Abstract
Natural catastrophic events such as tsunamis may induce drastic decreases in breeding success of animal populations. We evaluate the impacts of flooding on the reproductive success of king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) in the Crozet Archipelago. On 26 December 2004, a magnitude-9 earthquake created a large tsunami that flooded a colony at 6,500 km from the epicentre of the earthquake. On 30 January 2005, severe waves again flooded the colony. About 17–20% of the surface of the colony was impacted during each flood and 44% of the breeding birds abandoned their egg or chick following the two floodings. Although about 11% of birds laid another egg after the tsunami, none reproduced again after the second flood that happened later in the breeding season. Our results show that the tsunami directly affected the reproductive success of seabirds nesting near the coast.
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Acknowledgments
This study was approved and supported by the Institut Polaire Français Paul-Emile Victor (IPEV, programme 119 led by R. G.) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Logistic support was provided by the Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises. We are truly indebted to S. Geiger for help in the field and thank M. Harris, G. Hempel, N. Lecomte and two anonymous referees for valuable comments on the manuscript. V. M. V. was supported by scholarships from the Fondation de l’Université Laval and NSERC. Capture and tagging procedures were approved by the Ethical Committee of IPEV and the experiments comply with the current laws of France.
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Viera, V.M., Le Bohec, C., Côté, S.D. et al. Massive breeding failures following a tsunami in a colonial seabird. Polar Biol 29, 713–716 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-006-0128-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-006-0128-3