Comparison of emperor penguin declines between Pointe Géologie and Haswell Island over the past 50 years

International audience The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is highly dependent on sea ice conditions, and future climate change may affect its distribution and numbers. Most studies on the demography and population dynamics of emperor penguins in relation to sea ice characteristics were condu...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: Barbraud, Christophe, Gavrilo, Maria V., Mizin, Yuri, Weimerskirch, Henri
Other Authors: Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), Russian Antarctic Expedition
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2011
Subjects:
Antarctica
Aptenodytes forsteri
climate change
population trends
sea ice extent
[SDE]Environmental Sciences
Haswell Island
Pointe-Géologie
Antarc*
Antarctic Science
Emperor penguins
Sea ice
Online Access:https://hal.science/hal-00623357
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102011000356
Description
Summary:International audience The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is highly dependent on sea ice conditions, and future climate change may affect its distribution and numbers. Most studies on the demography and population dynamics of emperor penguins in relation to sea ice characteristics were conducted at a single colony (Pointe Ge'ologie). Several non-exclusive hypotheses have been proposed to explain the dramatic decline of this colony, including changes in sea ice conditions, predation, flipper banding and human disturbance. Here, we report and analyse updated long-term trends in numbers of breeding pairs made at two colonies (Pointe Ge'ologie and Haswell Island) where counts are comparable. Similar changes were observed for both colonies and paralleled changes in sea ice extent. At Pointe Ge'ologie and Haswell Island, populations declined similarly and later growth rates were also similar since the early 1990s for Haswell and early 1980s for Pointe Ge'ologie. The magnitude of the decline was similar between both colonies when numbers of breeding pairs were assessed. This study suggests that a common large-scale environmental factor has probably negatively affected both colonies.

Similar Items