tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18337184799267591282024-03-06T07:26:55.819+13:00The Pertinent PenguinPertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.comBlogger362125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-8923074307924513492021-02-04T14:03:00.000+13:002021-02-04T14:03:58.718+13:00Dogs on holiday causing penguin nightmare<p>NEW ZEALAND – The <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/" target="_blank">Department of Conservation</a> (DOC) is asking pet owners to ensure their animals are under control and kept out of prohibited areas following the recent death of a rare tawaki (<a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-10.html" target="_blank">Fiordland penguin</a>), thought to have been killed by a dog at a Haast wildlife refuge.</p><p>Recently, a dog was seen running loose in the Okahu/Jackson Bay Wildlife Refuge and a short time later, clumps of tawaki feathers were found in the coastal forest beside the Wharekai Te Kou walking track.</p><p>A tawaki penguin on another Haast beach has also been handed in by a member of the public who found it injured on the beach, with evidence of being attacked by a dog. The penguin sadly had to be put down. </p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>A wildlife refuge is strictly off limits to all but approved conservation dogs. Wildlife refuges contain either breeding colonies of animals or particularly rare animals, which suffer when dogs enter the area.<p></p><p>Biodiversity Ranger Inge Bolt says people are ignoring the signage at the Wharekai Te Kou track which is a wildlife refuge where dogs are strictly prohibited.</p><p>Penguins and other ground dwelling native birds don’t naturally co-exist with dogs, and they can’t escape easily – it takes just a second for a dog to cause a fatal injury to a penguin.</p><p>“Responsible dog owners need to read the signs and know where their dog is allowed – particularly in sensitive wildlife areas. In some areas dogs are allowed, but only on a lead.</p><p>“People are also ignoring the council signage in the settlement of Jackson Bay requiring dogs to be on a lead. Both of these restrictions are in place to protect the penguins and seabirds that live in this area.</p><p>West Coast Penguin Trust Manager, Inger Perkins agrees.</p><p>“The Trust has worked hard to ensure consistent messages are presented across the West Coast at beach access points. It is a simple message – keep dogs on leads in coastal vegetation and after dark at the beach. At other times, keep the dog under very close control. Never take them into areas where they are prohibited. We have been working for several years to understand and better manage threats to tawaki. Dogs should not be one of the threats. These penguin deaths were entirely avoidable.”</p><p>Haast receives a lot of visitors from the South Island and further afield. Some people bring their dogs, but a few people are ignoring the rules, and their dogs can have a devastating impact.</p><p>People can be fined up to $10,000 and be sentenced to a year in prison if they allow a dog to enter a national park or other controlled area such as a wildlife refuge where dogs are banned from entry.</p><p>Maps detailing areas of dog access and prohibition are available from DOC – either <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/know-before-you-go/dog-access/" target="_blank">on the DOC website</a> or at visitor centres. If people are unsure, they should seek advice. Dog permits can be obtained from DOC for some areas, depending on the wildlife of that area.</p><p><b>Source<br /></b>Department of Conservation, <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-releases/2021-media-releases/dogs-on-holiday-causing-penguin-nightmare/" target="_blank">Dogs on holiday causing penguin nightmare [media release]</a>, 2 February 2021</p>Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-77912611975491273672020-08-19T21:45:00.000+12:002020-08-19T21:45:32.903+12:00Penguins are Aussies – or are they Kiwis?<p>From the 1.2-metre-tall <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-2.html" target="_blank">emperor</a> penguin to the aptly named 30-centimetre-long <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-18.html" target="_blank">little</a> penguin, these unique flightless birds have invaded habitats from Antarctica to the equator, not to mention the hearts of the public.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tboqicV3wwKh6WNxHKrUIzE4aIKNN3ZzAq59tcwnBPfef9gkXQCSo8Sj4JawN0RNkeX6L1GPiFP5_casTvijt51k7jxjAbUgZXlLEeRrYMByKHuQ40JQITzMuPeZ1huPBuZOp9P0pTrG/s1440/2020-08-17-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8tboqicV3wwKh6WNxHKrUIzE4aIKNN3ZzAq59tcwnBPfef9gkXQCSo8Sj4JawN0RNkeX6L1GPiFP5_casTvijt51k7jxjAbUgZXlLEeRrYMByKHuQ40JQITzMuPeZ1huPBuZOp9P0pTrG/w320-h240/2020-08-17-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juliana Vianna among a group of <br />rockhopper penguins. <br />Credit: Juliana Vianna</td></tr></tbody></table>A comparison of the full genomes of 18 recognised species of penguins provides clues to how they achieved this success – though not their adorability – over tens of millions of years, through warm and cold climate swings. It also cautions that today's rapidly changing climate may be too much for them.</p><p>"We are able to show how penguins have been able to diversify to occupy the incredibly different thermal environments they live in today, going from 9 degrees Celsius (48 F) in the waters around Australia and New Zealand, down to negative temperatures in Antarctica and up to 26 degrees (79 F) in the Galápagos Islands," said Rauri Bowie, professor of integrative biology at the <a href="http://berkeley.edu/" target="_blank">University of California, Berkeley</a>, and curator in the <a href="http://mvz.berkeley.edu/" target="_blank">Museum of Vertebrate Zoology</a> (MVZ) at Berkeley. </p><p>"But we want to make the point that it has taken millions of years for penguins to be able to occupy such diverse habitats, and at the rate that oceans are warming, penguins are not going to be able to adapt fast enough to keep up with changing climate."</p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>The researchers established conclusively that penguins arose in the cool coastal regions of Australia and New Zealand, not frigid Antarctica, as many scientists thought, and they pinpoint the origin of penguins at about 22 million years ago.<p></p><p>Despite their success in spreading widely throughout the Southern Hemisphere, many penguin populations are now threatened. Breeding colonies of emperor penguins in Antarctica have had to relocate because of receding sea ice, while last year saw mass mortality of <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-3.html" target="_blank">Adélie </a>penguin chicks on the continent. <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-17.html" target="_blank">Galápagos</a> penguin populations are declining as warm El Niño events become more common. In New Zealand, populations of little and <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-6.html" target="_blank">yellow-eyed</a> penguins must be fenced off to protect them from the depredations of feral cats, while <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-14.html" target="_blank">African</a> penguin populations are declining drastically as the waters off southern Africa warm.</p><p>"We saw, over millions of years, that the diversification of penguins decreased with increasing temperature, but that was over a longtime scale," said Juliana Vianna, associate professor of ecosystems and environment at the <a href="https://www.uc.cl/" target="_blank">Pontifical Catholic University of Chile</a> in Santiago. </p><p>"Right now, changes in the climate and environment are going too fast for some species to respond to the climate change."</p><p>Vianna is first author of a paper with Bowie and other colleagues describing their findings that was <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/08/12/2006659117" target="_blank">published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Where did penguins come from?</h4><p>For the study, Vianna, Bowie and colleagues at museums and universities around the world gathered blood and tissue samples from 22 penguins representing 18 species and then sequenced and analysed their whole genomes to chart penguin movement and diversification over the millennia.</p><p>Their conclusions resolve several long-standing questions: in particular, where penguins originated – along the coasts of Australia, New Zealand and nearby islands of the South Pacific – and when – 22 million years ago. The genetic evidence indicates that the ancestors of the <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-1.html" target="_blank">king</a> and emperor penguins, the two largest species, soon split off from the other penguins and moved to sub-Antarctic and Antarctic waters, respectively, presumably to take advantage of abundant food resources. This scenario is consistent with the contested hypothesis that the emperor and king penguins – the only two species in the genus Aptenodytes – are the sister group to all other penguin lineages.</p><p>"It was very satisfying to be able to resolve the phylogeny, which has been debated for a long time," Bowie said. </p><p>"The debate hinged on where, exactly, the emperor and king penguins were placed in the family tree, whether they are nested inside the tree closer to other lineages of penguins or whether they are sisters to all the other penguins, which is what our phylogeny showed and some other previous studies had suggested. And it fits with the rich fossil history of penguins."</p><p>The other penguins diversified and spread widely across the southern oceans, after the Drake's Passage between Antarctica and the southern tip of South America fully opened about 12 million years ago. The opening revved up the clockwise-moving Antarctic Circumpolar Current allowed these flightless birds to swim with the ocean currents throughout the southern ocean, populating both the cold sub-Antarctic islands and the warmer coastal areas of South America and Africa, where they populated to coastlines and remote islands with cold, upwelling, nutrient-rich water.</p><p>Today, penguins are found in Australia and New Zealand (yellow-eyed, little and other crested penguins), Antarctica (emperor, Adélie, <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-5.html" target="_blank">gentoo</a> and <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-4.html" target="_blank">chinstrap</a>), the tropical west coast of South America (Galápagos and <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-16.html" target="_blank">Humboldt</a>), the southern coasts of South America (<a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-15.html" target="_blank">Magellanic</a> and <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-7.html" target="_blank">southern rockhopper</a>), the South Atlantic (Magellanic and <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-13.html" target="_blank">macaroni</a>), southern Africa (African) and some in the sub-Antarctic (king, gentoo and macaroni), Indian Ocean islands (eastern rockhopper) and sub-tropical regions (<a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-8.html" target="_blank">northern rockhopper</a>).</p><p>Using powerful analysis techniques, some developed recently to analyse historical interactions among humans and our Neanderthal and Denisovan relatives, the researchers were able to determine that several groups of penguins have interbred over the course of their evolutionary history. Through exchange of genetic material, penguins may have shared genetic traits that facilitated the diversification of penguins across the steep thermal and salinity gradients encountered in the southern oceans. The most hybridised are the rockhopper penguins and their close relatives, which experienced at least four introgressions, or transfers of genetic information, over the course of millions of years.</p><p>The team also pinpointed genetic adaptions that allowed penguins to thrive in new and challenging environments, including changes in genes responsible for regulating body temperature, which allowed them to adapt to subzero Antarctic temperatures, as well as tropical temperatures near the equator; oxygen consumption that permitted deeper dives; and osmoregulation, so they could survive on seawater without the need to find fresh water.</p><p>New analytical tools helped the researchers to infer the sizes of ancient penguin populations going back about 1 million years. Most penguin species, they found, increased to their greatest numbers as the world cooled 40,000 to 70,000 years ago during the last glaciation – many species prefer to breed on snow and ice – and some had a bump in population during the previous glaciation period 140,000 years ago.</p><p>Two species – the gentoo and the Galápagos – seem to have been declining in populations for at least the past 1 million years.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">DNA from the most isolated birds on Earth</h4><p>Vianna has long-running research projects on penguins in Chile and Antarctica and, for this study, obtained blood samples from many species in those areas. Colleagues in France, Norway, Brazil, Australia, the United States and South Africa supplied blood from some remote species – Norwegian colleagues provided blood from the chinstrap penguin of the Bouvet islands, for example – while Vianna and Bowie obtained blood samples from an African penguin in a colony at the <a href="https://www.calacademy.org/" target="_blank">California Academy of Sciences</a> in San Francisco.</p><p>But some species were harder to locate. The researchers were forced to rely on tissue from a preserved specimen of the yellow-eyed penguin in UC Berkeley's MVZ, while the <a href="https://www.amnh.org/" target="_blank">American Museum of Natural History in New York</a> supplied tissue from preserved <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-9.html" target="_blank">erect-crested</a> and <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-10.html" target="_blank">Fiordland</a> penguins.</p><p>Each genome was sequenced 30 times by Illumina shotgun sequencing, which produced tiny pieces –about 150 base pairs long – of the entire genome. Vianna, who at the time was working with Bowie at UC Berkeley on a sabbatical, painstakingly aligned each piece along a reference genome that had previously been sequenced – that of the emperor penguin – as a scaffold.</p><p>"Having a reference genome is like using the cover of a puzzle box to assemble a jigsaw puzzle: You can take all your super little pieces and align them to that reference genome," Bowie said. "We did that with each of these penguin genomes."</p><p>The genome comparisons told them that penguins arose between 21 million and 22 million years ago, narrowing down the 10-to-40-million-year window determined previously from fossil penguins.</p><p>They also disproved a paper published last year that suggested that the closely related king and emperor penguins were a sister group to the gentoo and Adélie penguins. Instead, they found that the king and emperor penguins are the sister group to all other penguins.</p><p>Vianna and Bowie now have genome sequences of 300 individual penguins and are diving more deeply into the genetic variations within and among disparate penguin populations. They recently discovered a new lineage of penguin that awaits scientific description.</p><div style="text-align: left;">"Penguins are very charismatic, certainly," Vianna said. "But I hope these studies also lead to better conservation."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Journal citation</b></div><div>Vianna, J.A., Fernandes, F.A.N., Frugone, M.J., Figueiró, H.V., Pertierra, L.R., Noll, D., Bi, K., Wang-Claypool, C.Y., Lowther, A., Parker, P., Le Bohec, C., Bonadonna, F., Wienecke, B., Pistorius, P., Steinfurth, A., Burridge, C.P, Dantas, G.P.M., Poulin, E., Simison, W.B., ... Bowie, C.K. (2020). Genome-wide analyses reveal drivers of penguin diversification. <i>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</i>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2006659117" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2006659117</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Source</b></div><div>Sanders, R. (2020). <i>Penguins are Aussies. Or are they kiwis?</i> [news release]. University of California, Berkeley. <a href="https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/08/17/penguins-are-aussies-or-are-they-kiwis/" target="_blank">https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/08/17/penguins-are-aussies-or-are-they-kiwis/</a></div>Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-83704630764936179942020-08-05T21:22:00.000+12:002020-08-05T21:22:28.179+12:00Scientists discover new penguin colonies from space<div>ANTARCTICA – A new <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/" target="_blank">British Antarctic Survey</a> (BAS) study using satellite mapping technology reveals there are nearly 20% more <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-2.html" target="_blank">emperor</a> penguin colonies in Antarctica than was previously thought. The results provide an important benchmark for monitoring the impact of environmental change on the population of this iconic bird.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrXjVKYQiWvJz1PDMiLcziW_5lH04JE7NcchWOGzvYR5b-Ao98zzQ0dDJz1g-jregt7J5L3CDWq9goZci8IcoNOuzyUFbNyuh83TsLeJwh96yjnfpc5NSOCrUQuD8RikhNdTe0wzEsO2f4/s800/2020-08-05-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrXjVKYQiWvJz1PDMiLcziW_5lH04JE7NcchWOGzvYR5b-Ao98zzQ0dDJz1g-jregt7J5L3CDWq9goZci8IcoNOuzyUFbNyuh83TsLeJwh96yjnfpc5NSOCrUQuD8RikhNdTe0wzEsO2f4/w328-h246/2020-08-05-1.jpg" width="328" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) on <br />sea ice at the Brunt ice shelf <br />near BAS Halley Research Station<br />Credit: BAS</td></tr></tbody></table><div><a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/rse2.176" target="_blank">Reporting on 4 August 2020</a> in the journal <i>Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation</i>, the authors describe how they used images from the European Commission’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite mission to locate the birds. They found 11 new colonies, three of which were previously identified but never confirmed. That takes the global census to 61 colonies around the continent.</div><div><br /></div><div>Emperor penguins need sea ice to breed and are located in areas that are very difficult to study because they are remote and often inaccessible with temperatures as low as −50°C (−58 degrees Fahrenheit). For the last 10 years, BAS scientists have been looking for new colonies by searching for their guano stains on the ice.</div><div><br /></div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span>Lead author Dr Peter Fretwell, a geographer at BAS said:</div><blockquote><div>This is an exciting discovery. The new satellite images of Antarctica’s coastline have enabled us to find these new colonies. And whilst this is good news, the colonies are small and so only take the overall population count up by 5-10% to just over half a million penguins or around 265,500 – 278,500 breeding pairs.</div></blockquote><div>Emperor penguins are known to be vulnerable to loss of sea ice, their favoured breeding habitat. With current projections of climate change, this habitat is likely to decline. Most of the newly found colonies are situated at the margins of the emperors’ breeding range. Therefore, these locations are likely to be lost as the climate warms.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dr Phil Trathan, Head of Conservation Biology at BAS, has been studying penguins for the last three decades. He said:</div><blockquote><div>Whilst it’s good news that we’ve found these new colonies, the breeding sites are all in locations where recent model projections suggest emperors will decline. Birds in these sites are therefore probably the ‘canaries in the coalmine’ – we need to watch these sites carefully as climate change will affect this region.</div></blockquote><div>The study found a number of colonies located far offshore, situated on sea ice that has formed around icebergs that had grounded in shallow water. These colonies, up to 180 km offshore, are a surprising new finding in the behaviour of this increasingly well-known species.</div><div><br /></div><div>The research was funded by UKRI-NERC as part of the <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/wildlife-from-space/" target="_blank">Wildlife from Space</a> project.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Journal citation</b></div><div>PT Fretwell and PN Trathan, '<a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/rse2.176" target="_blank">Discovery of new colonies by Copernicus Sentinel-2 reveals good and bad news for emperor penguins</a>', <i>Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation</i>, 2020<i>,</i> doi: 10.1002/rse2.176</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Source</b></div><div>British Antarctic Survey (BAS), <i><a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/scientists-discover-new-penguin-colonies-from-space/" target="_blank">Scientists discover new penguin colonies from space</a></i> [press release], BAS, 5 August 2020, accessed 5 August 2020.</div>Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-88598358882870651372020-08-02T21:27:00.002+12:002020-08-05T21:28:50.536+12:00Turning the tide for the yellow-eyed penguin<div>NEW ZEALAND – Government, iwi, NGOs and rehabilitation groups are working together to turn around the fortunes of the nationally endangered <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-6.html" target="_blank">yellow-eyed penguin</a> (hoiho) following a series of terrible breeding seasons.</div><div><br /></div>The Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage helped launch the Five Year Action Plan at the annual Yellow-Eyed Penguin symposium in Dunedin on 1 August 2020. She said:<blockquote><div>I am very pleased at the effort being put in for Hoiho conservation through the partnership between the <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz" target="_blank">Department of Conservation (DOC)</a>, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, the <a href="https://www.yellow-eyedpenguin.org.nz/" target="_blank">Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust</a> and <a href="https://www.mpi.govt.nz/fisheriesnz" target="_blank">Fisheries New Zealand</a>. The partners developed Te Kaweka Takohaka mō te Hoiho and Te Mahere Rima Tau, the Five Year Action Plan for hoiho released today.</div><div><br /></div><div>Te Kaweka Takohaka mō te Hoiho is a high-level strategy which aims to restore hoiho populations in the face of pressures from human activities at sea and on land.</div><div><br /></div><div>The strategy for hoiho is the first to follow this partnership approach. It underlines the importance of a united effort to protect and restore the populations of hoiho and other taonga species. I want to thank community groups for their huge efforts to help hoiho conservation.</div></blockquote><div><span><a name='more'></a></span>Priorities in the strategy and action plan focus on managing human activities and disturbance and reducing impacts in marine and terrestrial habitats.</div><div><br /></div><div>The action plan Te Mahere Rima Tau involves stakeholders in the many actions required to support hoiho. It will be reviewed annually.</div><div><br /></div><div>Proposed actions include:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>A survey of hoiho nest sites on Rakiura/Stewart Island to identify nest numbers and locations.</li><li>Expanding hoiho tracking in the waters around Rakiura/ to better understand their foraging behaviour and habitat use.</li><li>Increased investment into research of disease to be able to better manage factors that affect hoiho survival and breeding success.</li></ul></div><div>The draft Te Kaweka Takohaka mō te Hoiho was released for public comment in September 2019. The partners then revised the strategy and action plan to take account of feedback in submissions.</div><div><br /></div><div>The strategy will set the direction for halting the decline of hoiho on the New Zealand mainland.</div><div><br /></div><div>Digital copies of the strategy and action plan are available on the <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/hoiho-recovery" target="_blank">DOC website</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Source</b></div><div>Department of Conservation, <a href="https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2008/S00001/turning-the-tide-for-hoihoyellow-eyed-penguin.htm" target="_blank">Turning the tide for the yellow-eyed penguin [media release]</a>, 1 August 2020, scoop.co.nz</div>Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-31159884902708516572020-05-30T22:03:00.000+12:002020-05-30T22:03:24.656+12:00Researchers go cuckoo: Antarctic penguins release an extreme amount of laughing gas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
ANTARCTICA – In a new study, <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/" target="_blank">University of Copenhagen</a> researchers showed that penguins in Antarctica give out copious amounts of nitrous oxide via their faeces – so much so, that the researchers went "cuckoo" from being surrounded by penguin poo.<br />
<br />
On the Atlantic island of South Georgia, <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-1.html" target="_blank">king</a> penguins live in huge colonies. They spend their days eating krill, squid and fish, feeding their chicks and producing guano (poo). Nothing mind-boggling about that, you might say.<br />
<br />
But there is something very special about the comings and goings of king penguins. The birds release tremendous amounts of nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas, via their guano, according to the 2019 study.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<span><a name='more'></a></span>"Penguin guano produces significantly high levels of nitrous oxide around their colonies. The maximum emissions are about 100 times higher than in a recently fertilised Danish field," explained Professor Bo Elberling, of the University of Copenhagen's Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">"It is truly intense – not least because nitrous oxide is 300 times more polluting than CO2."</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
Besides being a strain on the climate, nitrous oxide has an effect very similar to the sedative laughing gas used in the dentist's office.<br />
<br />"After nosing about in guano for several hours, one goes completely cuckoo," Professor Elberling said. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> "One begins to feel ill and get a headache. The small nitrous oxide cylinders that you see lying in and floating around Copenhagen are no match for this heavy dose, which results from a combination of nitrous oxide with hydrogen sulphide and other gases."</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<b>How penguin poop turns into nitrous oxide</b><br />Penguins' favorite foods are fish and krill, both of which contain large amounts of nitrogen absorbed from phytoplankton in the ocean.<br />
<br />
Once penguins have filled their bellies, nitrogen is released from their faeces into the ground. Soil bacteria then convert the substance into nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas.<br />
<br />
"It is clear to us that the level of nitrous oxide is very high in places where there are penguins – and thereby guano – and vice versa, lower in places where there is none," explained Professor Elberling.<br />
<br />
Knowing how penguin droppings affect the Earth and atmosphere is highly relevant in the fight against climate-damaging greenhouse gases.<br />
<br />
Elberling continued, "While nitrous oxide emissions in this case are not enough to impact Earth's overall energy budget, our findings contribute to new knowledge about how penguin colonies affect the environment around them, which is interesting because colonies are generally becoming more and more widespread."<br />
<br />
He concluded, "We should learn from this in relation to Danish agriculture, where large quantities of nitrous oxide are emitted by nitrogen fertilisers in fields. One of the things we can learn, for example, is how and when to fertilise vis-à-vis the optimal conditions for soil bacteria to produce nitrous oxide."</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Their recent study is published in the scientific journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135255">Science of the Total Environment</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
University of Copenhagen, <a href="https://www.science.ku.dk/english/press/news/2020/researchers-go-cuckoo-antarctic-penguins-release-an-extreme-amount-of-laughing-gas/" target="_blank">Researchers go cuckoo: Antarctic penguins release an extreme amount of laughing gas [press release]</a>, 14 May 2020</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><b>Journal citation</b></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Wang, P., D'Imperio, L., Biersmade, E. M., Rannikuc, R., Xu, W., Tian, Q., Ambus, P., & Elberling, B.(2020). Combined effects of glacial retreat and penguin activity on soil greenhouse gas fluxes on South Georgia, sub-Antarctica. <i>Science of the Total Environment</i>, 718, 20 May 2020, 135255. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135255">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135255</a></div></div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-35435176323865386802020-01-22T21:32:00.000+13:002020-01-22T21:39:17.214+13:00New Magellanic penguin colony discovered in Argentina<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
ARGENTINA – <a href="http://wcs.org/">Wildlife Conservation Society</a> (WCS) researchers have announced the discovery of a new colony of <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-15.html">Magellanic</a> penguins on a remote island in Argentina.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbm40tOowFe_OtvDbLyYiM1W93-4AxckXvJpXkDr7EiZv2ekuqe6RlIlgpnrD2I5abl1GYZLmO5iJZotSgakbosOnbs6J7o8E7EEI7Dr4HbyhoaCE-766z1bz6fEog-awLvqVzRdLhN28f/s1600/PMqv-GTw.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbm40tOowFe_OtvDbLyYiM1W93-4AxckXvJpXkDr7EiZv2ekuqe6RlIlgpnrD2I5abl1GYZLmO5iJZotSgakbosOnbs6J7o8E7EEI7Dr4HbyhoaCE-766z1bz6fEog-awLvqVzRdLhN28f/s320/PMqv-GTw.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Magellanic penguin on Isla de los Estados. <br />
Credit: Ulises Balza. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The penguins were found on the eastern side of Isla de los Estados off the eastern tip of Tierra del Fuego at the southernmost end of the South American continent.<br />
<br />
Researchers made the discovery while surveying a known colony of <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-8.html">rockhopper</a> penguins that they had been tracking by remote cameras for two years.<br />
<br />
When the researchers eventually accessed an unexplored area of the rockhopper colony, they discovered the telltale nesting burrows of Magellanic penguins hidden in tall grasses.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>The exact number of penguins remains unknown, but the researchers defined the perimeter of the new colony, conducted a census to estimate population size, and took some blood samples from individual birds to determine their health and diet.<br />
<br />
Andrea Raya Rey, WCS associate researcher and staff at <a href="https://cadic.conicet.gov.ar/">CADIC-CONICET</a>, said, “Our team was incredibly excited to discover this new penguin colony. The more colonies we know exist, the more we can advocate for their protection.”<br />
<br />
The discovery adds to the growing list of 50-plus known colonies of Magellanic penguins. The largest colony is in the Punta Tombo Provincial Reserve, a protected area created in Argentina with the help of WCS more than 50 years ago.<br />
<br />
WCS has been supporting long-term research and monitoring of the Magellanic penguin and works to conserve them by helping improve the management of commercial fisheries and of offshore drilling and the transport of oil in the Southeast Atlantic. WCS also works to protect core reproductive sites for the species in coastal Patagonia in order to ensure their long-term survival.<br />
<br />
The Magellanic penguin is listed as “Near Threatened” on <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/">IUCN’s Red List</a>, and the global population – estimated to be between 1.1 and 1.6 million pairs – is decreasing. The main threats to the species are climate change, mortality from fishing gear entanglement, overfishing of prey species, petroleum pollution, egg collection, and unregulated ecotourism.<br />
<br />
The discovery is the result of joint work with the CADIC-CONICET and supported by Argentina’s National Parks Administration.<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
Wildlife Conservation Society, <a href="https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/13717/New-Penguin-Colony-Discovered.aspx">New penguin colony discovered [news release]</a>, 16 January 2020 </div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-46303930949313232622019-12-15T20:58:00.001+13:002019-12-15T20:58:49.847+13:00Study reveals whaling and climate change led to 100 years of feast or famine for Antarctic penguins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
ANTARCTICA – New research reveals how penguins have dealt with more than a century of human impacts in Antarctica and why some species are winners or losers in this rapidly changing ecosystem.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibTC9rRqAzGMUG4l7Q3x1UfuW0RyvZuq4GbmPgxxcocnISoV2ItkfPf0GCPJH05nKW2zrZ_nkftMiyGLkBpgIwahUM_OVaj4EcFTWisb024gP_Iy7IWdwiwBIY3oiRzr5IwJF_jJ7jVJW0/s1600/50IarpeA.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibTC9rRqAzGMUG4l7Q3x1UfuW0RyvZuq4GbmPgxxcocnISoV2ItkfPf0GCPJH05nKW2zrZ_nkftMiyGLkBpgIwahUM_OVaj4EcFTWisb024gP_Iy7IWdwiwBIY3oiRzr5IwJF_jJ7jVJW0/s320/50IarpeA.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A chinstrap penguin standing on snow near a <br />breeding colony along the Antarctic Peninsula.<br />Credit: Michael Polito © Louisiana State University</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Michael Polito, assistant professor in <a href="http://www.lsu.edu/">Louisiana State University’s</a> (LSU's) Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences and his co-authors published their findings in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1913093116">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.<br />
<br />
“Although remote, Antarctica has a long history of human impacts on its ecosystems and animals. By the early to mid-1900s, humans had hunted many of its seals and whales nearly to extinction. Seal and whale populations are now recovering, but decades of climate change and a growing commercial fishing industry have further degraded the environment,” Polito said.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Polito co-led a team of researchers from LSU, <a href="https://www.uri.edu/">University of Rhode Island</a>, <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a>, <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California Santa Cruz</a> and the <a href="https://www.usask.ca/">University of Saskatchewan</a> with the goal of understanding how human interference in Antarctic ecosystems during the past century led to booms and busts in the availability of a key food source for penguins: Antarctic krill.<br />
<br />
“Antarctic krill is a shrimp-like crustacean that is a key food source for penguins, seals, and whales. When seal and whale populations dwindled due to historic over-harvesting, it is thought to have led to a surplus of krill during the early to mid-1900s.<br />
<br />
“In more recent times, the combined effects of commercial krill fishing, anthropogenic climate change, and the recovery of seal and whale populations are thought to have drastically decreased the abundance of krill,” Polito said.<br />
<br />
In this study, the team determined the diets of <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-4.html">chinstrap</a> and <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-5.html">gentoo</a> penguins by analysing the nitrogen stable isotope values of amino acids in penguin feathers collected during explorations of the Antarctic Peninsula during the past century.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoM1F_iTZ2TmSzoqPLMmVuKS53RB2UaFMsweqCzYYDqH-AxcTH_v_CS5ABoUb92TL1ztGJng2w7SPro4vSz2rDww3kyyrCf4w-Jz71usW88MARyjpIdT9G9Y7GiaPoxikpEwajp7_hfrv/s1600/i16shLWg.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoM1F_iTZ2TmSzoqPLMmVuKS53RB2UaFMsweqCzYYDqH-AxcTH_v_CS5ABoUb92TL1ztGJng2w7SPro4vSz2rDww3kyyrCf4w-Jz71usW88MARyjpIdT9G9Y7GiaPoxikpEwajp7_hfrv/s320/i16shLWg.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A gentoo penguin leaps off an ice flow into <br />Mikkelsen Harbor, Antarctic Peninsula.<br />Credit: Kelton McMahon © University of Rhode Island</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
“We’ve all heard the adage, ‘You are what you eat.’ All living things record a chemical signal of the food they eat in their tissues. We used the stable isotope values of penguin feathers as a chemical signal of what penguins were eating over the last 100 years,” said Kelton McMahon, co-lead author and assistant professor at the University of Rhode Island.<br />
<br />
Because humans have never commercially harvested penguins, Polito and colleagues expected that changes in their diets and populations would mirror shifts in krill availability. The team focused their research on chinstrap and gentoo penguins because chinstrap penguins have had severe population declines and gentoo penguin populations have increased in the Antarctic Peninsula over the past half century.<br />
<br />
“Given that gentoo penguins are commonly thought of as climate change winners and chinstrap penguins as climate change losers we wanted to investigate how differences in their diets may have allow one species to cope with a changing food supply while the other could not,” said Tom Hart, co-author and researcher at the University of Oxford.<br />
<br />
The team found that both penguin species primarily fed on krill during the krill surplus in the early to mid-1900s that wahs caused by seal and whale harvesting. In contrast, during the latter half of the past century, gentoo penguins increasingly showed an adaptive shift from strictly eating krill to including fish and squid in their diets, unlike the chinstrap penguins that continued to feed exclusively on krill.<br />
<br />
“Our results indicate that historic harvesting and recent climate change have altered the Antarctic marine food web over the past century. Moreover, the differing diet and population responses we observed in penguins indicate that species such as chinstrap penguins, with specialized diets and a strong reliance on krill, will likely continue to do poorly as climate change and other human impacts intensify,” Polito said.<br />
<br />
The authors predict that the Antarctic Peninsula Region will remain a hot spot for climate change and human impacts during the next century, and they believe their research will be beneficial in predicting which species are likely to fare poorly and which will withstand – or even benefit from – future changes.<br />
<br />
According to McMahon, “By understanding how past ecosystems respond to environmental change, we can improve our predictions of future responses and better manage human-environment interactions in Antarctica.”<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
LSU Media Centre, <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/news/2019/12/02antarcticpenguins.eb.php">Study reveals whaling and climate change led to 100 years of feast or famine for Antarctic penguins</a>, 12 December 2019.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Journal citation</b><br />
McMahon, K.W., Michelson, C.I., Hart, T., McCarthy, M.D., Patterson, W.P., & Polito, M.J. (2019). Divergent trophic responses of sympatric penguin species to historic anthropogenic exploitation and recent climate change. <i>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</i>, 201913093; <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/11/26/1913093116">DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1913093116</a></div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-23042898751647393502019-11-12T20:30:00.000+13:002019-11-12T20:33:15.133+13:00Without Paris Accord, emperor penguins are in dire straits<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
ANTARCTICA – Unless climate change is slowed, <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-2.html">emperor</a> penguins will be marching towards extinction, according to a newly published study co-authored by a <a href="https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/">University of Canterbury</a> (UC) scientist.<br />
<br />
“Basically, if we don’t hit the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement">Paris Accord</a> emissions goals, emperor penguins are in deep trouble,” said paper co-author UC scientist Dr Michelle LaRue, a Lecturer of Antarctic Marine Science in the School of Earth and Environment.<br />
<br />
Emperor penguins are some of the most striking and charismatic animals on Earth, but a new study from the <a href="https://www.whoi.edu/">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution</a> (WHOI) in the United States has found that climate change may render them extinct by the end of this century. The study, which was part of an international collaboration between scientists, was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14864">published on 7 November in the journal <i>Global Change Biology</i></a>.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>“If global climate keeps warming at the current rate, we expect emperor penguins in Antarctica to experience an 86 percent decline by the year 2100,” said Stephanie Jenouvrier, a seabird ecologist at WHOI and lead author on the paper.<br />
<br />
“At that point, it is very unlikely for them to bounce back.”<br />
<br />
The fate of the penguins is largely tied to the fate of sea ice, which the animals use as a home base for breeding and molting, she said. Emperor penguins tend to build their colonies on ice with extremely specific conditions – it must be locked in to the shoreline of the Antarctic continent, but close enough to open seawater to give the birds access to food for themselves and their young. As climate warms, however, that sea ice will gradually disappear, robbing the birds of their habitat, food sources, and ability to hatch chicks.<br />
<br />
The international research team conducted the study by combining two existing computer models. The first, a global climate model created by the US <a href="https://ncar.ucar.edu/">National Center for Atmospheric Research</a> (NCAR), offered projections of where and when sea ice would form under different climate scenarios. The second, a model of the penguin population itself, calculated how colonies might react to changes in that ice habitat.<br />
<br />
“We’ve been developing that penguin model for 10 years,” said Jenouvrier. “It can give a very detailed account of how sea ice affects the life cycle of emperor penguins, their reproduction, and their mortality. When we feed the results of the NCAR climate model into it, we can start to see how different global temperature targets may affect the emperor penguin population as a whole.”<br />
<br />
The researchers ran the model on three different scenarios: a future where global temperature increases by only 1.5 degrees Celsius (the goal set out by the Paris climate accord), one where temperatures increase by 2 degrees Celsius, and one where no action is taken to reduce climate change, causing to a temperature increase of 5 to 6 degrees Celsius.<br />
<br />
Under the 1.5 degree scenario, the study found that only 5 percent of sea ice would be lost by 2100, causing a 19 percent drop in the number of penguin colonies. If the planet warms by 2 degrees, however, those numbers increase dramatically: the loss of sea ice nearly triples, and more than a third of existing colonies disappear. The ‘business as usual’ scenario is even more dire, the researchers found, with an almost complete loss of the colonies ensured.<br />
<br />
“Under that scenario, the penguins will effectively be marching towards extinction over the next century,” she said.<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
University of Canterbury, 8 November 2019, <a href="https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/news/2019/without-paris-accord-emperor-penguins-are-in-dire-straits-new-study.html">Without Paris Accord, emperor penguins are in dire straits: new study (press release)</a><br />
<br />
<b>Journal citation</b><br />
Jenouvrier, S., Holland, M., Iles, D., Labrousse, S., Landrum, L., Garnier, J., ... Barbraud, C. (2019). The Paris Agreement objectives will likely halt future declines of emperor penguins. <i>Global Change Biology</i>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14864">https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14864</a></div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-3557809265810914132019-11-11T21:00:00.002+13:002019-11-11T21:00:18.899+13:00Hey! Ho! Hoiho! Yellow-eyed penguin crowned NZ Bird of the Year for 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
NEW ZEALAND – Widely considered an underdog, the valiant hoiho (<a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-6.html">yellow-eyed penguin</a>) has smashed the feathered ceiling to win Bird of the Year, a first for seabirds in the competition's 14-year history.<br />
<br />
For much of the two-week voting period in <a href="https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/">Forest & Bird's</a> annual competition, the hoiho was neck and neck with the iconic kākāpō, only managing to edge ahead in the final few days.<br />
<br />
"It was so close between these two amazing endangered birds, it was impossible to predict a winner for most of the competition," said Forest & Bird spokesperson Megan Hubscher.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>The hoiho is the world’s rarest penguin, with only 225 pairs remaining on mainland New Zealand in 2018/19. Hoiho face numerous threats including warming oceans leading to changes in food availability, bottom trawling damaging feeding grounds, being caught in fishing nets, and disturbance from humans.<br />
<br />
Hoiho benefited from the early creation of a ‘penguin coalition’ between all four of the penguin campaign teams (hoiho, korora/<a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-18.html">little penguin</a>, tawaki/<a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-10.html">fiordland penguin</a> and <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-8.html">rockhopper</a>) who pledged to back each other under the new single transferable vote (STV) voting system.<br />
<br />
As usual, memes and trash-talk took over the internet during Bird of the Year. Kākāpō took a lot of heat, being labelled boomers and moss chickens, while the incumbent kererū was accused of being drunk and not fulfilling last year's campaign promises.<br />
<br />
Hoiho was teased for being the bird most likely to take a date to McDonald’s for a Fillet-O-Fish, while bittern ran a single issue campaign of being the bird most able to imitate a stick.<br />
<br />
"Bird of the Year has become a national passion, and that's thanks to everyone relentlessly and ruthlessly promoting their favourite bird's weirdest qualities to the globe," said Ms Hubscher.<br />
<br />
"Our birds are so incredible and unique – all New Zealand birds are winners!"<br />
<br />
Bird of the Year is run by independent conservation organisation Forest & Bird to raise awareness of New Zealand’s unique native birds and the threats they face.<br />
<br />
Eighty percent of New Zealand’s birds are in trouble, and one out of three bird species is at serious risk of extinction including this year’s winner, the hoiho.<br />
<br />
Bird of the Year 2019 results<br />
First five:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Hoiho/yellow-eyed penguin</li>
<li>Kākāpō</li>
<li>Kakaruia/black robin</li>
<li>Ttūturiwhatu/banded dotterel</li>
<li>Pīwakawaka/fantail</li>
</ol>
There were 43,460 votes made and verified.<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
Forest & Bird, <a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1911/S00125/hoiho-crowned-bird-of-the-year-for-2019.htm">Hoiho crowned Bird of Year for 2019</a>, 11 November 2019, Scoop.co.nz </div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-59549045476093151322019-10-12T20:15:00.000+13:002019-10-12T20:15:19.369+13:00Study recommends special protection of emperor penguins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
ANTARCTICA – In a new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320719309899?via%3Dihub">Biological Conservation</a>, an international team of researchers recommends the need for additional measures to protect and conserve one of the most iconic Antarctic species – the <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-2.html">emperor penguin</a> (<i>Aptenodytes forsteri</i>).<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxzLFxAtJyig_9TaLKOpWNQTKB8x9fdDe4ugNtOA6FueM6C2HeQmDQQCOfRDhUf_xsb0fCZzHGj66mTwIx07tAeRjOieOvhD9GgNyhyphenhyphenULLnZB_Jf6Lsi89_NBLqVfEGuO17K-6GEGaKqAG/s1600/10009802-Adult-emperor-penguins-with-chick-near-Halley-Research-Station-491x736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="492" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxzLFxAtJyig_9TaLKOpWNQTKB8x9fdDe4ugNtOA6FueM6C2HeQmDQQCOfRDhUf_xsb0fCZzHGj66mTwIx07tAeRjOieOvhD9GgNyhyphenhyphenULLnZB_Jf6Lsi89_NBLqVfEGuO17K-6GEGaKqAG/s320/10009802-Adult-emperor-penguins-with-chick-near-Halley-Research-Station-491x736.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adult emperor penguins with chick <br />on the sea ice close to Halley Research <br />Station on the Brunt Ice Shelf.<br />Photo credit: British Antarctic Survey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The researchers reviewed over 150 studies on the species and its environment as well as its behaviour and character in relation to its breeding biology. Current climate change projections indicate that rising temperatures and changing wind patterns will negatively impact the sea ice on which emperor penguins breed. Some studies indicate that emperor populations will decrease by more than 50% over the current century.
<br />
<br />
The researchers therefore recommend that the species be escalated to ‘vulnerable’ from its current status as ‘near threatened’ on the<a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/"> IUCN Red List of Threatened Species</a>. They conclude that improvements in climate change forecasting in relation to impacts on Antarctic wildlife would be beneficial, and recommend that the emperor penguin should be listed by the <a href="https://www.ats.aq/index_e.html">Antarctic Treaty</a> as a Specially Protected Species.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Lead author Dr Philip Trathan, Head of Conservation Biology at <a href="http://bas.ac.uk/">British Antarctic Survey</a>, said, “The current rate of warming in parts of the Antarctic is greater than anything in the recent glaciological record. Though emperor penguins have experienced periods of warming and cooling over their evolutionary history, the current rates of warming are unprecedented.<br />
<br />
“Currently, we have no idea how the emperors will adjust to the loss of their primary breeding habitat – sea ice. They are not agile and climbing ashore across steep coastal land forms will be difficult. For breeding, they depend upon sea ice, and in a warming world there is a high probability that this will decrease. Without it, they will have little or no breeding habitat.”<br />
<br />
Greater protection measures will enable scientists to coordinate research into the penguins’ resilience to a range of different threats and stressors.<br />
<br />
Dr Peter Fretwell, remote sensing specialist at British Antarctic Survey and co-author said, “Some colonies of emperor penguins may not survive the coming decades, so we must work to give as much protection as we can to the species to give them the best chance.”<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
British Antarctic Survey, <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/study-recommends-special-protection-of-emperor-penguins/">Study recommends special protection of emperor penguins [press release]</a>, 9 October 2019<br />
<br />
<b>Journal citation</b><br />
Trathan, P.N., Wienecke, B., Barbraud, C. Jenouvrier, S., Kooyman, G., Le Bohec, C., ... Fretwell, P.T. (2019). The emperor penguin – vulnerable to projected rates of warming and sea ice loss. <i>Biological Conservation.</i> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108216">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108216</a>.</div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-41062730935653094772019-08-14T21:21:00.001+12:002019-08-14T21:28:57.628+12:00Another monster prehistoric penguin find in New Zealand<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
NEW ZEALAND – A new species of giant penguin – about 1.6 metres tall – has been identified from fossils found in Waipara, North Canterbury.<br />
<br />
The discovery of <i>Crossvallia waiparensis</i>, a monster penguin from the Paleocene Epoch (between 66 and 56 million years ago), adds to the list of gigantic, but extinct, New Zealand fauna. These include the world’s largest parrot, a giant eagle, giant burrowing bat, the moa and other giant penguins.<br />
<br />
<i>C. waiparensis</i> is one of the world’s oldest known penguin species and also one of the largest – taller even than today’s 1.2 metre <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-2.html">emperor penguin</a> – and weighing up to 70 to 80 kg.<br />
<br />
<div class="sketchfab-embed-wrapper">
<iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen; vr" frameborder="0" height="240" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://sketchfab.com/models/7e37685b949f4805861d49e5b2c27490/embed" title="A 3D model" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="320"></iframe>
<br />
<div style="color: #4a4a4a; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin: 5px;">
<a href="https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/a-life-size-model-of-crossvallia-waiparensis-7e37685b949f4805861d49e5b2c27490?utm_medium=embed&utm_source=website&utm_campaign=share-popup" style="color: #1caad9; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">A life size model of <i>Crossvallia waiparensis</i></a>
<br />
by <a href="https://sketchfab.com/canterburymuseum?utm_medium=embed&utm_source=website&utm_campaign=share-popup" style="color: #1caad9; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Canterbury Museum</a>
on <a href="https://sketchfab.com/?utm_medium=embed&utm_source=website&utm_campaign=share-popup" style="color: #1caad9; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Sketchfab</a>
</div>
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
Amateur palaeontologist Leigh Love found the bones at the Waipara Greensand fossil site in North Canterbury in 2018. Local fossil preparator Al Mannering readied them for study and helped describe them.<br />
<br />
A team comprising <a href="https://www.canterburymuseum.com/">Canterbury Museum</a> curators Dr Paul Scofield and Dr Vanesa De Pietri, and Dr Gerald Mayr of <a href="http://www.senckenberg.de/root/index.php?page_id=5256">Senckenberg Natural History Museum</a> in Frankfurt, Germany, analysed the bones and concluded they belonged to a previously unknown penguin species.<br />
<br />
In a paper <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03115518.2019.1641619">published this week in <i>Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology</i></a>, the team concluded that the closest known relative of <i>C. waiparensis</i> is a fellow Paleocene species <i>Crossvallia unienwillia</i>, which was identified from a fossilised partial skeleton found in the Cross Valley in Antarctica in 2000.<br />
<br />
Canterbury Museum Senior Curator Natural History Dr Paul Scofield said finding closely related birds in New Zealand and Antarctica shows our close connection to the icy continent.<br />
<br />
“When the <i>Crossvallia</i> species were alive, New Zealand and Antarctica were very different from today – Antarctica was covered in forest and both had much warmer climates,” he said.<br />
<br />
The leg bones of both <i>Crossvallia</i> penguins suggest their feet played a greater role in swimming than those of modern penguins, or that they hadn’t yet adapted to standing upright like modern penguins.<br />
<br />
<i>C. waiparensis</i> is the fifth ancient penguin species described from fossils uncovered at the Waipara Greensand site.<br />
<br />
Dr Gerald Mayr said the Waipara Greensand is arguably the world’s most significant site for penguin fossils from the Paleocene Epoch.<br />
<br />
“The fossils discovered there have made our understanding of penguin evolution a whole lot clearer,” he said. “There’s more to come, too – more fossils which we think represent new species are still awaiting description.”<br />
<br />
Dr Vanesa De Pietri, Canterbury Museum Research Curator Natural History, said discovering a second giant penguin from the Paleocene Epoch is further evidence that early penguins were huge.<br />
<br />
“It further reinforces our theory that penguins attained a giant size very early in their evolution,” she said.<br />
<br />
The fossils of several giant species, including <i>C. waiparensis</i>, will be displayed in a new exhibition about prehistoric New Zealand at Canterbury Museum later this year.<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
<a href="https://www.canterburymuseum.com/about-us/media-releases/monster-penguin-find-in-waipara-north-canterbury/">Canterbury Museum, Monster penguin find in Waipara, North Canterbury [media release]</a>, 14 August 2019<br />
<br />
<b>Journal citation</b><br />
Mayr, G., De Pietri, V.L., Love, L., Mannering, A., & Scofield, R.P. (2019). A partial skeleton of a new penguin species from the Waipara Greensand adds to the diversity of very large-sized Sphenisciformes in the Paleocene of New Zealand. <i>Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology</i>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03115518.2019.1641619">https://doi.org/10.1080/03115518.2019.1641619</a><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-69054318888669786462019-08-11T21:09:00.000+12:002019-08-11T21:10:16.708+12:00Plan to reverse precarious position of yellow-eyed penguin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
NEW ZEALAND – Government, iwi and a community organisation have banded together to turn around the fortunes of the nationally endangered hoiho/<a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-6.html">yellow-eyed penguin</a>, which recently suffered a series of poor breeding seasons.<br />
<br />
At the annual hoiho/yellow-eyed penguin symposium in Dunedin on 3 August, the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced Te Kaweka Takohaka mō te Hoiho/Yellow-eyed Penguin Recovery Strategy. It is a draft strategy to restore hoiho populations in the face of pressures from human activities, climate change and predators, alongside a supporting action plan.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>“Hoiho are species unique to New Zealand that grace our $5 notes. Because hoiho occupy both land and sea, they’re exposed to an extensive range of threats, resulting in poor breeding and survival rates. They need all the support they can get to boost their numbers,” Eugenie Sage said.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://doc.govt.nz/">Department of Conservation</a> (DOC), <a href="https://ngaitahu.iwi.nz/">Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu</a>, the <a href="https://www.yellow-eyedpenguin.org.nz/">Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust</a> and <a href="https://www.mpi.govt.nz/fisheriesnz">Fisheries New Zealand</a> have worked together over the past year to develop the Strategy and associated Action Plan.<br />
<br />
Hoiho are a taonga species for Ngāi Tahu. The 2018/19 breeding season saw the number of breeding pairs in the ‘northern’ hoiho populations of mainland New Zealand, Rakiura/Stewart Island and Whenua Hou/Codfish Island at their lowest since 1990 with only an estimated 227 nests present at the beginning of the season.<br />
<br />
Around 400 birds needed specialist treatment or rehabilitation. Starvation and avian malaria were strong factors as well as unexplained deaths.<br />
<br />
“The strategy highlights that the immediate focus must be on the survival of individual hoiho to ensure we have a future population. This means continuing with management interventions such as caring for sick, injured and underweight birds.”<br />
<br />
“Longer term the focus will shift to addressing marine impacts on hoiho. Right now, we don’t know as much as we’d like to about these impacts. The strategy also proposes to continue to improve the effectiveness of land-based management.”<br />
<br />
“Everyone involved in hoiho conservation and users of the coast near hoiho breeding sites can help protect and support hoiho.”<br />
<br />
Eugenie Sage also announced Te Mahere Rima Tau – a five-year hoiho action plan – at the symposium to support the strategy. Te Mahere Rima Tau will be assessed and updated annually and is likely to promote future investment in research and the rehabilitation of sick or injured hoiho. It will also involve working with fishers on bycatch mitigation.<br />
<br />
An additional investment of $220,000 over three years from Budget 2018 will also go towards the conservation management of hoiho.<br />
<br />
“I welcome public input on the Strategy and Five year Action Plan to help ensure it is the strongest plan possible for the hoiho.” Eugenie Sage said.<br />
<br />
The strategy will be discussed further with Ngāi Tahu whānui, the public and stakeholders over the coming weeks and will be finalised by the end of 2019.<br />
<br />
Have your say – <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/get-involved/have-your-say/all-consultations/2019/feedback-on-the-strategy-and-action-plan-for-hoihoyellow-eyed-penguin-conservation/">Feedback on the strategy and action plan for hoiho/yellow-eyed penguin conservation</a><br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
Office of the Minister of Conservation, <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-releases/2019/plan-to-reverse-precarious-position-of-hoihoyellow-eyed-penguin/">Plan to reverse precarious position of hoiho/yellow-eyed penguin [media release]</a>, 3 August 2019 </div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-67696970034682600482019-05-24T21:16:00.001+12:002019-05-24T21:36:57.515+12:00African penguin research project begins at Boulders Penguin Colony<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
SOUTH AFRICA – In the last week of May, a much-anticipated research project will start at Boulders Penguin Colony in Simonstown. The <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-14.html">African penguin</a> movement ecology research project will take place over the penguins' breeding season from May to September 2019.<br />
<br />
“The study is being led by the <a href="http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za/">FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology</a> from the University of Cape Town and <a href="https://sanccob.co.za/">SANCCOB</a>. The partnership will see a collaboration between these two organisations and <a href="https://www.sanparks.org/">South African National Parks</a> – Cape Research Centre to conduct the study,” said Dr Alison Kock, Marine Biologist: Cape Research Centre.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Thirty penguins will be tagged over the breeding season, with batches of six birds per sampling period for a maximum of two days. Adult penguins will be fitted with electronic loggers that record their GPS locations and dive depths as well as video footage of their behaviour at sea. The loggers will be attached to their lower backs with waterproof tape.<br />
<br />
GPS tracking of African penguins was last done at Boulders in early 2000. Since then, penguins at all main breeding colonies in South Africa and Namibia have been tracked using these devices.<br />
<br />
“The current study will be a great comparison to the earlier study in False Bay and will close the gap in knowledge on the foraging behaviour of African penguins all along our coast, as False Bay is important habitat and a key area to protect the species,” said Dr Katta Ludynia, Research Manager at SANCCOB.<br />
<br />
During the study a small sample of birds will be marked with a non-permanent pink dye so that their nest attendance times can be monitored, as well as to choose birds that are going to the sea the following day.<br />
<br />
Dr Kock said that African penguins have dramatically declined over the last century with only an estimated 23,000 breeding pairs remaining in the wild.<br />
<br />
“The findings of this research project will assist the scientists to better understand the types of fish the African penguins eat in order to help manage fish stocks more sustainably; determine their hunting areas that can be used to motivate for the extensions of Marine Protected Areas; and knowing where they go can help limit threats to these areas, e.g. pollution.”<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
<a href="https://www.sanparks.org/about/news/?id=57809">Research project of African penguins commences at Boulders Penguin Colony [media release]</a>, 21 May 2019, South African National Parks (SANParks) – Cape Region Communications<br />
<br /></div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-82410735420422791872019-05-21T20:24:00.000+12:002019-08-13T20:40:06.399+12:00Penguins and their chicks’ responses to local fish numbers informs marine conservation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
SOUTH AFRICA – How adult penguins fish and the body condition of their chicks are directly linked to local fish abundance, and could potentially inform fishery management, a new study has found.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJAH7JP9L1Os91vXCUbD9ugHfawTjhEIMVaDNKGAVa2F5w2VWjd3TxXie3izXD5vdgRWJGpNwWfS5NDk7oyEhnmbVgr-oGoDjZQD4m8poQyGVPlob0gmRAQ4RdceI7UQSvtARL4tIjOAvq/s1600/African-penguin-adult-at-the-edge-of-the-Robben-Island-colony-credit-R.-B.-Sherley-1-710x472.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="710" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJAH7JP9L1Os91vXCUbD9ugHfawTjhEIMVaDNKGAVa2F5w2VWjd3TxXie3izXD5vdgRWJGpNwWfS5NDk7oyEhnmbVgr-oGoDjZQD4m8poQyGVPlob0gmRAQ4RdceI7UQSvtARL4tIjOAvq/s320/African-penguin-adult-at-the-edge-of-the-Robben-Island-colony-credit-R.-B.-Sherley-1-710x472.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">African penguin adult at the edge of the colony <br />
on Robben Island, South Africa.<br />
Photo credit: R.B. Sherley</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The researchers studied an endangered <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-14.html">African</a> penguin colony during a rare three-year closure of commercial fisheries around Robben Island, South Africa, and their findings were <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1365-2664.13409">published in the <i>Journal of Applied Ecology</i></a>.<br />
<br />
Fishing is often considered to be one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss in the ocean. It is so widespread that we lack an understanding of the ‘natural’ relationships between marine predators and their prey, and thus the extent to which predators are disrupted by competition from fisheries.<br />
<br />
This is a critical knowledge gap since many marine predators such as penguins are considered indicator species: a species whose success indicates the condition of their habitat.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Dr Kate Campbell, who led the research at the <a href="https://www.uct.ac.za/">University of Cape Town</a> as part of her PhD project, said, “Understanding how African penguins forage to feed their chicks in their variable marine environment can help us identify conservation measures for these endangered populations.”<br />
<br />
“A three-year commercial fisheries closure around Robben Island, South Africa, created a unique opportunity to study how African penguins directly respond to natural changes in local abundance of their prey – anchovies and sardines.”<br />
<br />
The researchers estimated fluctuations in prey fish populations over three years within the fisheries closure zone (20km radius around Robben Island) using 12 hydro-acoustic surveys, which detect the presence of anchovies and sardines by bouncing sound waves off their swim bladders (gas-filled organs).<br />
<br />
Over the same time period researchers used GPS-temperature-depth loggers to monitor adult penguins’ fishing behaviours for one trip to sea per breeding season. At the Robben Island colony, researchers also measured the diet of breeding adults and the body condition of chicks.<br />
<br />
They found that local abundance of anchovy and sardine was directly linked to African penguin foraging behaviour and chick offspring condition; a common assumption about predator-prey relationships which has rarely been tested in the absence of fishing.<br />
<br />
When fish abundance was lower, adults increased foraging effort: foraging for longer, swimming further and diving more often. This likely explains why chick body condition also declined, as finding fish became more challenging for breeding adults and required more energy.<br />
<br />
Dr Richard Sherley of the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> said, “Interestingly, the variation in foraging behaviour between individuals also increased when prey fish were scarcer.”<br />
<br />
“While some ‘superstar’ penguins find food easily, others are less successful. Once food gets harder to find, more individuals will start to struggle and work harder, but they will do so at different rates, increasing the variation we see in foraging effort,” he added.<br />
<br />
These results indicate that penguin foraging behaviour and chick condition could be key indicators for local fish abundance, making a case for their inclusion in monitoring of local ecosystem health.<br />
<br />
Dr Campbell said, “Since these short-term changes will likely have knock-on effects for chick survival and penguin population size, they could be used as powerful early warning signs to inform fisheries’ policies and marine conservation efforts.”<br />
<br />
“Technological advances also means there’s exciting potential to better understand how these endangered penguins behave when prey resources are scarce,” she added.<br />
<br />
“Hopefully, in the future, we could aim to effectively balance fishery management with penguins’ needs, to reduce the impact on local economies whilst maximising the benefits to our oceans,” Dr Sherley concluded.<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
British Ecological Society, <a href="https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/endangered-african-penguins-inform-marine-conservation/">Penguins and their chicks' responses to local fish numbers informs marine conservation</a>, 21 May 2019<br />
<br />
<b>Journal citation</b><br />
Campbell, K.J., Steinfurth, A., Underhill, L.G., Coetzee, J.C., Dyer, B.M., Ludynia, K., ... Sherley, R.B. (2019). Local forage fish abundance influences foraging effort and offspring condition in an endangered marine predator. <i>Journal of Applied Ecology, 56</i>(7), 1751–1760. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13409">https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13409</a><br />
<br /></div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-74479113386264138172019-04-26T21:20:00.000+12:002019-04-26T21:20:37.576+12:00"Catastrophic" breeding failure at one of world’s largest emperor penguin colonies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
ANTARCTICA – <a href="http://www.penguinworld.com/types/emperor.html">Emperor</a> penguins at the Halley Bay colony in the Weddell Sea have failed to raise chicks for the last three years, scientists have discovered.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQH_5fI2SEN4fltK0YNPvd51HesYyyu1ZQuH-c5bucbNgFFmFOaMZeRppMlD8QHG44H3EPEqOTQZ0CF1_3Jj9p7aqFsBF_4KeDluJMvkNMQeS1oM7BXvEpcD0qLuiREDuPPpSy6NbrOsC/s1600/10009802-Adult-emperor-penguins-with-chick-near-Halley-Research-Station-491x736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="492" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjQH_5fI2SEN4fltK0YNPvd51HesYyyu1ZQuH-c5bucbNgFFmFOaMZeRppMlD8QHG44H3EPEqOTQZ0CF1_3Jj9p7aqFsBF_4KeDluJMvkNMQeS1oM7BXvEpcD0qLuiREDuPPpSy6NbrOsC/s320/10009802-Adult-emperor-penguins-with-chick-near-Halley-Research-Station-491x736.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adult emperor penguins with chick on the <br />sea ice close to Halley Research Station on <br />the Brunt Ice Shelf. Credit: Richard Burt.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Researchers from <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/">British Antarctic Survey</a> (BAS) studied very high resolution satellite imagery to reveal the unusual findings, published on 25 April 2019 in the journal Antarctic Science.<br />
<br />
Until recently, the Halley Bay colony was the second largest in the world, with the number of breeding pairs varying each year between 14,000–25,000; around 5–9% of the global emperor penguin population.<br />
<br />
The failure to raise chicks for three consecutive years is associated with changes in the local sea-ice conditions. Emperor penguins need stable sea-ice on which to breed, and this icy platform must last from April when the birds arrive, until December when their chicks fledge.<br />
<br />
For the last 60 years the sea-ice conditions in the Halley Bay site have been stable and reliable. But in 2016, after a period of abnormally stormy weather, the sea-ice broke up in October, well before any emperor chicks would have fledged.<br />
<br />
This pattern was repeated in 2017 and again in 2018 and led to the death of almost all the chicks at the site each season.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>The colony at Halley Bay colony has now all but disappeared, whilst the nearby Dawson Lambton colony has markedly increased in size, indicating that many of the adult emperors have moved there, seeking better breeding grounds as environmental conditions have changed.<br />
<br />
The re-location of many of the birds to a more stable breeding ground is encouraging, as until now it was not known whether the penguins would seek alternative sites in response to significant changes in their local environment.<br />
<br />
Lead author and BAS remote sensing specialist Dr Peter Fretwell said, “Even taking into account levels of ecological uncertainty, published models suggest that emperor penguins numbers are set to fall dramatically, losing 50–70% of their numbers before the end of this century as sea-ice conditions change as a result of climate change.”<br />
<br />
By using satellite imagery to study the behaviour of this colony and its response to catastrophic sea-ice loss, scientists will gain vital information about how this iconic species might cope with future environmental change.<br />
<br />
“We have been tracking the population of this, and other colonies in the region, for the last decade using very high resolution satellite imagery. These images have clearly shown the catastrophic breeding failure at this site over the last three years.<br />
<br />
"Our specialised satellite image analysis can detect individuals and penguin huddles, so we can estimate the population based on the known density of the groups to give reliable estimate of colony size.”<br />
<br />
BAS penguin expert and co-author Dr Phil Trathan, said, “It is impossible to say whether the changes in sea-ice conditions at Halley Bay are specifically related to climate change, but such a complete failure to breed successfully is unprecedented at this site.<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
British Antarctic Survey, <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/catastrophic-breeding-failure-at-one-of-worlds-largest-emperor-penguin-colonies/">"Catastrophic" breeding failure at one of world’s largest emperor penguin colonies [press release]</a>, 25 April 2019<br />
<br />
<b>Journal citation</b><br />
Fretwell, P., & Trathan, P. (n.d.). Emperors on thin ice: Three years of breeding failure at Halley Bay. <i>Antarctic Science</i>, 1-6. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102019000099">doi:10.1017/S0954102019000099</a></div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-43103947253176241692019-02-07T20:43:00.000+13:002019-08-12T21:00:08.829+12:00DNA provides insights into penguin evolution and reveals two new extinct penguins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
NEW ZEALAND – New research has improved our understanding of when and why penguins evolved, and has identified two recently extinct penguins from New Zealand’s remote Chatham Islands.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLRZEgZfXart3I7ETJl-j9MzCeSoOYE-EseJn4T2ORCemJkdmBb3W1T31PgDCk2qkYSMCZXwwjYKMMnvM1wOscFPa-pUPHF-M3b5fidqoK4jLUAXtSnYZPXS2_LaVuL48FiKj74U3yQCP/s1600/otago704844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="650" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLRZEgZfXart3I7ETJl-j9MzCeSoOYE-EseJn4T2ORCemJkdmBb3W1T31PgDCk2qkYSMCZXwwjYKMMnvM1wOscFPa-pUPHF-M3b5fidqoK4jLUAXtSnYZPXS2_LaVuL48FiKj74U3yQCP/s320/otago704844.jpg" width="302" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Penguins</i>. Artist: Sean Murtha. <br />
The painting, created to mark this research, <br />
shows <i>Eudyptes warhami</i> in the foreground, <br />
with <i>Megadyptes antipodes richdalei</i> in the background.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the study, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article-abstract/36/4/784/5303836?redirectedFrom=fulltext">published online in the scientific journal <i>Molecular Biology and Evolution</i></a>, an international team of researchers sequenced mitochondrial genomes from all living and recently extinct penguin species. By analysing the genetic relationships of species, and using ancient fossil penguins to put a time scale on these, the team showed that many penguin species arose soon after the geological formation of islands, including those inhabiting the Antipodes and Chatham Islands, Macquarie Island, Gough Island and Galápagos Islands.<br />
<br />
Lead author of the study, <a href="http://otago.ac.nz/">Otago University</a> PhD candidate Theresa Cole, said, “From an evolutionary perspective, it’s fascinating to understand how and why species evolve. We were able to provide a comprehensive framework for exploring these questions about penguins, and demonstrated for the first time that islands may have played a key role in penguin evolution.”<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>The study, which included sequencing DNA and examining hundreds of prehistoric bones across New Zealand, also confirmed that a now extinct, unique crested penguin species existed on the Chatham Islands until a few centuries ago. The former existence of this species had long been suspected by study co-author Alan Tennyson of New Zealand's national museum, <a href="https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/">Te Papa</a>, who had previously examined penguin bones from these islands.<br />
<br />
However the study also threw up a complete surprise – revealing that a previously unknown small subspecies of <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/portfolio-species-6.html">yellow-eyed penguin</a> also once existed on the Chatham Islands.<br />
<br />
Study authors, including Cole, Tennyson, Dr Daniel Thomas from <a href="https://www.massey.ac.nz/">Massey University</a>, and Dr Dan Ksepka from the US <a href="https://brucemuseum.org/">Bruce Museum</a>, named the two new penguins <i>Eudyptes warhami</i> and <i>Megadyptes antipodes richdalei</i> in honour of John Warham and Lance Richdale, who carried out pioneering studies on penguins in New Zealand.<br />
<br />
“Evidence suggests <i>Eudyptes warhami</i> and <i>Megadyptes antipodes richdalei </i>inhabited the Chatham Islands up until the last few hundred years, and became extinct only after humans arrived,” Cole said.<br />
<br />
“The discovery of these two new penguins adds greatly to our understanding of how humans impacted New Zealand’s marine biodiversity in the past.”<br />
<br />
“The more we learn about New Zealand’s past ecosystems, the more we realise how dramatically they have changed since human arrival,” said Otago University Professor Jon Waters, who helped supervise the study.<br />
<br />
This new study follows another led by Cole and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790318306274">published recently in the journal <i>Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution</i></a>, which used ancient DNA to show that prehistoric penguin bones from New Zealand included several species that no longer breed there.<br />
<br />
The researchers are now extending the study by sequencing whole genomes to explore penguin evolution and adaptation.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Source</b><br />
University of Otago, <a href="https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/news/releases/otago704842.html">DNA provides insights into penguin evolution and reveals two new extinct penguin species [news release]</a>, 7 February 2019<br />
<br />
<b>Journal citation</b><br />
Cole, T.L., Ksepka, D.T., Mitchell, K.J., Tennyson, A.J.D., Thomas, D.B., Pan, H., Zhang, G., ... Waters, J.M. (2019). Mitogenomes uncover extinct penguin taxa and reveal island formation as a key driver of speciation. <i>Molecular Biology and Evolution, 36</i>(4), 784–797. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msz017">https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msz017</a><br />
<br /></div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-71829499292270272122019-02-01T21:22:00.001+13:002019-02-01T21:22:32.644+13:00Little blue penguins stolen from nest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
NEW ZEALAND – The <a href="http://www.doc.govt.nz/">Department of Conservation</a> (DOC) is concerned about the potential smuggling of <a href="http://www.penguinworld.com/types/little.html">little blue</a> penguins in Hawkes Bay, after receiving information about the capture and removal of two birds from a burrow at Perfume Point in Napier.<br />
<br />
DOC Hawkes Bay Compliance Officer Rod Hansen said they had received information about the late-night raid which happened on 24 January 2019 at 10.30 pm.<br />
<br />
He said a woman was observed holding a torch while two men used a crowbar to capture three of the penguins, one of which died in the raid and was left behind.<br />
<br />
Two of the penguins were wrapped in towels and taken away by the group who departed in a small white four door car.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>DOC suspects the crowbar was used to prise rocks off the penguin’s burrow, and then hook the birds out around the neck.<br />
<br />
Rod Hansen said, “We are really concerned as we believe this might not be a one off. The very next day another penguin/kororā was found dead floating nearby and it appears it may have died from a head injury.<br />
<br />
“We have no idea where these birds are being taken to and we are seeking CCTV footage from the surrounding area and hoping members of the public may be able to come forward with further information.”<br />
<br />
Hansen said DOC is working with other government agencies and has interviewed a number of people about the issue.<br />
<br />
“This is particularly disturbing as it is a very vulnerable time for these wee penguins/kororā. They moult from January through to March and stay in their burrows for protection. They are nocturnal animals, and the time this offence occurred in the evening, further suggests the poachers knew exactly when best to target the birds.”<br />
<br />
Kororā are totally protected wildlife and people found committing offences may receive imprisonment not exceeding two years and a fine not exceeding $100,000.00.<br />
<br />
Anyone who has any information about this contact DOC on +64 6 834 3111 or 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
<a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-releases/2019/little-blue-penguins-stolen-from-nest/">Little blue penguins stolen from nest [media release]</a>, 30 January 2019, Department of Conservation</div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-63692640632141886082019-01-21T21:18:00.000+13:002019-01-23T20:58:53.904+13:00Emperor penguins' first journey to sea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
ANTARCTICA – <a href="http://www.penguinworld.com/types/emperor.html">Emperor</a> penguin chicks hatch into one of Earth’s most inhospitable places – the frozen world of Antarctica. Childhood in this environment is harsh and lasts only about five months, when their formerly doting parents leave the fledglings to fend for themselves.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgyr8tszPxtK1fwin17DDmGEjHuX-omCKNxFv8DCgBlLze8usYkKQdybqwCXSTkf6qRfEBxgEQFk1EAo0C1xh_jodVQqZrL5diiWR0BMJ-20G7wrh4l9uikzE1jD_PGzBBtDShw5y3t3w/s1600/2015-12-ant__MMM6568_1280_511434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgyr8tszPxtK1fwin17DDmGEjHuX-omCKNxFv8DCgBlLze8usYkKQdybqwCXSTkf6qRfEBxgEQFk1EAo0C1xh_jodVQqZrL5diiWR0BMJ-20G7wrh4l9uikzE1jD_PGzBBtDShw5y3t3w/s320/2015-12-ant__MMM6568_1280_511434.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Vincent Munier</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
New research by the <a href="http://www.whoi.edu/">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution</a> (WHOI) and colleagues reveals the previously unknown behaviours of juvenile emperor penguins in their critical early months when they leave their birth colony and first learn how to swim, dive and find food.<br />
<br />
The paper, published on 17 January 2019 in <a href="https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v609/">Marine Ecology Progress Series</a>, also highlights the unique connection between juvenile diving behaviours and a layer of the ocean known as the thermocline, where warmer surface waters meet cooler deep waters below and where their prey likely gather in groups.<br />
<br />
<div>
<a name='more'></a></div>
“This study provides insights into an important, but poorly understood, part of their life cycle, which is essential to being able to better predict the species’ response to future climate change,” said Sara Labrousse, a postdoctoral investigator at WHOI and lead author of the paper.<br />
<br />
Researchers from <a href="http://www.cebc.cnrs.fr/GB_index.htm">Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chize</a> in France tagged 15 juvenile penguins before the animals left their colony in Terre Adélie during 2013 and 2014 fieldwork in December, when the weather usually starts to warm and the ice begins to break up, creating open waters near the nesting site.<br />
<br />
The researchers attached tags to the lower backs of healthy chicks that had the best chances of survival. The tags recorded the penguins’ movements and transmitted diving and location data via satellite. More than 62,000 dives were recorded.<br />
<br />
The tags revealed that the juvenile penguins initially moved far north to reach open water areas and warmer waters.<br />
<br />
“This is when they are essentially learning how to swim,” said Labrousse.<br />
<br />
“That’s not something that their parents teach them. When they first go in the water, they are very awkward and unsure of themselves. They are not the fast and graceful swimmers their parents are.”<br />
<br />
The tags showed that once the juvenile emperor penguins became more experienced at diving, they headed south, and entered the sea-ice zone where they spent the winter months making deeper dives within sea ice.<br />
<br />
“That was something that surprised us because we didn’t previously know how long they were staying within the sea ice,” Labrousse said.<br />
<br />
“It turns out that they spend most of the winter diving beneath the sea ice.”<br />
<br />
The thermocline starts to deepen in autumn. The birds’ deeper dives likely were related to the depth of the thermocline and the seasonal change in the distribution of their prey, krill and other fish from the surface to the depths, Labrousse said. The deepest dive recorded by the tags was to 264 metres.<br />
<br />
“The next step in this research would be to utilize tags that could record death at-sea,” said Labrousse.<br />
<br />
“That would give us data on their survival rates, which we don’t have for this study.”<br />
<br />
Tags stopped recording dives after less than one day on two individuals, while one individual's tag stopped after 31 days. The tags on the remaining 12 penguins, recorded trips lasting from 86 to 344 days.<br />
<br />
“In those cases when the tags stop transmitting, we don’t know whether something happened to the animal or if it was due to a battery or other technical problem with the tag,” Labrousse said.<br />
<br />
Emperor penguins are the largest species of penguins. They are particularly vulnerable to climate change because their life cycles are so dependent on sea ice. Their breeding cycle begins in March (autumn in Antarctica) when the sea ice is thick enough to support their colony.<br />
<br />
After laying a single egg each, the females leave the colony to catch fish and fatten up so they can feed their chicks. The males stay behind and cradle the egg on the tops of their feet, tucked under their brooding pouch for warmth and protection. Too little sea ice during this time can reduce the availability of breeding sites and prey; too much sea ice means longer hunting trips for adults, which in turn means lower feeding rates for chicks.<br />
<br />
“Juveniles stay at sea for five or six years before they return to the colony to mate,” said Stephanie Jenouvrier, biologist at WHOI and co-author of the study.<br />
<br />
“We need to better understand the dynamics of what happens during the time the juveniles are away from the colony. Understanding how they will respond to the changing landscape in terms of breeding and other life history stages is key to predict population responses and species persistence to future climate change.”<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
<a href="http://www.whoi.edu/news-release/emperor-penguins-first-journey-to-sea">Emperor penguins' first journey to sea [news release]</a>, 17 January 2019, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution</div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-57358400905745357802019-01-07T21:11:00.000+13:002019-01-22T21:33:01.762+13:00Female penguins are getting stranded along the South American coast<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
SOUTH AMERICA – Every year, thousands of <a href="http://www.penguinworld.com/types/magellanic.html">Magellanic</a> penguins are stranded along the South American coast – from northern Argentina to southern Brazil – 1000 kilometres away from their breeding ground in northern Patagonia. Now researchers have new evidence to explain why the stranded birds are most often female: female penguins venture farther north than males do, where they are apparently more likely to run into trouble. Their findings were reported on 7 January 2019 in <i><a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)31489-1">Current Biology</a>.</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwguYpENfprS95FJz-Tqg37vDoxNdqbzmX9b5Oj1nZcYH8dRIsTpc9GTrx_oKnAe2jvAidZ2WHJ8bKtkOQxsQOexGEfwHpac1lLdbqWQ03k-lWNvWZrl2soiYwlVXuRZ9SkQwajXBeqNTH/s1600/189479_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1440" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwguYpENfprS95FJz-Tqg37vDoxNdqbzmX9b5Oj1nZcYH8dRIsTpc9GTrx_oKnAe2jvAidZ2WHJ8bKtkOQxsQOexGEfwHpac1lLdbqWQ03k-lWNvWZrl2soiYwlVXuRZ9SkQwajXBeqNTH/s320/189479_web.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Magellanic penguins,<br />Photo credit: Takashi Yamamoto</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"Anthropogenic threats have been considered to threaten wintering Magellanic penguins along the coasts of northern Argentina, Uruguay, and southern Brazil," said Takashi Yamamoto of the <a href="https://www.ism.ac.jp/index_e.html">Institute of Statistical Mathematics</a> in Tokyo.<br />
<br />
"These include water pollution caused by oil development and marine transport as well as fishery-associated hazards, such as by-catch and depletion of prey species.<br />
<br />
"Our results suggest that the northward spatial expansion likely increases the probability to suffer these risks, and particularly so in females."<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Researchers knew that penguins stranded along the South American coast were three times as likely to be females. But why?<br />
<br />
Before the study, there wasn't any evidence to suggest that males and females split up for the winter. Now, Yamamoto and his colleagues find that in fact they do. The researchers recorded the migratory and diving behaviour of 14 Magellanic penguins (eight males and six females) during the non-breeding period in 2017 using geolocators.<br />
<br />
The Magellanic penguins finished breeding in late February. Afterward, they began their migration through April, returning to the breeding grounds in September or October. During the wintering period, the tracking data show that females reached more northern areas than males did. Females showed other differences too. For example, they didn't dive as deep under the water.<br />
<br />
The researchers suggest that these behavioural differences between sexes in winter might be related to competition for food resources or other factors related to differences in size (males are larger and heavier than females). They also suggest that penguins travelling farther north may be at greater risk to a wide range of threats, leading them to become stranded more often.<br />
<br />
Whatever the reasons, the greater loss of females from the breeding population could have serious consequences for the viability of the population. Yamamoto said the new findings highlight "the necessity of gaining a better understanding of the long-term spatial utilizations of species throughout their annual cycle, including any differences within a population, in order to facilitate dynamic and adaptive conservation practices."<br />
<br />
Yamamoto also noted that juvenile penguins are stranded more often than adults are. To further explore, they'd like to track movements of juveniles from the time they leave the place of their birth until they return to breed for the first time.<br />
<br />
"Information during this period is totally missing," he said.<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
Cell Press, <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-01/cp-fpa010219.php">Female penguins are getting stranded along the South American coast [press release]</a>, 7 January 2019, EurekAlert!</div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-36448211166596524442019-01-02T21:41:00.000+13:002019-01-23T21:00:31.031+13:00Single male Magellanic penguin numbers rising at Punta Tombo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
ARGENTINA – Like most of their stout-bodied, flippered kin, <a href="http://www.penguinworld.com/types/magellanic.html">Magellanic</a> penguins spend much of their lives in the ocean. From late autumn through winter and into spring in the Southern Hemisphere, these South American penguins swim off the coast of southern Brazil, Uruguay and northern Argentina in search of anchovies, sardines and squid.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2SyFNFtu2YEFGtUITJv9bQmEvwm_uLKH_gcE6qxllIY3j5WCb7NWfmIpvysTo7NT9HbZX3JQV8zNUa436PsodMLPpSeqS0l7ZdmLNk2bm8I3foXQsFFOQPaQrJ495NFeQ66cEwJY1QV3/s1600/Web_Image2_CuriousYoungMale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1513" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2SyFNFtu2YEFGtUITJv9bQmEvwm_uLKH_gcE6qxllIY3j5WCb7NWfmIpvysTo7NT9HbZX3JQV8zNUa436PsodMLPpSeqS0l7ZdmLNk2bm8I3foXQsFFOQPaQrJ495NFeQ66cEwJY1QV3/s320/Web_Image2_CuriousYoungMale.jpg" width="316" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A young male Magellanic penguin. <br />
Photo: Natasha Gownaris</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But as spring turns to summer, they swim thousands of miles south and congregate in big coastal colonies. There, males and females pair off, breed and attempt to rear one or two newly hatched chicks. One of the largest breeding colonies for Magellanic penguins is at Punta Tombo in Argentina, where <a href="http://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> (UW) biology professor P. Dee Boersma and her team at the <a href="https://ecosystemsentinels.org/">Center for Ecosystem Sentinels</a> have studied the penguins since 1982. They have documented a population decline at Punta Tombo of more than 40 percent since 1987, along with a rising male-to-female ratio, and have spent years trying to pinpoint its cause.<br />
<br />
In a paper published on 2 January 2019 in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19395582">Ecological Applications</a>, Boersma and UW postdoctoral researcher Natasha Gownaris report that juvenile females are more likely to die at sea, which has caused a skewed sex ratio of nearly three males to every female, as well as population decline. Their study incorporated more than 30 years of population data collected by UW researchers – including banding and studying individual penguins – into models of population dynamics.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Boersma and Gownaris’ models show that juveniles have much lower survival rates than adults in all years, a common phenomenon in seabirds. In addition, among both juveniles and adults, females are less likely to survive than males, but this sex bias is much larger among juveniles. Adult females seem to fare worst in years when overall survival is low, suggesting they are more vulnerable than males to disruptions in the food supply during the non-breeding season.<br />
<br />
“From a conservation standpoint, this study shows us how important it is to try to protect the places where these penguins feed throughout the year, both in the breeding season and the non-breeding season,” said Gownaris.<br />
<br />
“It all comes down to food for this species.”<br />
<br />
This study relied on year-to-year surveys of penguins that had been fitted with stainless-steel bands marked with a unique five-digit number. Between 1983 and 2010, Boersma and her team banded 44,374 chicks at Punta Tombo, tracking generations of Magellanic penguin families. Only 3,296 of these individuals survived and were seen again at the colony. In 57 percent of cases, researchers also noted the sex of the individual – no easy task in a species where males and females look so much alike. Each Southern Hemisphere summer, which corresponds to winter in the Northern Hemisphere, researchers noted which individuals returned to Punta Tombo, and gathered information such as body condition and breeding success.<br />
<br />
The 3,296 penguins that returned are a small fraction of the hundreds of thousands who came to Punta Tombo over the three-decade survey period. But information about the banded birds helped Gownaris and Boersma learn about the entire population.<br />
<br />
Gownaris compared the results from her models of banded birds to annual survey data collected throughout the colony. These comparisons allowed her to see whether trends in the banded birds were also seen in the larger population.<br />
<br />
One of these trends is an increasingly skewed sex ratio and more single male penguins.<br />
<br />
“Two decades ago, there were about 1.5 adult male Magellanic penguins for every adult female at Punta Tombo,” said Gownaris. “Today, it’s approaching three males for every female.”<br />
<br />
Both the survey data and population models indicated that adult sex ratios were skewed because fewer females than males returned to the colony each spring for the breeding season. The surveys of banded penguins showed an average return rate for juvenile males of just 17 percent, and 12 percent for juvenile females.<br />
<br />
Gownaris’ models of the whole population indicated that male juveniles had an average return rate about 33.3 percentage points higher than females. Adult Magellanic penguins had much higher return rates than juveniles, and though females still lagged behind males, the gap was not as large as in juveniles. About 89 percent of adult males returned each year, as did 85 percent of females.<br />
<br />
Though this may seem like a small difference, the bias in survival accumulates over time. By the time a cohort of penguins reaches age 25, there are about six males for every female.<br />
<br />
Other groups have analyzed Magellanic penguin corpses that washed up off the coast of southern Brazil in winter. Their studies also indicate that females are more likely to die of starvation than males – especially juvenile females.<br />
<br />
Though male and female Magellanic penguins look similar, males are about 17 percent larger, and have longer and thicker bills. This may give males a significant advantage when foraging for food in the ocean – especially when oceanographic conditions make finding food in the winter more difficult, as <a href="https://thepertinentpenguin.blogspot.com/2018/11/after-bad-winter-in-ocean-female.html">the team showed in a paper published in August</a>.<br />
<br />
Using population models, Gownaris showed that the higher mortality of females at Punta Tombo contributed to skewed sex ratios and consequent population declines at the site from 1990 to 2010. This contribution was much greater than that of variation in chick survival. The data also suggest that, due to the skewed sex ratio, the population may be declining faster than suggested by the population surveys that are typically used to calculate population trends in the colony.<br />
<br />
“It makes sense that the worsening sex ratio is responsible for so much of the population decline at Punta Tombo based on what we know about penguin behavior,” said Gownaris.<br />
<br />
“Magellanic penguins are serially monogamous – with one male pairing with one female each breeding season – and both parents working together to rear the chicks. So, having fewer females means you have fewer pairings each year overall.”<br />
<br />
Gownaris wants to survey other Magellanic penguin breeding colonies along the coast to see if they show similarly skewed sex ratios. She and Boersma hope that this information will help new conservation efforts.<br />
<br />
“Over the years, this team has helped preserve the land and waters around breeding colonies like Punta Tombo,” said Gownaris.<br />
<br />
“But now we’re starting to understand that, to help Magellanic penguins, you have to protect waters where they feed in winter, which are thousands of miles north from Punta Tombo.”<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
Urton, J., <a href="http://www.washington.edu/news/2019/01/02/single-male-magellanic-penguins/">The number of single male Magellanic penguins is rising in this breeding colony. Here's why [news release]</a>, 2 January 2019, University of Washington</div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-63818090513524775912018-11-07T21:07:00.000+13:002019-01-23T20:52:44.488+13:00After a bad winter in the ocean, female Magellanic penguins suffer most, study shows<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
ARGENTINA – Every autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, <a href="http://www.penguinworld.com/types/magellanic.html">Magellanic</a> penguins leave their coastal nesting sites in South America. For adults, their summer task – breeding, or at least trying to – is complete. Newly fledged chicks and adults gradually head out to sea to spend the winter feeding. They won’t return to land until spring.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0up6Xa95bwAfswEKafRQd-J7EE23R_82mhrtm0DtBs2ZiVn8bl-S8nkh55txOc8rcXtHEARhyphenhyphen3Rt8gyPpTGR5yAH_jFWBEPBM2epInkIiccGzwnzWgeywvmnLTcVaRpyD1ByxGWyJ1NX/s1600/mag-parent-2-chicks-beg-Jan07_red.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0up6Xa95bwAfswEKafRQd-J7EE23R_82mhrtm0DtBs2ZiVn8bl-S8nkh55txOc8rcXtHEARhyphenhyphen3Rt8gyPpTGR5yAH_jFWBEPBM2epInkIiccGzwnzWgeywvmnLTcVaRpyD1ByxGWyJ1NX/s320/mag-parent-2-chicks-beg-Jan07_red.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adult Magellanic penguin and chicks<br />Credit: Dee Boersma/Center for Ecosystem Sentinels</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Yet life for these birds when they winter offshore is largely a mystery to the scientists who study Magellanic penguins – and who advocate for their conservation amid declining population numbers.<br />
<br />
“The winter period is something of a black box for us in terms of understanding Magellanic penguins,” said Ginger Rebstock, a <a href="http://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> (UW) research scientist.<br />
<br />
“We know the least amount about this part of their year.”<br />
<br />
But research by Rebstock and P. Dee Boersma, a UW professor of biology and founder of the <a href="https://ecosystemsentinels.org/">Center for Ecosystem Sentinels</a>, is starting to pry open that black box and discover how Magellanic penguins from one nesting site, Punta Tombo in Argentina, fare during the winter months.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>In a paper published on 9 August 2018 in the journal <a href="https://www.int-res.com/journals/meps/meps-home/">Marine Ecology Progress Series</a>, they report that the Río de la Plata – which drains South America’s second-largest river system after the Amazon – strongly influences oceanographic conditions in the Magellanic penguins’ winter feeding waters. Those oceanographic features, they report, show up in the body conditions of Magellanic penguin females, but not males, when the penguins return to their nesting grounds in spring.<br />
<br />
“Researchers only get to study the penguins up close – monitor their biology, their health, their population numbers – for the one time in the year that they come to nesting sites like Punta Tombo to breed,” said Rebstock.<br />
<br />
“Until now, we have not really known how conditions out in the ocean, where they spend the entire winter, affect them.”<br />
<br />
Magellanic penguins are believed to swim hundreds of miles in winter to feed on fish such as anchovy and sardines. For penguins originating at Punta Tombo, this could mean swimming more than 1,000 miles north along the coast up to southern Brazil. They generally stay along the continental shelf in waters usually no more than about 650 feet deep.<br />
<br />
To understand the oceanographic dynamics in this region, Rebstock turned her attention to space. She analyzed 30 years of weekly sea-surface temperature data, which National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellites collected for those South American coastal waters from 1982 to 2012. Data show that geographic features of coastal South America are responsible for key variations in ocean conditions.<br />
<br />
For example, her analysis revealed that the Río de la Plata, which enters the ocean between Argentina and Uruguay, is the primary driver of oceanographic conditions in the penguins’ winter feeding waters. The river discharges silt, microbes and nutrients into the ocean as a plume, which disperses in different directions based on prevailing winds. Strong winds from the southwest, for example, can spread the plume north along hundreds of miles of Brazilian coastline. If winds are weaker, the plume stays near the mouth of the Río de la Plata.<br />
<br />
Rebstock then analyzed whether variations in these oceanographic features – such as a strong, dispersed plume or a weak, localized plume – were associated with the body condition of penguins at the time of their arrival at Punta Tombo.<br />
<br />
Boersma and her team have collected information on the health and state of individual penguins when they arrive Punta Tombo for more than three decades. According to their data, the body conditions of male Magellanic penguins weren’t correlated with the extent of the plume. But Rebstock found that female penguins arrived back at Punta Tombo earlier, and in healthier body condition, if the Río de la Plata plume was weaker in winter. This may indicate that the plume affects how hard Magellanic penguins must work to find food.<br />
<br />
“We believe that the Río de la Plata plume carries a great deal of nutrients into the coastal waters, making them very productive feeding grounds for the penguins,” said Rebstock. “But winds will affect where the plume is distributed and how far penguins will have to go to reach it.”<br />
<br />
A weaker plume may keep the penguins’ prey closer together and closer to breeding colonies, increasing an individual penguin’s odds of catching fish. Magellanic penguins also are mainly visual hunters. A stronger plume that clings to the coast may obstruct visibility for the birds by making waters more turbid, said Rebstock.<br />
<br />
The size and disposition of the plume may affect females more than males because male Magellanic penguins tend to be larger, which allows them to dive deeper. This may give males a slight edge in catching food, especially in difficult conditions, said Rebstock.<br />
<br />
“What we would like to do next is test some of these hypotheses by tracking male and female Magellanic penguins during the winter months, to see if they are feeding in the same locations and see how successful they are at obtaining food in different conditions,” said Rebstock.<br />
<br />
For researchers like Rebstock, that may be the next black box to open. But it will also pose a logistical challenge. Researchers have tried to track Magellanic penguins during winter using satellite tags, but the penguins are very effective at taking them off.<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
Urton, J., <a href="http://www.washington.edu/news/2018/11/07/magellanic-penguins-oceanography/">After a bad winter in the ocean, female Magellanic penguins suffer most, study shows [news release]</a>, 7 November 2018, University of Washington<br />
<br /></div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-81995913893769191962018-10-31T21:03:00.000+13:002019-01-25T21:19:25.665+13:00And the winner of Penguin of the Year is...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
NEW ZEALAND – <a href="http://www.penguinworld.com/types/little.html">Little</a> penguin Timmy has out-flippered Mo to become the <a href="https://www.nationalaquarium.co.nz/">National Aquarium of New Zealand’s</a> first ever Penguin of the Year.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWPPKljXrhONWBBU5CSjPaspS9PPsxkT1Tkz0Qn-gkG5f6gmokVqLhhz3mbrT-vK4pJoDQI4i1xHqf1UDWCRJAYxEA9wehHH3Uu4oSxr48nOHaUrLajiCEge95aSKK9mXLRT0cAXnNKiO/s1600/0a686e9459922269e60d.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="514" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWPPKljXrhONWBBU5CSjPaspS9PPsxkT1Tkz0Qn-gkG5f6gmokVqLhhz3mbrT-vK4pJoDQI4i1xHqf1UDWCRJAYxEA9wehHH3Uu4oSxr48nOHaUrLajiCEge95aSKK9mXLRT0cAXnNKiO/s320/0a686e9459922269e60d.jpeg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penguin of the Year 2018 winner Timmy<br />Photo credit: National Aquarium of <br />New Zealand</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The finalists are both “bad boys” who regularly feature in the Naughty and Good Penguin of the Month competition, which the keepers started just over a year ago.<br />
<br />
Members of the public were asked to vote for their favourites through social media and the National Aquarium website in the first two weeks of October, after which they were asked to choose their favourite between Timmy and Mo.<br />
<br />
Corban Bell, seven, and his family found Timmy washed up on a Napier beach three years ago. They knew something was wrong so they popped him in a lunchbox and brought him to the National Aquarium which has become his permanent home. It is believed his spinal injury was from a possible boat strike. With physio he can now walk a little, but he has been unable to return to the wild.<br />
<br />
Corban and his father, Ian, were at the National Aquarium this morning for the announcement, where he got to feed Timmy.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>“I’m absolutely stoked that Timmy has won. I’ve been trying to get all my family and friends to vote for Timmy because he deserves it.”<br />
<br />
Between 1 and 28 October more than 10,700 votes from all over the world were received, including from Guatemala, Estonia, Iran, Belarus, Vietnam, Singapore, Peru, China, India, Canada, the US, the UK and Australia.<br />
<br />
There were also plenty of fantastic comments, such as “there’s a little bit of Timmy in all of us”, and “you are doing great work for these amazing animals”.<br />
<br />
There were also comments from people who wish they could come to New Zealand especially to see the little penguins, said Antoinette Campbell, Director Community Services, Napier City Council.<br />
<br />
“We always knew our penguins were special, this competition has proven they’re special to people the world over. We hope it encourages more people to come and see what the fuss is about.”<br />
<br />
It has also been a great opportunity to share the good work of the keepers at the National Aquarium, she says, and raise awareness of the challenges little penguins face.<br />
<br />
Timmy is famous for his fish stealing feats, while Mo, abandoned as a chick and who also has a thing for stealing fish, has the slightly dubious honour of being a four-time winner of Naughty Penguin of the Month.<br />
<br />
The National Aquarium is a rehabilitation centre for most of the little penguins. Penguins who are not strong enough to return to their natural habitats end up with the National Aquarium becoming their permanent home.<br />
<br />
The keepers at the aquarium will continue sharing their Good and Naughty Penguin of the Month and are in the process of getting new signage up to share the good news about the Penguin of the Year.<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
National Aquarium of the Year, <a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1810/S00776/penguin-of-the-year-and-the-winner-is.htm">Penguin of the Year and the winner is... [news release]</a>, 31 October 2018, Scoop</div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-45045478509681234902018-08-30T21:02:00.001+12:002018-08-30T21:03:18.224+12:00Fiordland penguins' "crazy" journeys studied by scientists<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
NEW ZEALAND – Imagine making a 7,000km journey just for dinner. That, <a href="http://www.otago.ac.nz/">University of Otago</a> scientists have found, is the life of the elusive <a href="http://www.penguinworld.com/types/fiordland.html">Fiordland penguin</a>.<br />
<br />
In a study, just published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0198688">PLoS One</a>, a group of international scientists satellite-tracked Fiordland penguins during their post-breeding journeys and found the birds cover distances of up to 7,000km in just eight weeks.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Lead-author, Dr Thomas Mattern of Otago’s Department of Zoology, says little is known about Fiordland penguins despite them living and breeding on the New Zealand mainland.<br />
<br />
In order to understand more about the species, a group of researchers from the University of Otago, <a href="http://antarctic-research.de/?lang=en">Antarctic Research Trust</a> and the <a href="https://www.globalpenguinsociety.org/">Global Penguin Society</a> are working together under the Tawaki Project, a long-term study of the birds’ marine ecology, breeding biology and population dynamics.<br />
<br />
The birds inhabit the rugged and inaccessible coastline and fjord systems of south-western New Zealand, and are known to undertake long migrations outside their breeding period.<br />
<br />
“Tawaki [Fiordland penguins] go on a big trip once their chicks have fledged. On this trip the penguins need to recover from the exhausting chick rearing duties and pack on weight in preparation for their annual moult,” Dr Mattern said.<br />
<br />
During this so-called pre-moult journey, time is of the essence as the birds only have eight to ten weeks before they have to make landfall again to replace their entire plumage at once. During the moult, the penguins cannot go out to feed and have to stay on land for three weeks, so it is important for the birds to gain a lot of weight during this journey.<br />
<br />
“One would think that the birds try to conserve as much energy on this trip as possible. But what we found is, simply put, crazy,” Dr Mattern said.<br />
<br />
The study revealed, in a relatively short period of time, the penguins travelled enormous distances towards Antarctica to reach the sub-Antarctic Front almost 3,000km south of New Zealand and Tasmania. After only eight weeks they returned to the breeding sites to moult, having travelled as far as 7,000km during their foraging.<br />
<br />
Co-author of the study, Dr Klemens Pütz from the Antarctic Research Trust, described this as “an incredible achievement for a flightless seabird”.<br />
<br />
“The question is why the penguins leave on such an epic journey, at a time when the ocean productivity along their coastal breeding sites reaches its peak. There should be more than enough food for them just on their doorstep.”<br />
<br />
The authors believe the penguins may be following an instinct rather than an actual need to forage in sub-Antarctic waters.<br />
<br />
“Tawaki are one of several crested penguin species, a group that likely evolved in the sub-Antarctic region,” Pablo Garcia-Borboroglu, President of the Global Penguin Society, said.<br />
<br />
“Most crested penguins breed on islands that are located close to the sub-Antarctic front, a productive oceanic region that surrounds the Antarctic continent. Tawaki, on the other hand, breed very far north from this region.”<br />
<br />
They believe the penguins travelling such huge distances just to reach this region may reflect a remnant behaviour from an ancestral crested penguin species. Moreover, it casts new light on the current distribution of the species.<br />
<br />
“So far, we thought that tawaki used to breed all over New Zealand, and that hunting pressure in the past 500 years caused the species to retreat to the remote areas they breed in today”, Dr Mattern explained.<br />
<br />
“However, considering that breeding further north would add another few thousand kilometres to the penguins’ journey, it appears that tawaki breed exactly where their migratory behaviour allows them to.”<br />
<br />
The Tawaki Project is largely funded by the Global Penguin Society, the Antarctic Research Trust, Birds New Zealand and private donations, and conducts baseline research that is essential for conservation.<br />
<br />
“Without the support of the many private donors, local communities and stakeholders, we would have never been able to realise this research,” Dr Mattern concluded.<br />
<br />
“To know that we have true marathon penguins living on our shores is as much an achievement of our supporters as it is that of the penguins which volunteered to carry satellite trackers for us.”<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
<a href="https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/news/otago694371.html">Travelling thousands of kilometres to feed - penguins' "crazy" journeys studied by Otago scientists [press release]</a>, 30 August 2018, Otago University<br />
<br />
<b>Journal citation</b><br />
Mattern T., Pütz K., Garcia-Borboroglu P., Ellenberg U., Houston D.M., Long R., et al. (2018) Marathon penguins – Reasons and consequences of long-range dispersal in Fiordland penguins/Tawaki during the pre-moult period. <i>PLoS ONE 13</i>(8): e0198688. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0198688">https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0198688</a></div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-59530998895950918922018-07-30T21:06:00.000+12:002019-01-23T21:31:40.996+13:00Largest king penguin colony has shrunk nearly 90 percent<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
SUB-ANTARCTIC – The world's biggest colony of <a href="http://www.penguinworld.com/types/king.html">king</a> penguins is found in the National Nature Reserve of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF). Using high-resolution satellite images, researchers from the <a href="http://www.cebc.cnrs.fr/GB_index.htm">Chizé Centre for Biological Studies</a> (CNRS/University of La Rochelle) have detected a massive 88% reduction in the size of the penguin colony, located on Île aux Cochons, in the Îles Crozet archipelago. The causes of the colony's collapse remain a mystery but may be environmental. These findings were published in <i><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/massive-decline-of-the-worlds-largest-king-penguin-colony-at-ile-aux-cochons-crozet/E254E3E24DE3BDC523B25FA3A3261584">Antarctic Science</a></i> on 25 July 2018.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ykcm2W-ADWWSzJ31wh4cD6HNWiRFh_OWms0nn7tK8nG2LUFfSUl4BZSj1DzxyPtEHi71Fml0k3GW_nHlJLP7mxCittcbB3J_pNNzERKZRoHNck9amEa-q5FL7e0LzM26jxBeq20yCo_o/s1600/image1_1982_resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="470" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ykcm2W-ADWWSzJ31wh4cD6HNWiRFh_OWms0nn7tK8nG2LUFfSUl4BZSj1DzxyPtEHi71Fml0k3GW_nHlJLP7mxCittcbB3J_pNNzERKZRoHNck9amEa-q5FL7e0LzM26jxBeq20yCo_o/s320/image1_1982_resize.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Île aux Cochons king penguin colony in 1982.<br />
Photo © Henry Weimerskirch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Known since the 1960s, the colony of king penguins on Île aux Cochons, in the southern Indian Ocean, had the distinction of being the world's biggest colony of king penguins and second biggest colony of all penguins. However, due to its isolation and inaccessibility, no new estimates of its size were made over the past decades.<br />
<br />
The Chizé team used high-resolution satellite images to measure changes in the size of the colony since the island was last visited by a crew of scientists in 1982. At the time, the colony included 500,000 breeding pairs and consisted of over two million penguins. To calculate the area occupied by the colony at different times between 1960 and the present, the researchers studied changes in its contours over the years. They found that the colony has shrunk, yielding its territory to encroaching vegetation. Photographs taken from a helicopter during the Antarctic Circumpolar Expedition confirm that the colony's penguin population has plummeted.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIGc0n8kHBGALzuhzLYyijKiSfeomu3MQBbeiWCO3v-iUZc7GPwaQrlPsTDYbvuCXQX-JKgFDWhkl_zkipjdEpUYvrVttwux7Zss1-H4vl6gapCQRcyEabPG-vZrDvDfkqL2RjWk3x-id/s1600/image2_2016_resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="470" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIGc0n8kHBGALzuhzLYyijKiSfeomu3MQBbeiWCO3v-iUZc7GPwaQrlPsTDYbvuCXQX-JKgFDWhkl_zkipjdEpUYvrVttwux7Zss1-H4vl6gapCQRcyEabPG-vZrDvDfkqL2RjWk3x-id/s320/image2_2016_resize.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Northern view of colony from helicopter on 30 December 2016.<br />
Photo <span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: right;">©</span> Peter Ryan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Data show that the decline began in the late 1990s, coinciding with a major climatic event in the Southern Ocean related to El Niño. This event temporarily affected the foraging capacities of another colony 100 km from Île aux Cochons, causing it to dwindle. The same process may be responsible for the fate of the Île aux Cochons colony. Its size may also subject it to density-dependent effects. That is, the larger the population, the fiercer the competition between individuals, slowing the growth of all members of the group. The repercussions of lack of food are thus amplified and can trigger an unprecedented rapid and drastic drop in numbers, especially following a climatic event like the one at the end of the 1990s.<br />
<br />
Disease is another hypothesis. Avian cholera is currently ravaging populations of seabirds on other islands in the Indian Ocean, like the albatross of Île Amsterdam and the penguins of Marion Island.<br />
<br />
Still, none of these possibilities seems to offer a satisfactory explanation for a decline of the magnitude observed on Île aux Cochons. Field studies led by CNRS researchers, with support from the French Polar Institute (IPEV), and in close partnership with TAAF nature reserve staff, should be getting under way shortly to verify initial conclusions drawn from the satellite images.<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
<a href="http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3143.htm">Largest king penguin colony has shrunk nearly 90% [press release]</a>, 30 July 2018, CRNS</div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1833718479926759128.post-53000243866963684222018-05-05T21:51:00.000+12:002018-05-05T21:51:23.699+12:00Are emperor penguins eating enough?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
ANTARCTICA – For <a href="http://www.penguinworld.com/types/emperor.html">emperor</a> penguins waddling around a warming Antarctic, diminishing sea ice means less fish to eat. How the diets of these tuxedoed birds will hold up in the face of climate change is a big question scientists are grappling with.<br />
<br />
Researchers at the <a href="http://www.whoi.edu/">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution</a> (WHOI) have developed a way to help to determine the foraging success of emperor penguins by using time-lapse video observations relayed to scientists thousands of miles away. The new remote sensing method is described in the Journal of Applied Physics.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>“Global warming may be cutting in on food availability for emperor penguins,” said Dan Zitterbart, a scientist at WHOI and co-author of the study.<br />
<br />
“And if their diets change significantly, it could have implications on the health and longevity of these animals – which are already expected to be highly threatened or close to extinct by the end of this century.<br />
<br />
“With this new approach, we now have a logistically viable way to determine the foraging success of these animals by taking images of their behavior once they return back to the colony from their foraging trips.”<br />
<br />
Off all the penguin species, emperor penguins tend to be the biggest eaters. And for good reason: they make exceptionally long treks on sea ice to reach their foraging grounds – sometimes up to 75 miles [120 kilometres] during the winter – and feed their large chicks when they return.<br />
<br />
But as sea ice diminishes, so does the microscopic plankton living underneath, which serves as the primary food source for fish that penguins eat. Sea ice also provides an important resting platform for the penguins in between foraging dives, so melting can make foraging that much harder.<br />
<br />
Determining the species’ foraging success involves a two-step process. First, digital photos of the birds are taken every minute throughout the day using an inexpensive time-lapse camera perched above the colony 100 feet away. The camera is rugged enough to withstand up to −50° Celsius temperatures and wind speeds above 150 kilometres per hour.<br />
<br />
Céline Le Bohec, a research scientist in ecology from the <a href="http://www.cnrs.fr/index.html">Centre national de la recherche scientifique</a> (CNRS) and the <a href="http://www.centrescientifique.mc/en/">Centre Scientifique de Monaco</a>, and co-author of the study, says this spying capability overcomes a major limitation in Antarctic field research: the ability to monitor conditions remotely.<br />
<br />
“It’s really important to be able to understand how changing environmental conditions will impact penguin populations, but the harsh weather conditions and logistic difficulties linked to the remoteness of the white continent have made it very challenging to get information from over there,” she said.<br />
<br />
“Now, with our observatories, especially remotely-controlled ones, we can go online anytime and instantly see what is happening in the colony.<br />
<br />
“Moreover, due to their position at the upper level of the food web, working on top-predators such as emperor penguins, is very useful for understanding and predicting the impact of global changes on the polar marine biome: it’s like having an alarm system on the health of these ecosystems.”<br />
<br />
Images are recorded and stored in an image database and later correlated with sensor-based measurements of air temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, and wind. The combined data sets enable Zitterbart and his team to calculate a "perceived penguin temperature" − the temperature that penguins are feeling. It is much like the wind chill factor for humans: the air temperature may be −12° Celsius, but other factors can make it feel colder.<br />
<br />
“Early in the project, we thought if, for example, the wind was blowing faster than 15 meters per second, the penguins would always be huddling, regardless of the other environmental conditions,” said Sebastian Richter, a Ph.D. student in Zitterbart’s group and lead author of the study.<br />
<br />
“However, we did not find this to be true, and soon realized that we needed to account for the other weather conditions when assessing huddling behavior.”<br />
<br />
By correlating the penguin’s “wind chill” temperature with video observations of when the penguins begin huddling, they’re able to come up with a "transition temperature" − the temperature at which colonies shift from a scattered, liquid-like state to a huddled, solid-like state. If the transition occurs at warmer temperatures, it means the penguins are feeling cold earlier and begin huddling to stay warm and conserve energy. And that indicates that the penguins had less body fat upon their return from foraging and were probably undernourished because they did not find enough food to eat within a reasonable distance from their breeding colony. If the transition temperature is lower later in the season, it suggests that the foraging season was a success and the animals returned well-fed and with higher amounts of body fat.<br />
<br />
Zitterbart says the information may ultimately be used to derive conservation measures to protect emperor penguins. According to a previous WHOI study, the species is critically endangered, and it’s projected that by 2100, the global population will have declined by 20% and some colonies might reduce by as much as 70% of the current number of breeding pairs of emperor penguins if heat-trapping gas emissions continue to rise and Antarctic sea ice continues to retreat.<br />
<br />
“With the information produced by our observatories, population modelling will help us to better project the fate of the different colonies that are left,” he said.<br />
<br />
“It’s important to know which colonies are going to be the first most affected by climate change, so if it appears that a certain colony will remain strong over the next century, conservation measures like marine protected areas can be established to better protect them.”<br />
<br />
<b>Source</b><br />
<a href="http://www.whoi.edu/news-release/are-emperor-penguins-eating-enough">Are emperor penguins eating enough? [news release]</a>, 2 May 2018, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution</div>
Pertinent Penguinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14236977185580114787noreply@blogger.com0