Taphonomy of two Holocene penguin taphocoenoses in Potter Peninsula, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica ...

• Main Authors: Hospitaleche, Carolina Acosta, Gelfo, Javier N., Quaggia, Bruno, Reguero, Marcelo
• Format: Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2022
• Subjects: Evolutionary Biology; FOS Biological sciences; Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified; Ecology; Sociology; FOS Sociology; Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified; Inorganic Chemistry; FOS Chemical sciences; 25 de Mayo; Guano; King George Island; Potter Peninsula; South Shetland Islands; West Antarctica; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.21395636; https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Taphonomy_of_two_Holocene_penguin_taphocoenoses_in_Potter_Peninsula_South_Shetland_Islands_Antarctica/21395636

Abandoned rookeries belonging to any of the Pygoscelis species are very particular taphocoenosis, usually preserved due to the accumulations of bones, pebbles, and guano year after year in the same nesting area, that condense together with other biogenic material and form ornithogenic sediments. The results of the excavation, sieved and analyses of sediment and materials found in two rookeries formed during the last 8000 years, named Pingfo I and Pingfo II and found in the 25 de Mayo/King George Island (South Shetland Islands, West Antarctica) are presented here. The analyses of the bones and eggshells, taxonomic and ontogenetic composition, elements representation, transport degree, predation, and scavenging marks, together with the micropalaeontological content provided informative tools for the reconstruction of the nesting areas, suggesting that bones were transported and accumulated in Pingfo I that would represent high energy beach, whereas a breeding colony was settled in Pingfo II. The preservation ...