Rapid increase in Adelie penguin populations in the Lutzow-Holm Bay area since the mid 1990s

• Main Authors: Kato,Akiko, Ropert-Coudert,Yan
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: National Institute of Polar Research/National Institute of Polar Research 2006
• Subjects: Adelie penguin; population; sea ice; Lutzow-Holm Bay; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Polar bioscience; Pygoscelis adeliae; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=6259; http://id.nii.ac.jp/1291/00006259/; https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=6259&item_no=1&attribute_id=18&file_no=1

The Adelie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae, an important component of the Antarctic marine ecosystem, is closely associated with sea ice. Ten breeding populations along the Soya Coast of Lutzow-Holm Bay have been monitored since the 1960s by the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition and shown to be increasing. In most colonies, small peaks of population increase were observed in the late 1980s with a rapid increase from the mid 1990s. Frequent sea ice break-ups in Lutzow-Holm Bay in the mid 1980s and since the late 1990s are thought to have induced the population increase through increased subadult survival and preferred prey availability. Population monitoring therefore needs to be continued carefully in relation to the environmental changes.