Long-term population size and trends of South Georgia Shags (Leucocarbo [atriceps] georgianus) at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands and Bird Island, South Georgia
The South Georgia Shag Leucocarbo [atriceps] georgianus has breeding populations on the islands of South Georgia, the South Sandwich and South Orkney Islands. The South Orkney Islands are estimated to support ~ 18%–37% of the global population and South Georgia a further 37%–69%. Here, we examine ch...
Published in: | Polar Biology |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
Springer
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/527230/ https://rdcu.be/cCa8N |
id |
ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:527230 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:527230 2023-05-15T15:44:39+02:00 Long-term population size and trends of South Georgia Shags (Leucocarbo [atriceps] georgianus) at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands and Bird Island, South Georgia Dunn, Michael J. Adlard, Stacey Lynnes, Amanda S. Fox, Derren Morley, Tim I. Jackson, Jennifer A. 2022-02 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/527230/ https://rdcu.be/cCa8N unknown Springer Dunn, Michael J. orcid:0000-0003-4633-5466 Adlard, Stacey; Lynnes, Amanda S.; Fox, Derren; Morley, Tim I.; Jackson, Jennifer A. orcid:0000-0003-4158-1924 . 2022 Long-term population size and trends of South Georgia Shags (Leucocarbo [atriceps] georgianus) at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands and Bird Island, South Georgia. Polar Biology, 45. 177-189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02978-2 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02978-2> Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2022 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02978-2 2023-02-04T19:50:24Z The South Georgia Shag Leucocarbo [atriceps] georgianus has breeding populations on the islands of South Georgia, the South Sandwich and South Orkney Islands. The South Orkney Islands are estimated to support ~ 18%–37% of the global population and South Georgia a further 37%–69%. Here, we examine changes in South Georgia Shag population size and productivity from Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, over a 43 year period (1978/1979 to 2020/2021) and from Bird Island, South Georgia, over a 32 year period (1989/1990 to 2020/2021). Analysis of total nesting pairs at Signy Island revealed an overall decline of 40.9% (− 1.3% per annum), with an increase during the 1980s, followed by a fluctuating decline from the 1990s to 2020/2021. Although the two Signy Island colonies showed correlated fluctuations in numbers of nesting pairs, over the whole time period these colonies showed markedly different population trajectories, indicating the limitations of using part-island counts to infer whole island trends, particularly given the low breeding-site fidelity in this species. Nest occupation in the larger colony (596 nests in 1978/1979) declined by 77.2% (− 3.5% per annum) whilst the smaller colony (50 nests in 1978/1979) exhibited an increase of 492% (+ 3.8% per annum). A decline in occupied nests of 58.3%, (− 2.8% per annum), has occurred in the Bird Island population since 1989/1990. Continuation of the significant decline in breeding numbers revealed in this study may be of important conservation concern, particularly as this trend has been mirrored at another site within the South Orkneys. Article in Journal/Newspaper Bird Island Polar Biology Signy Island South Orkney Islands Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive South Orkney Islands ENVELOPE(-45.500,-45.500,-60.583,-60.583) Bird Island ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) Signy Island ENVELOPE(-45.595,-45.595,-60.708,-60.708) Polar Biology 45 2 177 189 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
unknown |
description |
The South Georgia Shag Leucocarbo [atriceps] georgianus has breeding populations on the islands of South Georgia, the South Sandwich and South Orkney Islands. The South Orkney Islands are estimated to support ~ 18%–37% of the global population and South Georgia a further 37%–69%. Here, we examine changes in South Georgia Shag population size and productivity from Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, over a 43 year period (1978/1979 to 2020/2021) and from Bird Island, South Georgia, over a 32 year period (1989/1990 to 2020/2021). Analysis of total nesting pairs at Signy Island revealed an overall decline of 40.9% (− 1.3% per annum), with an increase during the 1980s, followed by a fluctuating decline from the 1990s to 2020/2021. Although the two Signy Island colonies showed correlated fluctuations in numbers of nesting pairs, over the whole time period these colonies showed markedly different population trajectories, indicating the limitations of using part-island counts to infer whole island trends, particularly given the low breeding-site fidelity in this species. Nest occupation in the larger colony (596 nests in 1978/1979) declined by 77.2% (− 3.5% per annum) whilst the smaller colony (50 nests in 1978/1979) exhibited an increase of 492% (+ 3.8% per annum). A decline in occupied nests of 58.3%, (− 2.8% per annum), has occurred in the Bird Island population since 1989/1990. Continuation of the significant decline in breeding numbers revealed in this study may be of important conservation concern, particularly as this trend has been mirrored at another site within the South Orkneys. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dunn, Michael J. Adlard, Stacey Lynnes, Amanda S. Fox, Derren Morley, Tim I. Jackson, Jennifer A. |
spellingShingle |
Dunn, Michael J. Adlard, Stacey Lynnes, Amanda S. Fox, Derren Morley, Tim I. Jackson, Jennifer A. Long-term population size and trends of South Georgia Shags (Leucocarbo [atriceps] georgianus) at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands and Bird Island, South Georgia |
author_facet |
Dunn, Michael J. Adlard, Stacey Lynnes, Amanda S. Fox, Derren Morley, Tim I. Jackson, Jennifer A. |
author_sort |
Dunn, Michael J. |
title |
Long-term population size and trends of South Georgia Shags (Leucocarbo [atriceps] georgianus) at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands and Bird Island, South Georgia |
title_short |
Long-term population size and trends of South Georgia Shags (Leucocarbo [atriceps] georgianus) at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands and Bird Island, South Georgia |
title_full |
Long-term population size and trends of South Georgia Shags (Leucocarbo [atriceps] georgianus) at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands and Bird Island, South Georgia |
title_fullStr |
Long-term population size and trends of South Georgia Shags (Leucocarbo [atriceps] georgianus) at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands and Bird Island, South Georgia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Long-term population size and trends of South Georgia Shags (Leucocarbo [atriceps] georgianus) at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands and Bird Island, South Georgia |
title_sort |
long-term population size and trends of south georgia shags (leucocarbo [atriceps] georgianus) at signy island, south orkney islands and bird island, south georgia |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/527230/ https://rdcu.be/cCa8N |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-45.500,-45.500,-60.583,-60.583) ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) ENVELOPE(-45.595,-45.595,-60.708,-60.708) |
geographic |
South Orkney Islands Bird Island Signy Island |
geographic_facet |
South Orkney Islands Bird Island Signy Island |
genre |
Bird Island Polar Biology Signy Island South Orkney Islands |
genre_facet |
Bird Island Polar Biology Signy Island South Orkney Islands |
op_relation |
Dunn, Michael J. orcid:0000-0003-4633-5466 Adlard, Stacey; Lynnes, Amanda S.; Fox, Derren; Morley, Tim I.; Jackson, Jennifer A. orcid:0000-0003-4158-1924 . 2022 Long-term population size and trends of South Georgia Shags (Leucocarbo [atriceps] georgianus) at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands and Bird Island, South Georgia. Polar Biology, 45. 177-189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02978-2 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02978-2> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02978-2 |
container_title |
Polar Biology |
container_volume |
45 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
177 |
op_container_end_page |
189 |
_version_ |
1766379038273699840 |