-term research on the breeding biology and foraging ecology of Antarctic seabirds has shown that these birds are excellent indicators of the environmental conditions of the Southern Ocean marine ecosystem. Since 1976 three species of penguins, the gentoo, Adelie and chinstrap, have been studied on King George Island, Antarctica. The coexistence of the three species during their breeding season could be a result of species-specific differences in prey, foraging habitat and/or feeding behavior. Previous studies have shown that krill is the major component of the diet of all three species. The importance of fish in their diet has been underestimated and not well understood. The objective of this study was to analyze which kinds of fish species, and to what extent, the different penguins rely on fish. I examined interspecific, intraspecific differences in the piscivorous portion of diet of the three penguin species. These data will be used for examinations of interannual variation in the penguin diets in the future. Changes in the percentage of, or a shift in species assemblages of fish eaten (preyswitching) could reflect variations in environmental conditions. Such a change might be expected because krill populations have declined in the past decade due to a decrease in winter sea ice. Krill depend on sea-ice for protection from predators and for feeding on the ice-algae populations. -
Breeding Dynamics of a Gentoo Penguin Pygoscelis Papua Population at Cierva Point, Antarctic Peninsula
2000 Quintana & Cirelli: Breeding dynamics of Gentoo Penguins at Cierva Point 29 BREEDING DYNAMICS OF A GENTOO PENGUIN PYGOSCELIS PAPUA POPULATION AT CIERVA POINT, ANTARCTIC PENINSULA R.D. QUINTANA & V. CIRELLI GESER (Grupo de Estudios Sobre Ecología Regional), Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Cs. Exactas y Naturales, Dpto. de Ciencias Biológicas, Pab. II, C. Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina ([email protected]) Received 4 October 1996, accepted 24 September 1998 SUMMARY QUINTANA, R.D. & CIRELLI, V. 2000. Breeding dynamics of a Gentoo Penguin Pygoscelis papua popu- lation at Cierva Point, Antarctic Peninsula. Marine Ornithology 28: 29–35. Aspects of the breeding biology of the Gentoo Penguin Pygoscelis papua were studied at Cierva Point, Antarctic Peninsula (64°09'S, 60°57'W). From a breeding population of 1044 pairs (85% with two eggs), 83% raised at least one chick to fledging. Survival in different subcolonies was neither correlated with perimeter-area ratio nor with distance to the sea. Chick mortality at the end of January 1993 was 23.9%, whereas for the 1991/92 breeding season it was 14.0%; for 1993/94, 23.9%; for 1994/95, 33.0% and for 1995/96 24.3%. By 17 February 1993, chick mortality was 32.3%. Chick survival was regressed against time for nine selected subcolonies, showing a high correlation between them. Covariance analysis among the regression line slopes showed a non-significant result (F = 0.42, P > 0.05). No significant differences were also observed when Tuckey’s multiple contrasts test was performed on the proportions of surviving chicks in-between weeks (P > 0.05), showing a gradual mortality of chicks from egg-laying to créching. -
The Future for Flipper Banding African Penguins: Discussion, Recommendations and Guidelines
Petersen et al.: Appendix to Marine Ornithology 33(2): 75-79 E1 THE FUTURE FOR FLIPPER BANDING AFRICAN PENGUINS: DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATIONS AND GUIDELINES SAMANTHA L. PETERSEN1, GEORGE M. BRANCH2, ROBERT J.M. CRAWFORD3, JOHN COOPER4 & LES G. UNDERHILL4 1BirdLife South Africa, c/o Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa ([email protected]) 2Department of Zoology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa 3Marine and Coastal Management, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, South Africa 4Avian Demography Unit, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa INTRODUCTION detecting adverse effects, the bulk of peer-reviewed evidence is that metal flipper bands can be detrimental to a range of species. Flipper banding has enhanced our understanding of penguin biology and aided management decisions since the 1950s (Williams 1995). Most evidence of adverse effects of bands has been derived from More recently, however, a body of evidence has emerged to suggest sub-Antarctic and Antarctic species, although the temperate-water that this marking technique may no longer be the method of choice Little Penguin Eudyptula minor (Dann et al. 2000) has also been in all circumstances, because concerns have been raised about the demonstrated to be adversely affected by flipper banding. Evidence potential adverse effects of flipper bands (Ainley et al. 1983, Culik et of such effects is currently lacking for Spheniscus species. This al. 1993, Trivelpiece & Trivelpiece 1994, Hindell et al. 1996, Clarke should not be taken to mean there are no adverse effects, because & Kerry et al. 1998, Froget et al. -
Foraging Behaviour of the Chinstrap Penguin 85
1999 Wilson & Peters: Foraging behaviour of the Chinstrap Penguin 85 FORAGING BEHAVIOUR OF THE CHINSTRAP PENGUIN PYGOSCELIS ANTARCTICA AT ARDLEY ISLAND, ANTARCTICA RORY P. WILSON & GERRIT PETERS Institut für Meereskunde an der Universität Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, D-24105 Kiel, Germany ([email protected]) SUMMARY WILSON, R.P. & PETERS, G. 1999. Foraging behaviour of the Chinstrap Penguin Pygoscelis antarctica at Ardley Island, Antarctica. Marine Ornithology 27: 85–95. The foraging behaviour of 20 Chinstrap Penguins Pygoscelis antarctica breeding at Ardley Island, King George Island, Antarctica was studied during the austral summers of 1991/2 and 1995/6 using stomach tem- perature loggers (to determine feeding patterns), depth recorders and multiple channel loggers. The multi- ple channel loggers recorded dive depth, swim speed and swim heading which could be integrated using vectors to determine the foraging tracks. Half the birds left the island to forage between 02h00 and 10h00. Mean time at sea was 10.6 h. Birds generally executed a looping type course with most individuals foraging within 20 km of the island. Maximum foraging range was 33.5 km. Maximum dive depth was 100.7 m although 80% of all dives had depth maxima less than 30 m. The following dive parameters were positively related to maximum depth reached during the dive: total dive duration, descent duration, duration at the bottom of the dive, ascent duration, descent angle, ascent angle, rate of change of depth during descent and rate of change of depth during ascent. Swim speed was unrelated to maximum dive depth and had mean values of 2.6, 2.5 and 2.2 m/s for the descent, bottom and ascent phases of the dive. -
Foraging and Diet of Southern Rockhopper Penguins at Steeple Jason and Beauchêne Island, Falkland Islands – a Summary Report
Foraging and diet of Southern Rockhopper penguins at Steeple Jason and Beauchêne Island, Falkland Islands – a summary report Falklands Conservation September 2012 FALKLAND ISLANDS OFFICE. PO Box 26, Stanley. Falkland Islands Tel: +500 22247. Fax: +500 22288 Patron: HRH The Duke of York KG KCVO ADC. Falklands Conservation is a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales No. 3661322 and Registered Charity No. 1073859. Registered Office:14 East Hatley, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 3JA. Registered as an Overseas Company in the Falkland Islands. Foraging and diet of Southern Rockhopper penguins at Steeple Jason and Beauchêne Island, Falkland Islands – a summary report September 2012 Sarah Crofts Falklands Conservation Acknowledgements UK Overseas Territories Environmental Programme People’s Trust for Endangered Species Falkland Islands Government John Cheek Trust Rockhopper Exploration PLC Desire Petroleum PLC BHP Billiton Wildlife Conservation Society Note: The aim of this document is to report on the progress of the project since the completion of the two year field work to the funding bodies of the project. The data has not completely and comprehensively been analysed and therefore this report does not necessarily reflect the final information that will be published as a result of the project. Please do not cite without the permission of the author. Falkland Islands Note: The maps in this report are projected with the co-ordinate grid system shown above. To avoid clutter- ing the maps the graticule has been removed so tracking data is more clearly displayed. Please bear in mind when interpreting the maps to avoid misreading the latitudes in particular, as they do not run in perpendicu- lar grids and therefore co-ordinates on the map do not align in a straight line with the axes. -
Conserving Gentoo Penguins Fact Sheet
A fact sheet from Oct 2014 Gentoos construct their nests with small pebbles1 and often will steal them from neighboring nests.2 Conserving Gentoo Penguins Gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) can be found swimming, breeding, and foraging in the waters off the Antarctic Peninsula, which juts northward toward South America, and around several sub-Antarctic islands. Although their numbers are stable, human activity could have a major impact on their population health. About gentoo penguins About 387,000 breeding pairs of gentoo penguins inhabit the Antarctic Peninsula, the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, and South Georgia Island.3 They can be as tall as 76 centimeters (about 2.5 feet) and weigh 4.5 to 8.5 kilograms (about 10 to 18 pounds). They are recognizable by their red-orange bills and their feet, which range in color from pink to orange to red. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists gentoo penguins as Near Threatened with extinction. Although some colonies appear to be growing, others are declining quickly, and the impact of human activity may be to blame.4 Did You Know? • Gentoo penguins are mostly monogamous during their breeding season.5 • The gentoo diet includes a mix of crustaceans and fish. Females eat more Antarctic krill than males do.6 Habitat and threats Human interference and habitat degradation are the main threats to the health of gentoo penguin populations. As tourism and other commercial activities—such as oil exploration, fishing, and egg collection—increase near the islands and waters where they live, their breeding and foraging ability is affected.7 What we can do Protecting gentoo breeding colonies is critical for the birds’ survival. -
Downloaded Tri-Axial Acceleration Data and GPS Files, Analyses
Masello et al. Movement Ecology (2021) 9:24 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-021-00255-9 RESEARCH Open Access How animals distribute themselves in space: energy landscapes of Antarctic avian predators Juan F. Masello1* , Andres Barbosa2, Akiko Kato3, Thomas Mattern1,4, Renata Medeiros5,6, Jennifer E. Stockdale5, Marc N. Kümmel7, Paco Bustamante8,9, Josabel Belliure10, Jesús Benzal11, Roger Colominas-Ciuró2, Javier Menéndez-Blázquez2, Sven Griep7, Alexander Goesmann7, William O. C. Symondson5 and Petra Quillfeldt1 Abstract Background: Energy landscapes provide an approach to the mechanistic basis of spatial ecology and decision- making in animals. This is based on the quantification of the variation in the energy costs of movements through a given environment, as well as how these costs vary in time and for different animal populations. Organisms as diverse as fish, mammals, and birds will move in areas of the energy landscape that result in minimised costs and maximised energy gain. Recently, energy landscapes have been used to link energy gain and variable energy costs of foraging to breeding success, revealing their potential use for understanding demographic changes. Methods: Using GPS-temperature-depth and tri-axial accelerometer loggers, stable isotope and molecular analyses of the diet, and leucocyte counts, we studied the response of gentoo (Pygoscelis papua) and chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarcticus) penguins to different energy landscapes and resources. We compared species and gentoo penguin populations with contrasting population trends. Results: Between populations, gentoo penguins from Livingston Island (Antarctica), a site with positive population trends, foraged in energy landscape sectors that implied lower foraging costs per energy gained compared with those around New Island (Falkland/Malvinas Islands; sub-Antarctic), a breeding site with fluctuating energy costs of foraging, breeding success and populations. -
Trophic Ecology of Breeding Northern Rockhopper Penguins, Eudyptes Moseleyi, at Tristan Da Cunha, South Atlantic Ocean
TROPHIC ECOLOGY OF BREEDING NORTHERN ROCKHOPPER PENGUINS, EUDYPTES MOSELEYI, AT TRISTAN DA CUNHA, SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN A Thesis submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Marine Biology at Rhodes University By JENNY MARIE BOOTH December 2011 Abstract Northern Rockhopper penguin populations, Eudyptes moseleyi, are declining globally, and at Tristan da Cunha have undergone severe declines (> 90% in the last 130 years), the cause(s) of which are unknown. There is a paucity of data on this species in the South Atlantic Ocean, therefore their trophic ecology at Tristan da Cunha was studied, specifically focusing on diet, using stomach content analysis and stable isotope analysis (SIA), in conjunction with an analysis of diving behaviour, assessed using temperature-depth recorders. In order to evaluate the influence of gender on foraging, a morphometric investigation of sexual dimorphism was confirmed using molecular analysis. Additionally, plasma corticosterone levels were measured to examine breeding stage and presence of blood parasites as potential sources of stress during the breeding season. Northern Rockhopper penguins at Tristan da Cunha displayed a high degree of foraging plasticity, and fed opportunistically on a wide variety of prey, probably reflecting local small-scale changes in prey distribution. Zooplankton dominated (by mass) the diet of guard stage females, whereas small meso-pelagic fish (predominantly Photichthyidae) dominated diet of adults of both sexes in the crèche stage, with cephalopods contributing equally in both stages. Adults consistently fed chicks on lower-trophic level prey (assessed using SIA), probably zooplankton, than they consumed themselves indicating that the increasing demands of growing chicks were not met by adults through provisioning of higher-quality prey. -
Jadwiszczak P. 2020. Outline Shape Analysis of Penguin Humeri: a Robust Approach to Taxonomic Classification
Supplementary material for: Jadwiszczak P. 2020. Outline shape analysis of penguin humeri: a robust approach to taxonomic classification. Polar Research 39. Correspondence: Piotr Jadwiszczak, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Ciolkowskiego 1J, 15-245 Bialystok, Poland. E-mail [email protected] Supplementary Fig. S1. Stacked normalized outline-shapes of 60 humeri from the training set. Supplementary Fig. S.2 An exemplary reconstructed (based on harmonic descriptors) shape of a humerus assignable to Pygoscelis adeliae, compared visually with the maximal fit (black outline). Numbers denote ranges of harmonics. 1 Supplementary Fig. S3. Relationship between the range of principal components (PCs) used as an input in the linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and performance of the latter. Supplementary Fig. S4. Leave-one-out cross-validation results for the linear discriminant analysis output. 2 Supplementary Table S1. Specimens used for building a model (training set; n = 60). Bones from the Natural History Museum at Tring (UK) and the University of Bialystok (Poland; marked with asterisks). All the bones were studied directly by the author. Species Specimens Aptenodytes forsteri NHM(T)UK 1905.12.30.419, S/1972.1.25, S/1998.55.2, 1846.4.15.27 Aptenodytes patagonicus NHM(T)UK S/2006.31.40, 1946.4.15.33, 1846.4.15.32, 1846.4.15.31, S/1952.1.28, S/1952.1.29 Eudyptes chrysocome NHM(T)UK S/1956.14.1, S/1956.14.2, 1898.7.1.12, S/1952.1.39, 1898.7.1.15, 1898.7.1.13, 1898.7.1.14 Eudyptes chrysolophus NHM(T)UK S/2011.8.1, S/1952.1.40, an unlabelled -
And Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis Adeliae) on the Antarctic Peninsula
viruses Brief Report Identification of Circovirus Genome in a Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus) and Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) on the Antarctic Peninsula Hila Levy 1 , Steven R. Fiddaman 1, Anni Djurhuus 2, Caitlin E. Black 3, Simona Kraberger 4, Adrian L. Smith 1,*, Tom Hart 1 and Arvind Varsani 4,5,* 1 Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK; [email protected] (H.L.); steven.fi[email protected] (S.R.F.); [email protected] (T.H.) 2 Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Faroe Islands, Vestarabryggja 15, FO-100 Tórshavn, Faroe Islands; [email protected] 3 Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; [email protected] 4 The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-5001, USA; [email protected] 5 Structural Biology Research Unit, Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Cape Town 7701, South Africa * Correspondence: [email protected] (A.L.S.); [email protected] (A.V.) Received: 3 July 2020; Accepted: 3 August 2020; Published: 6 August 2020 Abstract: Circoviruses infect a variety of animal species and have small (~1.8–2.2 kb) circular single-stranded DNA genomes. Recently a penguin circovirus (PenCV) was identified associated with an Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) with feather disorder and in the cloacal swabs of three asymptomatic Adélie Penguins at Cape Crozier, Antarctica. -
Blood Chemistry Values in Nestlings of Rockhopper Penguins (Eudyptes Chrysocome): the Efect of Sex and Body Condition
Polar Biology https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2389-z ORIGINAL PAPER Blood chemistry values in nestlings of Rockhopper Penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome): the efect of sex and body condition Virginia Morandini1 · Miguel Ferrer2 · Lynelle Perry3 · Marc Bechard3 Received: 21 February 2018 / Revised: 27 July 2018 / Accepted: 24 August 2018 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract Hematological studies concerned with the determination of normal values of blood parameters in animals have been increas- ing. However, studies on normal concentration of blood constituents of free-living birds still are not very common, and less than 5% of the species of birds have been analyzed, mostly in captivity. Avian hematology has been used in ornithological studies, because it provides biological data about these animals, their biology, and can be very important in the understanding of ecological and behavioral issues. The main purpose of the study was to investigate the concentrations of certain plasma biochemical parameters in nestlings of Rockhopper Penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome) at the crèche phase and the potential infuence of some factors such as sex. We captured 95 nestling Rockhopper during the period 24–31 January 2017. All nest- lings were randomly selected from colonies in Saunders Island (Falkland Islands). All the sampled birds were between 25 and 45 days of age, with mean weight of 1.778 ± 0.314 kg and mean bill length of 36.0 ± 2.8 mm. No diferences in blood parameters or body condition between sexes were found. No parameters but total protein and urea were related to body index. Body index showed a negative signifcant relationship with urea levels in blood, with penguins in worse condition (those relatively lighter) showing higher levels of urea in blood than those that were relatively heavier.