Abstract
Southern Ocean ecosystems are extremely vulnerable to sea-ice changes occurring at different spatial and temporal scales. Variability in the sea-ice conditions strongly influence the survival and reproduction of animals that are synchronized with the seasonality of sea ice. Although the linkages between Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) and sea-ice conditions are well established, the spatial and temporal scales at which sea ice affects individuals and populations are poorly known. Using 23 years of penguin breeding success and remote-sensing data of sea ice, we investigate the spatial and temporal scales at which sea-ice changes best explain variations in the reproductive success of Adélie penguins at Pointe Géologie, East Antarctica. The best spatial scale encompassed all foraging areas exploited and all the sea-ice conditions encountered by penguins over a breeding season. There was a consistent influence of sea-ice concentration during the guard stage on the overall breeding success. We demonstrate the importance of considering sea ice at a fine temporal scale rather than using an average value over the breeding season to best explain reproductive success in Adélie penguins.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the field assistants that collected the Adélie penguins’ data as part of the Long-Term Monitoring Program 109, and Nathan Pacoureau for help in breeding success data processing.
Funding
Funding was provided by Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and IPEV Program 109 (Henri Weimerskirch), as well as by the World Wide Funding of UK. This study is a contribution to the Program SENtinel of the SEa Ice (SENSEI) funded by the Banque Nationale de Paris Paribas Foundation.
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Study design: A.K., C.B., Y.R–C. Breeding success data management: K.D. Data analysis and processing: E.B. Writing: E.B., A.K., C.B., Y.R.-C., K.D. All authors edited and revised the manuscript, gave final approval for publication and agreed to be held accountable for the content therein.
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Ethics Committee of the Institute Paul Emile Victor (IPEV) and Comité de l’ Environnement Polaire approved the field procedures.
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Barreau, E., Ropert-Coudert, Y., Delord, K. et al. Scale matters: sea ice and breeding success of Adélie penguins. Polar Biol 42, 1405–1410 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-019-02531-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-019-02531-2