First recorded loss of an emperor penguin colony in the recent period of Antarctic regional warming: implications for other colonies.
In 1948, a small colony of emperor penguins Aptenodytes forsteri was discovered breeding on Emperor Island (67° 51' 52″ S, 68° 42' 20″ W), in the Dion Islands, close to the West Antarctic Peninsula (Stonehouse 1952). When discovered, the colony comprised approximately 150 breeding pairs; t...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:46e088cd506947d285dae8fa4e68a58d 2023-05-15T13:57:01+02:00 First recorded loss of an emperor penguin colony in the recent period of Antarctic regional warming: implications for other colonies. Philip N Trathan Peter T Fretwell Bernard Stonehouse 2011-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0014738 https://doaj.org/article/46e088cd506947d285dae8fa4e68a58d EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/21386883/?tool=EBI https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0014738 https://doaj.org/article/46e088cd506947d285dae8fa4e68a58d PLoS ONE, Vol 6, Iss 2, p e14738 (2011) Medicine R Science Q article 2011 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0014738 2022-12-31T05:28:21Z In 1948, a small colony of emperor penguins Aptenodytes forsteri was discovered breeding on Emperor Island (67° 51' 52″ S, 68° 42' 20″ W), in the Dion Islands, close to the West Antarctic Peninsula (Stonehouse 1952). When discovered, the colony comprised approximately 150 breeding pairs; these numbers were maintained until 1970, after which time the colony showed a continuous decline. By 1999 there were fewer than 20 pairs, and in 2009 high-resolution aerial photography revealed no remaining trace of the colony. Here we relate the decline and loss of the Emperor Island colony to a well-documented rise in local mean annual air temperature and coincident decline in seasonal sea ice duration. The loss of this colony provides empirical support for recent studies (Barbraud & Weimerskirch 2001; Jenouvrier et al 2005, 2009; Ainley et al 2010; Barber-Meyer et al 2005) that have highlighted the vulnerability of emperor penguins to changes in sea ice duration and distribution. These studies suggest that continued climate change is likely to impact upon future breeding success and colony viability for this species. Furthermore, a recent circumpolar study by Fretwell & Trathan (2009) highlighted those Antarctic coastal regions where colonies appear most vulnerable to such changes. Here we examine which other colonies might be at risk, discussing various ecological factors, some previously unexplored, that may also contribute to future declines. The implications of this are important for future modelling work and for understanding which colonies actually are most vulnerable. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Aptenodytes forsteri Dion Islands Emperor Island Emperor penguins Sea ice Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Dion ENVELOPE(-68.702,-68.702,-67.875,-67.875) Dion Islands ENVELOPE(-68.717,-68.717,-67.867,-67.867) Emperor Island ENVELOPE(-68.710,-68.710,-67.865,-67.865) Stonehouse ENVELOPE(-68.083,-68.083,-67.350,-67.350) PLoS ONE 6 2 e14738 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Philip N Trathan Peter T Fretwell Bernard Stonehouse First recorded loss of an emperor penguin colony in the recent period of Antarctic regional warming: implications for other colonies. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
In 1948, a small colony of emperor penguins Aptenodytes forsteri was discovered breeding on Emperor Island (67° 51' 52″ S, 68° 42' 20″ W), in the Dion Islands, close to the West Antarctic Peninsula (Stonehouse 1952). When discovered, the colony comprised approximately 150 breeding pairs; these numbers were maintained until 1970, after which time the colony showed a continuous decline. By 1999 there were fewer than 20 pairs, and in 2009 high-resolution aerial photography revealed no remaining trace of the colony. Here we relate the decline and loss of the Emperor Island colony to a well-documented rise in local mean annual air temperature and coincident decline in seasonal sea ice duration. The loss of this colony provides empirical support for recent studies (Barbraud & Weimerskirch 2001; Jenouvrier et al 2005, 2009; Ainley et al 2010; Barber-Meyer et al 2005) that have highlighted the vulnerability of emperor penguins to changes in sea ice duration and distribution. These studies suggest that continued climate change is likely to impact upon future breeding success and colony viability for this species. Furthermore, a recent circumpolar study by Fretwell & Trathan (2009) highlighted those Antarctic coastal regions where colonies appear most vulnerable to such changes. Here we examine which other colonies might be at risk, discussing various ecological factors, some previously unexplored, that may also contribute to future declines. The implications of this are important for future modelling work and for understanding which colonies actually are most vulnerable. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Philip N Trathan Peter T Fretwell Bernard Stonehouse |
author_facet |
Philip N Trathan Peter T Fretwell Bernard Stonehouse |
author_sort |
Philip N Trathan |
title |
First recorded loss of an emperor penguin colony in the recent period of Antarctic regional warming: implications for other colonies. |
title_short |
First recorded loss of an emperor penguin colony in the recent period of Antarctic regional warming: implications for other colonies. |
title_full |
First recorded loss of an emperor penguin colony in the recent period of Antarctic regional warming: implications for other colonies. |
title_fullStr |
First recorded loss of an emperor penguin colony in the recent period of Antarctic regional warming: implications for other colonies. |
title_full_unstemmed |
First recorded loss of an emperor penguin colony in the recent period of Antarctic regional warming: implications for other colonies. |
title_sort |
first recorded loss of an emperor penguin colony in the recent period of antarctic regional warming: implications for other colonies. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0014738 https://doaj.org/article/46e088cd506947d285dae8fa4e68a58d |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-68.702,-68.702,-67.875,-67.875) ENVELOPE(-68.717,-68.717,-67.867,-67.867) ENVELOPE(-68.710,-68.710,-67.865,-67.865) ENVELOPE(-68.083,-68.083,-67.350,-67.350) |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Dion Dion Islands Emperor Island Stonehouse |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Dion Dion Islands Emperor Island Stonehouse |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Aptenodytes forsteri Dion Islands Emperor Island Emperor penguins Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Aptenodytes forsteri Dion Islands Emperor Island Emperor penguins Sea ice |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 6, Iss 2, p e14738 (2011) |
op_relation |
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/21386883/?tool=EBI https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0014738 https://doaj.org/article/46e088cd506947d285dae8fa4e68a58d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0014738 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
e14738 |
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1766264625968447488 |