Supplementary material from "Advances in remote sensing of emperor penguins: first multi-year time series documenting trends in the global population" ...

• 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, Philip, Jenouvrier, Stephanie
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: The Royal Society 2024
• Subjects: Ecology not elsewhere classified; Emperor penguins
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.7095355.v1; https://rs.figshare.com/collections/Supplementary_material_from_Advances_in_remote_sensing_of_emperor_penguins_first_multi-year_time_series_documenting_trends_in_the_global_population_/7095355/1

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 modelling 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 there were fewer emperor adult emperor penguins in 2018 than in 2009, 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, especially ...