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

• 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

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.