Global analysis of emperor penguin populations ...

• Main Authors: LaRue, Michelle, Iles, David, Labrousse, Sara, Fretwell, Peter, Ortega, David, Devane, Eileen, Horstmann, Isabella, Viollat, Lise, Foster-Dyer, Rose, Le Bohec, Céline, Zitterbart, Daniel, Houstin, Aymeric, Richter, Sebastian, Winterl, Alexander, Wienecke, Barbara, Salas, Leo, Nixon, Monique, Barbraud, Christophe, Kooyman, Gerald, Ponganis, Paul, Ainley, David, Trathan, Phil, Jenouvrier, Stéphanie
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2024
• Subjects: Emperor penguin; Aptenodytes forsteri; Bayesian method; high-resolution satellite imagery; Population modeling; Emperor penguins; Institut Polaire Français
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10573925; https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10573925

Like many polar animals, emperor penguin populations are challenging to monitor because of the species' life history and remoteness. Consequently, it has been difficult to establish its global status, a subject important to resolve as polar environments change. To advance our understanding of emperor penguins, we combined remote sensing, validation surveys, and using Bayesian modeling we estimated a comprehensive population trajectory over a recent 10-year period, encompassing the entirety of the species' range. Reported as indices of abundance, our study indicates with 81% probability that the global population of adult emperor penguins declined between 2009 and 2018, with a posterior median decrease of 9.6% (95% credible interval (CI) -26.4% to +9.4%). The global population trend was -1.3% per year over this period (95% CI = -3.3% to +1.0%) and declines likely occurred in four of eight fast ice regions, irrespective of habitat conditions. Thus far, explanations have yet to be identified regarding trends, ... : Funding provided by: National Science FoundationCrossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/021nxhr62Award Number: 1748898 Funding provided by: National Science FoundationCrossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/021nxhr62Award Number: 1744794 Funding provided by: National Science FoundationCrossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/021nxhr62Award Number: 2046437 Funding provided by: National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationCrossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/027ka1x80Award Number: 80NSSC20K1289 Funding provided by: World Wide Fund for NatureCrossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/052y0z870Award Number: GB095701 Funding provided by: Deutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftCrossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/018mejw64Award Number: ZI1525/3-1 Funding provided by: Deutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftCrossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/018mejw64Award Number: ZI1525/7-1 Funding provided by: Institut Polaire Français Paul Émile VictorCrossref Funder Registry ID: ...