Incomplete search effort: a potential source of bias in estimates of Adélie penguin breeding populations in the Australian Antarctic Territory

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Authors: Southwell, Colin, Smith, David, Bender, Angela
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2009
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Ecology; Geography, Planning and Development; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Australian Antarctic Territory; Antarc*; Antarctica; Polar Record; Pygoscelis adeliae
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247409008444; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247409008444

ABSTRACT Potential Adélie penguin Pygoscelis adeliae breeding habitat in the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT: 45°E–136°E, 142°E–160°E) was mapped using a geographic information system (GIS), and the literature reviewed for evidence of the mapped habitat being searched for presence or absence of breeding Adélie penguins. It is concluded that incomplete search effort is a possible source of substantial negative bias of Adélie penguin breeding abundance derived from published count data in some regions of the AAT. The extent of search effort in other regions of Antarctica could be determined using the same approach applied here, because GIS data required for mapping potential habitat are available for the entire continent. We would expect that regions with more scientific and tourist activity, such as the Antarctic Peninsula, are likely to have greater search effort than the AAT.