Hundreds of penguin deaths go unreported by the NZ fishing industry

NEW ZEALAND – Hundreds of penguins, including endangered yellow-eyed penguins, are dying in fishing set nets each year, according to conservation organisation Forest & Bird.

Yellow-eyed penguin. Photo credit: Kimberley Collins

Information released under New Zealand's Official Information Act shows that Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) recorded 14 penguin deaths in the year from October 2015 to October 2016, but Forest & Bird chief executive Kevin Hague said this is likely to be vastly underreported.

“Thirteen of the 14 deaths were reported by MPI observers, who cover only 3 percent of fishing boats,” Mr Hague said.

“The real number of penguin deaths is likely to be in the hundreds, since the 97% of the fishing fleet that has no observers has reported only one dead penguin.”

Endangered African penguins are falling into an 'ecological trap'

AFRICA – As the climate changes and fisheries transform the oceans, the world's African penguins are in trouble, according to researchers reporting in Current Biology on 9 February. Young penguins aren't able to take all the changes into account and are finding themselves "trapped" in parts of the sea that can no longer support them even as better options are available.

"Our results show that juvenile African penguins are stuck foraging for food in the wrong places due to fishing and climate change," said Richard Sherley of the University of Exeter and University of Cape Town.

Killer stoat or ferret devastates local little penguin population

Little penguin
Credit: Department of Conservation

NEW ZEALAND – Autopsies conducted by Massey University's Wildbase have shown that the lethal wounds on 29 little penguins, found dead along the coast at Doctors Point near Dunedin, were caused by mustelid jaws.

Department of Conservation (DOC) Conservation Services Manager in Dunedin, David Agnew, said that the deaths will have a serious impact on the local little penguin population and demonstrate the devastation even a single stoat or ferret can cause to New Zealand's native wildlife.

“It’s going to take many years for the population to recover from this rampant attack – quite likely from just one stoat or ferret. It shows that these mammalian pests are hardwired to kill our wildlife for food or sport.”

Disastrous breeding season for yellow-eyed penguins

A starving yellow-eyed
penguin chick in the Catlins
weighed just 3.5 kilograms.
Credit: DOC

NEW ZEALAND - Starving yellow-eyed penguin chicks are receiving supplementary feeding from penguin conservation organisations during one of the most disastrous breeding seasons in recent years.

Penguin Place on Otago Peninsula, the Katiki Point Penguin Trust in North Otago and volunteers, with the support of the Department of Conservation (DOC), are supplementary feeding the chicks to give them and their parents a better chance at survival.

A shortage of food for the chicks has resulted in low numbers of chicks surviving to three months and low weights, DOC ranger Mel Young said.

Blue penguin highway death toll rising

Credit: West Coast Blue
Penguin Trust.

NEW ZEALAND – A heart-breaking sight greeted West Coast Blue Penguin Trust supporter and Fox River resident Fiona McDonald last Sunday: yet another little blue penguin road death.

To make matters worse, this penguin was one of just six counted in the area as part of the 2013 blue penguin census. Fiona picked up no less than three penguins killed on this stretch of the coast road last month, adding to the sad statistics for penguin road deaths.

Puzzling penguin deaths in Brazil under investigation

BRAZIL - Autopsies are being conducted after 512 dead Magellanic penguins were found on beaches in Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul state, AFP reports.

The Center of Coastal and Marine Studies (Ceclimar) said that around 30 samples from the penguins were being analysed by veterinarians at Porto Alegre University and results were to be released within a month.

The large number of dead penguins and the fact that the birds appear to be well fed, not exhausted, uninjured and untainted by oil has veterinarians puzzled, Celclimar said.

In its coverage of the event, BBC News said that similar incidents in the past have been blamed on shifting ocean currents and colder temperatures.

Magellanic penguins breed in southern Argentina and Chile. Their annual migration, between March and September, takes them north along the Rio Grande do Sul coast up to Sao Paulo.

Read related article

Sources
500 penguins found dead on Brazil beaches, 14 July 2012, AFP
Brazil biologists investigate penguin deaths, 14 July 2012, BBC News
 

Rats threaten Humboldt penguins, study finds

CHILE – Research has shown that invading rats can be added to the list of threats to the declining Humboldt penguin population on Chile’s coastal islands, the Associated Press reports. Unless the rodents are eradicated, they could push these vulnerable birds towards extinction.

Rats have had devastating impacts on numerous seabird populations, but few studies have been done to show their impact on penguins. This study, published in the Journal of Ornithology in March, shows quantifiably for the first time that rats are important alien predators of eggs at Humboldt penguin colonies.

To look at the effects of rat predation, the researchers placed boiled chicken eggs in empty penguin nests (simulating unattended clutches) in colonies on Pájaros Island in north Chile and Algarrobo Island in central Chile. They found that in both colonies, the eggs were primarily predated by rats; on Pájaros, black rats ate 70% of the eggs, and on Algarrobo, brown (Norway) rats ate 53%. Kelp gulls took 10% of the eggs on Pájaros and 16% on Algarrobo. Significantly more eggs were predated at night, and rates of predation were highest within the first 12 hours.

Humboldt penguins, who face many other dangers such as fishing nets, changing sea currents and their nests being collapsed by nesting pelicans, are classified as ‘vulnerable’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Study author Alejandro Simeone, director of Andres Bello University’s Ecology and Biodiversity Department, told the Associated Press that the Humboldt population has fallen from hundreds of thousands decades ago to below 45,000.

While the biggest threat to the Humboldts is getting caught in fishing nets, changing sea currents mean that adult penguins are having to travel further to find food, leaving their chicks alone at the nest for longer periods of time. Simeone and co-author Guillermo Luna-Jorquera suggest that the rat presence at Humboldt penguin colonies coupled with this and other events that can cause temporary nest abandonment may impact on the penguins’ breeding success. So to improve the nesting habitat and of the penguins and other seabirds, the rats should be eradicated.

But getting rid of the rats is easier said than done. Simeone said that using toxic bait that is harmless to birds, as has been done in other countries, would be complex and costly in Chile. And while the island in central Chile is one of several penguin sanctuaries established by the Chilean government, there is no budget dedicated to protecting them from rats.

The study was supported by the Zoological Society of Milwaukee, which has provided more than US$200,000 towards Humboldt penguin conservation and research since 1994, including annual population surveys and the building of artificial burrows.

Roberta Wallace, the lead veterinarian at the Milwaukee Zoo, told the Associated Press that eliminating the rats would be a huge logistical challenge, because you would have to pay someone to go to the islands frequently to put out poison in order to break the rodents' reproductive cycle.

"It's not like putting out poison once and everything dies. You'd have to keep at it, because they breed like crazy, and you'd have to make sure you don't do damage to other species,” she said. 

Sources
It's rats vs. penguins on contested Chilean island by Eva Vergara, 12 July 2012, Associated Press

Estimating rat predation on Humboldt Penguin colonies in north-central Chile (Abstract). Alejandro Simeone and Guillermo Luna-Jorquera, Journal of Ornithology, 19 March 2012, DOI: 10.1007/s10336-012-0837-z

Magellanic penguins stranded in Brazil

BRAZIL - In the past few weeks dozens of Magellanic penguins have turned up on beaches in Rio de Janeiro, far further north than the cooler Argentine waters where they should be swimming.

I can think of worse places to be stranded, but the tropical waters are not very suitable for the unlucky birds.

Many of the penguins, in poor health after their unexpectedly long journey, have been taken to a rehabilitation centre and will be transferred back to their natural habitat.

It is common for juvenile Magellanic penguins to get lost while searching for food, experts say. Hundreds of penguins turn up in Brazil every winter, especially in the country's southern states.

Last year, twenty penguins rescued from Rio de Janeiro in 2010 were sent to zoos in the United States after they were deemed too weak to survive in the wild.

Read related posts 

Sources
Stranded penguins end up off Rio beach, 4 July 2012, Sky News
'Lost' penguins turn up on Rio's beaches, 6 July 2012, BBC News
Penguins spotted in waters off a Rio beach, 4 July 2012, ITN

Emperor penguins need Endangered Species Act protection says wildlife organisation

Emperor penguin (public domain photo)

USA -  The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a legal petition seeking Endangered Species Act protection for emperor penguins threatened by global warming. The Center says that emperors are the most ice-dependent of all penguin species, threatened by the loss of their sea-ice habitat as well as declining food availability wrought by the warming ocean off Antarctica. Their populations are declining because of global warming; some colonies have entirely disappeared.

“The sea-ice habitat that emperor penguins need to survive is melting beneath their feet,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center. “It’s great to see movies like Happy Feet Two bringing the plight of emperor penguins to people around the world. But in reality, there’s no happy Hollywood ending for these penguins unless we take real action to address the global climate crisis.” 

Emperor penguins need sea ice for breeding and foraging. The petition highlights the serious problems of melting sea ice and other warming-driven changes in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Areas of Antarctica are experiencing dramatic warming, leading to loss of sea ice as well as the collapse of ice sheets.

In 2006, the Center filed a petition to list 12 penguin species as threatened or endangered. The US Department of the Interior conducted status reviews for 10 of those species. After delays and ultimately a court order, the agency protected seven species but denied protection for the remaining ones, including the emperor. This petition presents new scientific information demonstrating that emperor penguins are imperiled.

“Emperor penguins are icons of wild Antarctica,” said Sakashita. “And protecting them under the Endangered Species Act is essential to their survival.”

Listing under the Endangered Species Act would provide broad protection to these penguins, including a requirement that federal agencies ensure that any action carried out, authorised or funded by the U.S. government will not “jeopardize the continued existence” of the penguin species. For example, if penguins are listed, future approval of fishing permits for US-flagged vessels operating on the high seas would require analysis and minimisation of impacts on the listed penguins. The Act also has an important role to play in reducing greenhouse gas pollution by compelling federal agencies to look at the impact of the emissions generated by their activities on listed species.

Read previous post: Endangered Species Act protection for southern rockhoppers 

Source
Endangered Species Act protection sought for emperor penguins, 28 November 2011, Center for Biological Diversity

Uruguayan penguin deaths attributed to natural causes

URUGUAY - Autopsies performed on some of the 600-plus Magellanic penguins washed up on Uruguayan beaches have pointed to death by natural causes rather than "chemical intoxication", MercoPress reported.

Intoxication from the agricultural chemicals used the area had been considered as one of the possible causes of the penguins' deaths.

Daniel Gilardoni, head of Uruguay's Natural Aquatic Resources Administration, told MercoPress that Argentine scientists who performed the autopsies have for now discarded chemical intoxication as a cause of death, the reason being that most of the dead penguins are juveniles.

“If it had been intoxication, the dead penguins should have been of all ages and sex, but that is not the case,” he said.

He added that at this time of the year almost a million penguins migrate along the Uruguayan Atlantic coast, and this number includes anywhere between 500,000 and 700,000 juveniles.

“This fact makes us believe that natural causes have been the reason for penguins’ deaths."

Read related post: Mysterious deaths of hundreds of penguins in Uruguay 

Source
Dead penguins discovered in Uruguayan coast: perished of "natural causes", 18 June 2011, MercoPress

Climate change may increase fire-related risks for little penguins

Little penguins on Phillip Island.
Photo credit: Marcus Frieze.
Some rights reserved.

AUSTRALIA - Climate change may lead to an increased risk of death and injury by fire for Phillip Island's little penguins, says the Australian Federal Government.

The Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency has released a series of fact sheets about the impacts of climate change in Australia - and unfortunately little penguins get a special mention.

The factsheet for Victoria says that little penguins on Phillip Island have been shown to be particularly vulnerable to fire over the past few years, and it is predicted that weather-related fires will become more frequent.

In coastal regions, misty rain or fog following long spells of hot, dry and dusty weather can result in the ignition of power pole cross arms. This is due to a build up of salt and dust on the insulators; the red-hot salt crust can fall from the pole and ignite vegetation at its base. In recent years, a number of such fires have occurred on Phillip Island, resulting in death or injury of a large number of penguins.

As it is projected that climate change will mean an increase in the occurrence of hot, dry and dusty weather, the Government says Phillip Island's little penguins may therefore face an increased risk of fire-related death and injury.

Source
Climate change impacts in Australia - Victoria, 14 June 2011, Australian Government Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency

Starving little penguins dot Warrnambool beaches

AUSTRALIA - Dozens of starving little penguins have washed up on beaches in Warrnambool, Victoria, in the past few weeks reports The Standard.

Many of the penguins have been rescued, but die soon after.

"They are very thin when we get them," Wildlife Victoria's regional co-ordinator, Trecey Wilson, who has rescued 20 penguins in the past four weeks and knows of other carers who have also rescued birds, told The Standard.

"All have died within 12 hours of being found by beachgoers and brought in. I think it's definitely malnutrition."

She said there could be many issues involved in why they would be starving. There were suggestions that recent migrations of blue whales close to the shore and an influx of southern blue fin tuna and shearwaters, all of which prey on some of the same food as little penguins, could have caused a decrease in prey availability in the south-west.

Warrnambool Coastcare Landcare Group co-ordinator Kristie King told The Standard, "I tend to think it's something to do with ocean conditions and food availability."

Sadly, it sounds to me like La Nina strikes again.

Source
Questions and concern over starving penguins by Peter Collins, The Standard, 13 June 2011

Mysterious deaths of hundreds of penguins in Uruguay

URUGUAY - The Associated Press has reported that about 600 dead Magellanic penguins have washed up on Uruguay's Atlantic coast. Experts are now trying to find out the cause of death.

A statement released by the Uruguay navy on Tuesday 7 June said that 200 dead penguins had been discovered on the shore at La Paloma. The officers had come across the dead penguins during a routine ocean patrol and alerted environmental authorities.

Marine animal rescue group SOS Rescate Fauna Marina said that 400 dead penguins had washed up around the resort town of Piriapolis along with dead turtles, dolphins and albatrosses over the weekend of 4 June. La Republica reported that the group had raised the possibility that Fertox, a highly toxic insecticide, was connected to their deaths. Nearly a thousand bags of Fertox had been found on the coast near Piriapolis. The group's co-ordinator, Richard Treasury, said that while it was not 100 per cent sure the animals died because of the chemicals, 12 of the animals rescued exhibited symptoms of poisoning such as dilated pupils and the inability to stand or walk.

While government authorities are investigating the possibility that Ferox is responsible, they say it is unlikely that the chemical is connected with the deaths. Director of the National Environmental Management, Jorge Rusks, told La Republica that the department could not say for certain at this point that the poison had no effect on the animals, but that is is very unlikely their deaths were due to its presence. He said it was more likely the deaths were because of natural causes.

According to the Associated Press, experts say it is common for dead penguins to appear in the area at this time of year, but this year the number is unusually high.

Sources
Misterio en la muerte de pingüinos y tortugas, 8 June 2011, La Republica
Uruguay: Cause sought for 600 dead penguins, 7 June 2011, Associated Press
Hundreds of dead penguins wash up on Uruguay shore by Alex Johnston, 7 June 2011, Epoch Times

Poor food availability caused penguin deaths

NEW ZEALAND - The Department of Conservation (DOC) has received the necropsy results from Massey University for little penguins washed up dead on East Coast beaches in late April. The answer: La Nina strikes again.

According to DOC, the penguin deaths are consistent with a prolonged period of starvation and exposure.

Jamie Quirk, Ranger, Biodiversity Assets, said that eighteen little penguins from two different sites including those found washed up at Waihau Bay were tested.

"A good cross-section of the population were tested: eight adult females, five adult males and five sub-adults (sex undetermined)," he said.

The experts at Massey concluded that twelve died of starvation and emaciation, five died of starvation, emaciation and exposure and one died from exposure, hypothermia and an infection. No food was found in the stomachs of any of the birds. Penguin health is measured as a body score with a maximum of nine; the body score for twelve of the penguins was 2/9 and the remaining six scored 3/9.

"The penguin deaths are linked to the La Nina weather patterns which have reduced the amount of baitfish available. The empty stomachs and low fat reserves leading to low body score are the result of this poor food availability," said Mr Quirk.

The dead penguins were examined after East Coast residents raised the possibility that seismic testing being carried out in the region by oil company Petrobras was the cause.

Read related post: Is seismic testing to blame for penguin deaths?

Source
Results received for penguin deaths on East Coast beaches, 4 May 2011, Department of Conservation

Wash, rinse, dry and repeat for next penguin on Tristan da Cunha

Bath time! A rockhopper penguin
gets washed.
Photo by Tertius Gous/SANCCOB

TRISTAN DA CUNHA - The evening of Saturday 9 April provided a rewarding moment for Tristan's rehab manager Dereck Rogers as the first five northern rockhopper penguins to be washed at the newly erected wash-bay facility were drying off under infrared lights.

Mr Rogers, who has been closely involved with the care of the penguins from the moment the first oiled birds were brought back to Tristan more than two weeks ago, was elated at being able to hold a cleanly washed penguin.

The whole island worked together to ensure the expert staff from SANCCOB had everything they needed to erect the wash-bay facility, post-wash pens and pools. The island plumbers, electricians and carpenters were all on standby to assist with the operation, as well as plant operators for moving equipment and materials. The three large hot water geysers brought by the SANCCOB team have been installed in the wash-bay to heat the water for washing, as have hundreds of metres of piping and cable to link in to the island’s water and electrical supplies.

On Monday 11 April the washing of oiled penguins got well under way as the first islander washing team received training from SANCCOB's Venessa Strauss and Jennie Bancroft. Washing a penguin is a thirty-minute process involving a de-greaser mist, a warm bath of biodegradable soap and anti-septic solution, and a rinse with a high-pressure showerhead. The cleaned penguins are then tagged and put in a recovery pen under infrared lamps to keep them warm while they dry off. They are later moved to small clean pens which have access to a swimming pool, where there are encouraged to swim.

Sixty-four penguins were washed on Monday but SANCCOB’s vet, Tertius Gous, said they were aiming to wash up to a hundred a day once the washing team are in full swing.

Meanwhile, at the holding pens, the feeding teams are hard at work trying to satisfy the hunger of the many oiled penguins waiting to be washed. Penguins at the village swimming pool and in the outside pens are being fed pilchards to build up their strength before undergoing the washing process.

Some of the more lightly oiled penguins at the swimming pool are being "swum" every day, after which their waterproofing is tested. When these penguins satisfy the release criteria of effective waterproofing and sufficient weight, they will be released.

To date 3662 penguins have been admitted to the centre, of which 1577 have died. The first 69 to be washed will hopefully be able to join the 24 penguins released so far.

On Tuesday 12 April more help for the penguins arrived aboard the Russian research/Antarctic supply vessel Ivan Papanin - the fourth vessel chartered by the owners of the MS Oliva and their insurers since the incident. The Ivan Papanin carried the SANCCOB supplies and oil abatement equipment that were not able to be collected prior to the departure of the Svitzer Singapore. Aboard the Ivan Papanin is also a Bell-212 helicopter, which will greatly improve the deployment of the oil abatement teams and equipment into the oiled gulleys and bays on Alex (or Middle) Island, the focus of the clean-up efforts.

Currently there are 28 international responders on the island, including the SANCCOB team, veterinarians, International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) staff, and oil pollution and salvage response experts. They are working alongside an 80-strong island volunteer force. 

The onset of the southern winter has brought with it gale force winds and rough seas. The adverse weather, while hampering the clean-up response, has broken up the majority of the released oil, although there are still clear signs of pollution around Nightingale. Fortunately the penguins have completed their moult, and the vast majority have left their colonies and gone to sea. They will not return to Tristan until the start of the next breeding season in August.

Read related posts

Sources
Wash and dry for rockhoppers at rehab centre, RSPB, 11 April 2011, BirdLife International
Oliva Tristan Diary, Tristan da Cunha Association: accessed 15 April 2011

No "winning" penguin species when it comes to climate change

Adelie penguin colony on icebergs.
Photo: Sue and Wayne Trivelpiece

As global temperatures increase, ice-avoiding species like chinstrap penguins have often been considered one of the likely “winners” of changing conditions such as large-scale ice melting. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), however, shows that the feisty Antarctic birds may actually end up as the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

The research, which uses 30 years of field studies and recent surveys of chinstrap and ice-loving Adelie penguins, reveals that fluctuations in penguin populations in the Antarctic are linked more strongly to the availability of their primary food source - krill - than to changes in their habitats.

The populations of both Adelie and chinstrap penguins in the West Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Sea have declined by respective averages of 2.9% and 4.3% per year for at least the last 10 years. Some colonies have decreased by more than 50%.

A previous assessment of krill in the Southern Ocean in Nature suggests that their abundance has declined as much as 80% since the 1970s.

“For penguins and other species, krill is the linchpin in the food web,” said Dr Wayne Trivelpiece, lead author and seabird researcher of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Antarctic Ecosystem Research Division.

“Regardless of their environmental preferences, we see a connection between climate change and penguin populations through the loss of habitat for their main food source. As warming continues, the loss of krill will have a profound effect throughout the Antarctic ecosystem.”

Lack of an abundant supply of krill has been particularly hard on fledgling penguins that must learn where to locate and how to catch the prey on their own, having never been at sea before. Data from the study suggest that fewer young penguins are surviving this transition to independence today than in previous years when these crustaceans were much more abundant.

Chinstrap penguins avoid feeding in icy habitats, but it is the sea ice that provides the necessary environment for krill to reproduce. Increasing temperatures and reductions in sea ice have made conditions unfavourable to sustain ample populations of this food source. The authors suggest that fishing for krill and increased competition among other predators also have made them less available to penguins.

Adélie penguins, which feed in icy habitats, are also declining due to food shortages and shrinking habitat. They differ from chinstrap penguins, however, in that they have breeding populations outside of the western Antarctic, which makes them comparatively less vulnerable to the rapid warming in the Antarctic Peninsula region.

“Penguins are excellent indicators of changes to the biological and environmental health of the broader ecosystem because they are easily accessible while breeding on land, yet they depend entirely on food resources from the sea,” said Dr Trivelpiece.

“In addition, unlike many other krill-eating top predators in the Antarctic, such as whales and fur seals, they were not hunted by humans. When we see steep declines in populations, as we have been documenting with both chinstrap and Adélie penguins, we know there’s a much larger ecological problem.”

Source
Penguins that shun ice still lose big from a warming climate, 11 April 2011, Lenfest Ocean Program

PNAS citation
Variability in krill biomass links harvesting and climate warming to penguin population changes in Antarctica. Wayne Z. Trivelpiece, Jefferson T. Hinke, Aileen K. Miller, Christian S. Reiss, Susan G. Trivelpiece and

George M. Watters. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 11 April 2011.

Rescued penguins become California girls and boys

USA - It's been a long, strange journey for five young Magellanic penguins who started their migration in the southern tip of South America, became stranded on a beach in Brazil, and are now living in California.

The penguins are some of hundreds who were stranded on Brazilian beaches last year. These five rescued birds now have a home at Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.

"You don't normally find these penguins much farther north than the Falkland islands," said Dudley Wigdahl, the Aquarium's curator of marine mammals and birds. "The locations of their food sources are changing, perhaps due to climate change, and penguins are having to travel farther in search of food."

After they were rescued, some of the penguins were strong enough to return to the wild while others were deemed unreleasable due to health issues.

"When these penguins stranded in Rio, they were frail and emaciated after such a long swim up the Atlantic coast of South America. We're happy to be able to provide a home and medical care for these unreleasable animals," said Mr Wigdahl.

The new penguins will not be on exhibit until the summer of 2012, when the Aquarium debuts the June Keyes Penguin Habitat. Until then, they will be cared for by the aviculturist team and veterinary staff in the Aquarium’s behind-the-scenes holding area.

"They're adjusting very well and they tell a great story. They are ambassadors for their species," Mr Wigdahl told the Press-Telegram. 

"They're going to be very important birds, because they are from the wild and they will help with the genetic stock across the zoological groups that breed penguins. In the future these will be important birds."

Read previous post: "Survivor" penguins sent from Brazil to US

Sources
Rescued penguins arrive at Aquarium of the Pacific today, 4 April 2011, OC180News
Wild penguin flock lands in Long Beach after Rio trip, 8 April 2011, Press-Telegram

The naked penguin problem

For the last few years, a mysterious feather-loss disorder has been affecting penguin chicks on both sides of the Atlantic. The appearance of these "naked" penguins has scientists puzzled as to what could be causing the condition.

The disorder, which can result in smaller chicks and increased mortality, has been observed in both African and Magellanic penguin chicks. A study on the disorder by researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the University of Washington, South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) and Centro Nacional Patagónico appeared in a recent edition of the journal Waterbirds.

"Feather-loss disorders are uncommon in most bird species, and we need to conduct further study to determine the cause of the disorder and if this is in fact spreading to other penguin species," said Professor Dee Boersma, who has conducted studies on Magellanic penguins for more than three decades.

The feather-loss disorder first emerged in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2006, when SANCCOB researchers observed it in African penguins in a rehabilitation center. During that year, approximately 59% of the penguin chicks at the facility lost their feathers, followed by 97% of the chicks at the facility in 2007, and 20% of the chicks in 2008. Chicks with feather-loss disorder eventually began to grow new feathers, but it was discovered that they took longer to grow to a size deemed suitable for release into the wild.

On the other side of the South Atlantic, researchers from WCS and the University of Washington observed feather-loss disorder in the chicks of wild Magellanic penguins (closely related to African penguins) for the first time in 2007 in four different study sites along Argentina’s coastline. Researchers also noted that while feathered chicks sought out shade in the hot midday sun, featherless chicks remained in the sun’s glare. Several of the chicks with feather-loss disorder died during the study.

In both instances, penguin chicks with feather-loss disorder grew more slowly and were smaller in size and weight than feathered chicks. The disparities were due to the increased energy spent by the featherless chicks in keeping warm in the absence of an insulating coat of feathers and/or down. So far, the possible causes include pathogens, thyroid disorders, nutrient imbalances or genetics.

"The recent emergence of feather-loss disorder in wild bird populations suggests that the disorder is something new," said Mariana Varese, Acting Director of WCS's Latin America and Caribbean Program. "More study of this malady can help identify the root cause, which in turn will help illuminate possible solutions."

"We need to learn how to stop the spread of feather-loss disorder, as penguins already have problems with oil pollution and climate variation," said Professor Boersma. "It’s important to keep disease from being added to the list of threats they face."

Source
"Naked" penguins baffle experts, 7 April 2011, Wildlife Conservation Society

Positive news for Tristan's oiled penguins

The first treated penguins walk back
to their home. Photo by Katrine Herian/
The RSPB.

TRISTAN DA CUNHA - Some good news to report for the penguin rescue operation following the oil spill around Nightingale Island, with the first rehabilitated penguins released back into the wild, the arrival of a team from SANCOBB and vital penguin-cleaning equipment, and the setting up of several funds to help with the emergency.

First Tristan penguins released from rehab

The first 24 northern rockhopper penguins of more than 3,600 admitted to the "rehab centre" on Tristan da Cunha were released back to sea on Sunday 3 April.

"The penguins were selected from the strongest ones, with no visible oil on their outer plumage," said Trevor Glass, Tristan da Cunha Conservation Officer. "Of the many tested to see if they were ready for release, only 24 had perfectly waterproof plumage."

"It was an emotional moment to see these penguins released from captivity and walk into the sea and then swim off among the waves," said Katrine Herian, the RSPB Project Officer on Tristan da Cunha. "The Tristan islanders are putting hundreds of hours of their time into saving the oiled penguins and we hope these are the first of many to be released".

On arrival on Tristan the penguins are stabilised and kept indoors in the rehab shed, after which the fittest ones are moved to an outside pen. From here the cleanest and strongest ones are moved to the island’s swimming pool, which is refilled daily with fresh, unchlorinated water.

So far, 3662 oiled penguins have been admitted to the rehab centre. Since the first batch of 500 were admitted on 23rd March, only 373 have died in rehab, which is a survival rate of 90%. About 25% of the penguins at the centre are currently in the release pool.

SANCCOB team arrives with vital people and equipment

There are still many oiled penguins which require urgent washing. A team from SANCCOB arrived on the tug Singapore on Tuesday 5 April, bringing the specialised equipment and materials needed for cleaning the penguins, as well as vital vitamins and medicines for the rehab centre's intensive care unit and frozen pilchards to feed the penguins. Their arrival had been frustratingly delayed by rough seas.

The SANCCOB team were impressed with the set up at the rehab centre and praised the islanders’ efforts under difficult conditions and with very limited resources. 

The specialist cleaning equipment will be put into the wash-bay facility, which will be housed in two government containers close to the rehab shed. Hot water geysers, to remove the heavy bunker oil, will be installed for the penguin-washing operation, and infrared lights will be installed in a drying room. Outside, large tanks will collect and separate the waste-oil/solids and grey water from the washing process. SANCCOB logistics manager Mariëtte Hopley reported the washing facility would be up and running on Friday, when training would begin for islanders in the washing of penguins.

Funds set up to help the penguins

Thanks largely to the efforts of the Ocean Doctor, Dr David Guggenheim, the penguin rescue operation has been picked up by the US media, including CNN, which interviewed Dr Guggenheim (see below) and ran a story on 3 April. The more attention the media give to their plight, the more help the penguins will get!



There are now several funds set up to help with the rehabilitation of the penguins and other wildlife affected by the oil spill:

• RSPB Nightingale Island Emergency Appeal
• Ocean Foundation Nightingale Island Penguin and Seabird Rescue Fund set up by Dr Guggenheim
• Crowdrise Catastrophic Oil Spill - Tristan set up by Sandra Birnhak, Director of the Foundation for Antarctic Research.

I realise these are tough economic times for many of us, but if you can spare even a small amount of money to help the penguins, the people working hard to save them on Tristan da Cunha will certainly appreciate it. 

Read related posts

Sources

First Tristan penguins released from 'rehab' by RSPB, 5 April 2011, Birdlife International
MS Oliva oil spill at Tristan da Cunha finally hits the headlines - funding urgently needed for oiled penguin rescue operation, 4 April 2011, The Penguin Lady Blog
Oliva Tristan Diary, Tristan da Cunha Association: accessed 8 April 2011 

NZ fur seal population boom could spell doom for Kangaroo Island's little penguins

New Zealand fur seals on Kangaroo
Island. Photo by Mike Lehmann.
Some rights reserved.

AUSTRALIA - What is good news for Kangaroo Island's New Zealand fur seals is bad news for its little penguins. The fur seal population in South Australia is exploding, and it could spell the end of large penguin colonies on the island.

New Zealand fur seals were nearly wiped out by early colonial sealing, Simon Goldsworthy, associate professor at Flinders University's School of Biological Sciences, told The Australian, when more than 100,000 fur seals were taken from Kangaroo Island.

Since commercial sealing stopped, however, the fur seal population has been increasing for at least the last 30 years according to the IUCN Red List.

Bill Haddrill, Kangaroo Island's conservation program manager with the Department for Environment and Heritage, told The Australian there are currently about 25,000 fur seals in Kangaroo Island waters, with the population expanding at a compound rate of 10-12% a year.

South Australia's wildlife authorities see this rebuilding of the fur seal population as a natural phenomenon, and say it would be futile to intervene.

However, Simone Somerfield feels somewhat differently about what she described as the "wholesale slaughter" by these furry predators of the little penguins who nest at her Penneshaw Penguin Centre on Kangaroo Island.

Three years ago, the penguin population at the centre was 200 birds. Today it is less than half a dozen.

Ms Somerfield has seen the predatory powers of the fur seals first-hand and said she didn't know how the penguins would survive on Kangaroo Island because of the way they were being attacked.

She told The Australian that at first she saw the penguins being taken one at a time and would say, "That's amazing, it's like David Attenborough."

"But then it was more and more and more, and then mass kills in which the seals were not even eating them. It was happening within 100m and you have a complete view, it was like watching a horror movie," she said.

But Mr Haddrill said that it was likely penguin numbers and distributions on Kangaroo Island were returning to historical norms.

"It is not clear if there has been a decline in the overall population or in the distribution along the shore line," he said. Kingscote, on the northern side of the island, now had a steady population of 700 to 800 breeding birds and, although the number of penguins on Penneshaw's main beach had significantly reduced, there were higher numbers at the nearby North Shore.

According to Professor Goldsworthy, there will always be little penguin colonies breeding on Kangaroo Island, but large colonies may be a thing of the past now the fur seal population is recovering.

Sources
Fate of island penguins appears sealed as hunted become hunters by Graham Lloyd, 26 March 2011, The Australian