Fishing nets major threat to penguins

AUSTRALIA – The results of the first global review of penguin bycatch are in – and they highlight the serious risks that fishing nets pose to the survival of many penguin species. The study was published in the journal Endangered Species Research.

Penguins are among the world’s most iconic and loved birds, in spite of the fact most people will never get to see one in the wild. And opportunities to do so are diminishing, with 10 of the 18 penguin species threatened with extinction. After albatrosses, penguins are the most threatened group of seabirds. And this global review shows that, as it is for albatrosses, bycatch is a serious threat to some penguin species.

Penguins' calls are influenced by their habitat

AUSTRALIA – Birds use vocalisations to attract mates, defend territories and recognise fellow members of their species. But while we know a lot about how variations in vocalisations play out between populations of songbirds, it’s far less clear how this variation affects birds such as penguins in which calls are inherited.

A little penguin. Photo credit: D. Colombelli-Négrel

A new study from The Auk: Ornithological Advances examined differences in the calls of little penguins – nocturnal birds for whom vocalisations are more important that visual signals – from four colonies in Australia. It found that disparities in habitat, rather than geographic isolation or other factors, seem to be the key driver of variation in the sounds these birds use to communicate.

Diane Colombelli-Négrel and Rachel Smale of Flinders University recorded calls from four little penguin populations across a small area of South Australia, one of which had previously been shown to have subtle genetic differences from the other three. They then used playback experiments to test penguins’ ability to distinguish between calls from different colonies.

RSPCA to the rescue for little penguin trapped in a drain

AUSTRALIA – A lost juvenile fairy (little) penguin has found a happy ending, rescued by RSPCA NSW after being found trapped in a stormwater drain in Haberfield, in Sydney’s Inner West.

RSPCA NSW inspectors attended the drain after receiving a report from Inner West locals Josh Pirini and Scott Martin about a lost penguin that was distressed and making “wild noises” when they attempted to pick him up.

The penguin was stuck inside a smaller pipe in the drain, and was washed out with a gush of water, allowing him to be rescued.

Litte penguins' resilience to climate change investigated

AUSTRALIA - New research by Murdoch University will investigate the future of the little penguin colony in Rockingham, Western Australia.

Dr Belinda Cannell, who has been part of a long term study of the birds, will spend the next three years examining their resilience to coastal waters that have remained warmer than average since late 2010 .

“Little penguins are essentially the canaries in the coalmine for the Shoalwater [Islands] Marine Park,” she said.

“Understanding the viability of this population of penguins will give us a good understanding of the health of the whole ecosystem.”

Dog owners prosecuted after little penguin deaths

AUSTRALIA - The Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS) and the Circular Head Council have conducted a joint investigation after 18 little penguins were found dead near a rookery in Stanley on Tasmania’s North-West coast last week.

PWS state compliance coordinator Justin Helmich said the dead penguins were forensically examined and predator attack was identified as the likely cause.

“As a result of that investigation, a number of people have been interviewed and an infringement notice has been issued in respect of a number of dog control related offences,” Mr Helmich said.

Little penguin deaths likely due to natural causes

AUSTRALIA - An Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) investigation into water quality at Altona Beach has found the recent deaths of two little penguins and about six toadfish fish were likely due to natural causes.

EPA officers investigated after a member of the public reported seeing the penguins and fish washed up on the beach on 20 June.

Acting EPA Metropolitan Manager Danny Childs said while seeing dead wildlife washed up on Victoria’s beaches can be distressing, it isn’t always due to pollution.

Fossils may reveal 20-million-year history of penguins in Australia

AUSTRALIA - A study has found that there have been multiple times that different groups of penguins arrived and established themselves in Australia after the continent split from Antarctica. The arrivals included a group of 'giant penguins' that may have lived in Australia after they went extinct elsewhere. The study, by Travis Park from Monash University and colleagues, was recently published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.

Penguin cam captures hunt for prey

Penguins foraging as a group.
Photo credit: John Arnould, Deakin University

AUSTRALIA - "Penguin cams" attached to little penguins while they foraged showed they were more likely to work together to hunt schooling prey than solitary prey. The findings were published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Grace Sutton from Deakin University and colleagues.

Group foraging has advantages for cooperative predators. But the benefits of group foraging are not as clear for less cooperative predators like little penguins, because of the potential for competition. The authors of this study attached cameras to 21 little penguins from two breeding colonies in south-eastern Australia to determine their prey types, hunting strategies and success.

Little penguin wardens thanked for their six month vigil

AUSTRALIA - The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) were joined by environmentalist Ian Kiernan AO at a special ceremony to thank the Manly little penguin wardens for their incredible dedication to protecting the little penguin colony at North Head through a tough breeding season.

Acting Head of NPWS Tom Bagnat said, despite the losses by fox attack early on, NPWS and the community successfully kept the remaining colony of little penguins safe for the rest of the breeding season.

“The community has been invaluable in helping parks’ staff to protect the little penguin colony over the past six months including assisting in the nightly vigil to keep the breeding birds safe from fox predation at their most vulnerable times,” Mr Bagnat said.

Researchers find that Australian and New Zealand little penguins are distinct species

Is this little penguin a Kiwi or an Aussie?
Photo credit: Otago University

AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND – A team of researchers from the University of Otago and University of Tasmania has discovered that Australian and New Zealand little penguins represent two distinct species, rather than one.

Scientists had previously wondered about the relationships between populations of the penguin (popularly known as little blue penguins or fairy penguins) found on either side of the Tasman. The trans-Tasman team used genetic techniques to compare populations from both countries, and surprisingly found that they are not the same species.

“We found a very strong pattern, where New Zealand has its own distinctive genetic group that is clearly very different from the Australian penguin populations,” said Dr Stefanie Grosser, who carried out the study as part of her Otago PhD project.

Little penguin mercury levels reflect health of Port Phillip Bay

AUSTRALIA - The cute little penguins that call the St Kilda breakwater home have more than fluffy good looks – they also carry valuable information about the health of Port Phillip Bay.

Victoria University research has found that the St Kilda penguins have higher loads of arsenic, mercury and lead in their blood compared to their cousins on Phillip Island and the remote Notch Island colony in Bass Strait.

20 years of weighing penguins

AUSTRALIA – The human obsession with weight watching also transcends to the penguin world. When little penguins cross the beach at Phillip Island every night, they are closely monitored by a weighbridge system. For penguins, being heavy is better – it is a sign of good health.

The penguin monitoring system or weighbridge, is celebrating its 20 year anniversary this month. The system has revolutionised the way researchers collect weight and attendance data on penguins. During this period, the weighbridge information has helped to inform more than 30 students at honours, PhD and post doc level and is also responsible for over 50 scientific publications.

When two penguins clans become one

AUSTRALIA - A new research project has found that two different groups of little penguins have met up to live in a colony together, despite a history of isolation.

Dr Chris Burridge, University of Tasmania Zoology lecturer, said the motivation of the research was to understand rates of movements of penguins between colonies.

The research was conducted in partnership with the University of Tasmania, Peter Dann (Phillip Island Nature Park), Amanda Peucker (Deakin University) and Craig Styan (University College London).

"The research wanted to find out things like, are individuals from this colony going to another colony to breed?  If a colony was wiped out by a predator, would penguins from other colonies come to help replenish it?" Dr Burridge said.

Two very important little penguins released back into the wild

Libby Hall and Commanding Officer HMAS Penguin,
Commander Paul Gall, releasing penguins off Fairlight Beach.
Credit: Madeleine Smitham

AUSTRALIA - Two little penguins from the famous Manly colony in New South Wales were released back into the wild this week after being looked after at the Taronga Wildlife Hospital while they underwent their yearly moult.

One penguin, Bernie, was found at Dee Why Point in December weighing just 500 grams, half the normal body weight for a little penguin.

After spending quite a while in the intensive care, she finally put on enough weight to go into her yearly moult. She now has a brand new set of feathers, weighs a kilogram and is ready to rejoin her colony.

Podgy penguins make better breeders

AUSTRALIA - Putting on a little weight over winter increases a little penguin’s sexual success according to new research published in Royal Society Open Science last month.  

Researchers at Phillip Island Nature Parks, Australia, in collaboration with scientists from the French Research Council, discovered the winter body mass of little penguins has a carry-over effect on timing of breeding and reproductive success during spring and summer.

“Little penguin parents that put on weight in winter, and were heavier than their mass before or after July, were more likely to lay their eggs early, and males were more likely to successfully breed,” André Chiaradia, research scientist at Phillip Island Nature Parks said.

Little penguin Bella released back to her mate Lucky

Bella having a final swim at Taronga Wildlife Hospital before
being released. Photo credit: Madeleine Smitham

AUSTRALIA - Little penguin Bella was released back into the wild to her waiting mate Lucky earlier this week after being treated at the Taronga Wildlife Hospital.

Bella was released off Manly's Store Beach by Taronga Wildlife Hospital Manager Libby Hall, Sydney Harbour National Park Ranger Melanie Tyas and volunteer penguin wardens.

Lucky had been seen swimming in the area nearby at twilight, looking for her. Little penguins usually mate for life and as it is breeding season it was important to get the two love-birds back together.

Missing little penguin's sad fate discovered

Little penguins at Taronga Zoo.
Photo credit: L A Warden

AUSTRALIA – A call from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) for information about a little penguin taken from Sydney’s Manly Wharf last week had a sad ending when it was revealed the bird had succumbed to its injuries over the weekend.

The distressed and injured little penguin was seen being put in a cardboard box on the east side of the wharf last Thursday, prompting NPWS to put out an appeal on Friday for information about where the troubled little bird had gone.

Little penguins team up to hunt prey

AUSTRALIA - Little penguins are more likely to forage for food in groups, working together to target prey, new Deakin University research has found.

More than 60 little penguins (Eudyptula minor) were fitted with miniature GPS tracking devices at London Bridge in south-west Victoria's Port Campbell National Park so researchers could monitor their breeding patterns while searching for food.

More thought of as cute than predatory, the GPS devices showed the little penguins actually worked deliberately together to target their prey.

Pest-free Macquarie Island now a penguin haven

Royal penguin on Macquarie Island.
Credit: M Murphy
via Wikimedia Commons.

AUSTRALIA - This month brings great news for about 2 million penguins: following a successful pest eradication programme, Australia's Minister for the Environment, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, officially declared that Macquarie Island is pest-free.

The programme was funded by the Australian and Tasmanian governments, which invested more the AU$24 million to ensure the World Heritage-listed island is preserved. Eight years ago, WWF-Australia and Peregrine Adventures invested AU$100,000 to kickstart the programme.

Mr Hunt said, "[The programme's] success is due to the hard work and dedication of scientists, ecologists, hunters and trainers and their remarkable detector dogs."

Knit a jumper, save a penguin - or do you?

Update: The Penguin Foundation has responded to the issues discussed in this post in an article in The Guardian (11 March 2014)

AUSTRALIA - The Penguin Foundation's 'global callout' for knitted little penguin jumpers (sweaters) on ABC News has again raised the issue of whether these (adorable) woollen garments should be used on the birds after an oil spill.