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Increasing trend in the number of Southern Rockhopper Penguins (Eudyptes c. chrysocome) breeding at the Falkland Islands

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Abstract

The Falkland Islands currently supports one of the largest Southern Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes c. chrysocome) populations. Archipelago-wide censuses conducted in 2000 and 2005 revealed that the number of breeding pairs had declined by 30 % during this period. To establish whether the breeding population continued to decline, an archipelago-wide census was conducted in 2010. We report a conservative estimate of 319,163 ±SD 24,820 pairs breeding at the Falkland Islands in 2010. This represents a 51 % increase when compared with the number counted in 2005. A simple stochastic population model was developed to investigate the extent to which changes in demographic parameters between 2005 and 2010 could account for the increase in breeding pairs. The population model predicted a 38 % increase in the number of breeding pairs over a 5-year period (289,431 ±SD 24,615). The increase in the number of breeding pairs was therefore probably attributed to improved vital rates in the period between the 2005 and 2010 archipelago-wide censuses in combination with other factors such as a reduction in the proportion of adult birds that abstained from breeding. Based on the 2010 Falkland Islands estimate, the global population of the subspecies E. c. chrysocome is now closer to 870,000 breeding pairs of which the Falkland Islands accounts for approximately 36 %, the second largest proportion after Chile. We conclude that despite fluctuations, the number of Southern Rockhopper Penguins breeding at the Falkland Islands has increased over the last 15 years and suggest that the ‘Vulnerable’ conservation status of the species be re-assessed.

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Acknowledgments

A generation of Falklands Conservation staff and volunteers have contributed to the collection of penguin population data. We thank the many land owners involved in the archipelago-wide census for their continued support, assistance and in granting access to Southern Rockhopper Penguin breeding colonies. We are particularly grateful to the Falkland Islands Government and the Wildlife Conservation Society for granting access to Beauchêne and Steeple Jason Islands, respectively. The 2010 census was made possible with the assistance and expertise of M. Clarke owner and skipper of the Condor, A. Black, M. Morrison, G. Munroe and P. Nightingale and the support of C. Dockrill, K. Ford, S. Morrison, S. Nightingale and R. Orben. The support of N. Rendell (Falkland Islands Government) is also gratefully acknowledged. N. Dehnhard, M. Poisbleau, L. Demongin and P. Quillfeldt kindly provided the Rockhopper Penguin survival estimates. Finally, we extend our sincere thanks to H. Lynch, N. Dehnhard and two anonymous reviewers that improved earlier drafts of this manuscript. The census was carried out under permit issued by the Falkland Islands Government Environmental Planning Department.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, PO Box 423, Warrnambool, VIC, 3280, Australia

    A. M. M. Baylis

  2. Falklands Conservation, 41 Ross Road, Stanley, FIQQ 1ZZ, Falkland Islands

    A. M. M. Baylis & S. Crofts

  3. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, P.O. Box 794, Stanley, FIQQ 1ZZ, Falkland Islands

    A. C. Wolfaardt

  4. Department of Zoology, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence at the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute for African Ornithology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, 6031, South Africa

    P. A. Pistorius

  5. British Antarctic Survey NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK

    N. Ratcliffe

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Correspondence to A. M. M. Baylis.

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Baylis, A.M.M., Wolfaardt, A.C., Crofts, S. et al. Increasing trend in the number of Southern Rockhopper Penguins (Eudyptes c. chrysocome) breeding at the Falkland Islands. Polar Biol 36, 1007–1018 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-013-1324-6

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