Abandoned penguin colonies and environmental change in the Palmer Station area, Anvers Island, Antarctic Peninsula
Six abandoned colonies of Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) were excavated near Palmer Station, Anvers Island, Antarctic Peninsula, to investigate the occupation history of this species. Sediments from each site yielded abundant fish bones and otoliths and squid beaks that represent prey remains d...
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Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1998
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102098000352 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102098000352 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0954102098000352 2024-06-23T07:45:42+00:00 Abandoned penguin colonies and environmental change in the Palmer Station area, Anvers Island, Antarctic Peninsula Emslie, Steven D. Fraser, William Smith, Raymond C. Walker, William 1998 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102098000352 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102098000352 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Antarctic Science volume 10, issue 3, page 257-268 ISSN 0954-1020 1365-2079 journal-article 1998 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102098000352 2024-05-29T08:09:45Z Six abandoned colonies of Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) were excavated near Palmer Station, Anvers Island, Antarctic Peninsula, to investigate the occupation history of this species. Sediments from each site yielded abundant fish bones and otoliths and squid beaks that represent prey remains deposited by penguins during the nesting period. Radiocarbon analyses indicate that colony occupation began prior to the Little Ice Age (LIA; 1500–1850 AD ), with the oldest site dating to 644 yrs before present ( BP average reservoir-corrected date with Is range, 603–679 yr BP ). Food remains indicate that the non-euphausiid prey of penguins consisted primarily of a mesopelagic squid (Psychroteuthis glacialis) and two species of fish (Pleuragramma antarcticun and Electrona antarctica) . The relative abundance of the first two prey taxa varied significantly among six sites (X 2 >34.6; df = 10; P <0.001) with colonies dating prior to the LIA having greater representation of squid, and less of silverfish, than those occupied during the LIA. Data from control excavations at three modern colonies indicate a diet similar to that of the pre-LIA sites. These results suggest that Adélie penguins may have changed their diet in response to warming and cooling cycles in the past. In addition, only Adélie penguins are known to have nested in the Palmer Station area prior to the l950s; gentoo (Pygoscelis papua) and chinstrap (P. antarctica) penguins now breeding in this region have expanded their ranges southward in the Peninsula within the past 50 yrs, in correlation with pronounced regional warming. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctic Science Antarctica Anvers Island Pygoscelis adeliae Pygoscelis papua Cambridge University Press Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Anvers ENVELOPE(-63.500,-63.500,-64.600,-64.600) Anvers Island ENVELOPE(-63.500,-63.500,-64.600,-64.600) Palmer Station ENVELOPE(-64.050,-64.050,-64.770,-64.770) Palmer-Station ENVELOPE(-64.050,-64.050,-64.770,-64.770) Antarctic Science 10 3 257 268 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Six abandoned colonies of Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) were excavated near Palmer Station, Anvers Island, Antarctic Peninsula, to investigate the occupation history of this species. Sediments from each site yielded abundant fish bones and otoliths and squid beaks that represent prey remains deposited by penguins during the nesting period. Radiocarbon analyses indicate that colony occupation began prior to the Little Ice Age (LIA; 1500–1850 AD ), with the oldest site dating to 644 yrs before present ( BP average reservoir-corrected date with Is range, 603–679 yr BP ). Food remains indicate that the non-euphausiid prey of penguins consisted primarily of a mesopelagic squid (Psychroteuthis glacialis) and two species of fish (Pleuragramma antarcticun and Electrona antarctica) . The relative abundance of the first two prey taxa varied significantly among six sites (X 2 >34.6; df = 10; P <0.001) with colonies dating prior to the LIA having greater representation of squid, and less of silverfish, than those occupied during the LIA. Data from control excavations at three modern colonies indicate a diet similar to that of the pre-LIA sites. These results suggest that Adélie penguins may have changed their diet in response to warming and cooling cycles in the past. In addition, only Adélie penguins are known to have nested in the Palmer Station area prior to the l950s; gentoo (Pygoscelis papua) and chinstrap (P. antarctica) penguins now breeding in this region have expanded their ranges southward in the Peninsula within the past 50 yrs, in correlation with pronounced regional warming. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Emslie, Steven D. Fraser, William Smith, Raymond C. Walker, William |
spellingShingle |
Emslie, Steven D. Fraser, William Smith, Raymond C. Walker, William Abandoned penguin colonies and environmental change in the Palmer Station area, Anvers Island, Antarctic Peninsula |
author_facet |
Emslie, Steven D. Fraser, William Smith, Raymond C. Walker, William |
author_sort |
Emslie, Steven D. |
title |
Abandoned penguin colonies and environmental change in the Palmer Station area, Anvers Island, Antarctic Peninsula |
title_short |
Abandoned penguin colonies and environmental change in the Palmer Station area, Anvers Island, Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full |
Abandoned penguin colonies and environmental change in the Palmer Station area, Anvers Island, Antarctic Peninsula |
title_fullStr |
Abandoned penguin colonies and environmental change in the Palmer Station area, Anvers Island, Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full_unstemmed |
Abandoned penguin colonies and environmental change in the Palmer Station area, Anvers Island, Antarctic Peninsula |
title_sort |
abandoned penguin colonies and environmental change in the palmer station area, anvers island, antarctic peninsula |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1998 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102098000352 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102098000352 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-63.500,-63.500,-64.600,-64.600) ENVELOPE(-63.500,-63.500,-64.600,-64.600) ENVELOPE(-64.050,-64.050,-64.770,-64.770) ENVELOPE(-64.050,-64.050,-64.770,-64.770) |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Anvers Anvers Island Palmer Station Palmer-Station |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Anvers Anvers Island Palmer Station Palmer-Station |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctic Science Antarctica Anvers Island Pygoscelis adeliae Pygoscelis papua |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctic Science Antarctica Anvers Island Pygoscelis adeliae Pygoscelis papua |
op_source |
Antarctic Science volume 10, issue 3, page 257-268 ISSN 0954-1020 1365-2079 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102098000352 |
container_title |
Antarctic Science |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
257 |
op_container_end_page |
268 |
_version_ |
1802641954702360576 |