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Update of the population size and breeding performance of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) at Stranger Point/Cabo Funes, South Shetland Islands

Polar Biology volume 43, pages 123–129 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

The plasticity in the trophic ecology, the breeding phenology, and the low nesting site fidelity would be the reasons why most of the gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) populations breeding in the western Antarctic Peninsula and islands of Scotia Arc remained stable or increasing, despite the changing environmental conditions. Regardless of the overall trend, recent studies revealed a decline in the abundance of some gentoo penguin populations at those regions. Therefore, it is highly valuable to update the population size of each colony in order to confirm the current trends of individual colonies and generate a comprehensive overview of the population status. We report the abundance and breeding performance of gentoo penguins at the Stranger Point/Cabo Funes colony from 2000/2001 to 2018/2019. During the last season, 5383 breeding pairs and 5545 chicks in crèche were counted. Despite there were considerable inter-annual fluctuations over the study period, the total number of gentoo penguin breeding pairs increased by 74.6% (+ 3.1% per annum), while the number of chicks crèched increased by 60.0% (+ 2.6% per annum). However, the index of breeding success remained relatively constant over time, varying between 0.74 and 1.23 chicks in crèche/breeding pairs. Gentoo penguins have life-history strategies that are advantageous to face the environmental variability, allowing the species to maintain their breeding performance stable over time and enhance their resilience, which can favour the population growth at Stranger Point.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all field workers involved in the penguin monitoring. The permit for this work was granted by the Dirección Nacional del Antártico (Environmental Office). The FONCYT—Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (Grant: PICTO 2010-0111) and the Instituto Antártico Argentino—Dirección Nacional del Antártico (PINST-05) provided financial and logistical support. We also thank Dr Maria Virginia Petry, two anonymous reviewers and editors for their helpful comments and suggestions on improving the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento Biología de Predadores Tope, Instituto Antártico Argentino, 25 de Mayo 1143, B1650CSP, San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Mariana A. Juáres, Ricardo Casaux, Javier Negrete, Néstor R. Coria & Mercedes M. Santos

  2. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, C1425FQB, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Mariana A. Juáres

  3. Laboratorios Anexos, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Calle 64 N° 3, B1904AMA, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Mariana A. Juáres, Javier Negrete, Ayelen Rios, Martín Castillo & Mercedes M. Santos

  4. Centro de Investigación Esquel de Montaña y Estepa Patagónica (CONICET–UNPSJB), Roca 780, 9200, Esquel, Chubut, Argentina

    Ricardo Casaux

  5. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Instituto Antártico Argentino/CONICET, UNLP, Calle 64 N° 3 (B1904AMA), La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Mariana A. Juáres

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  1. Mariana A. Juáres
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  2. Ricardo Casaux
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  3. Javier Negrete
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  4. Ayelen Rios
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  6. Néstor R. Coria
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  7. Mercedes M. Santos
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Correspondence to Mariana A. Juáres.

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All research involving gentoo penguins was conducted under appropriate international, national and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals.

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Juáres, M.A., Casaux, R., Negrete, J. et al. Update of the population size and breeding performance of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) at Stranger Point/Cabo Funes, South Shetland Islands. Polar Biol 43, 123–129 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-019-02614-0

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Keywords

  • Pygoscelis papua
  • Breeding pairs
  • Chicks crèched
  • Long-term trends
  • Antarctica