Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Assessing penguin colony size and distribution using digital mapping and satellite remote sensing

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Polar Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Changes in penguin abundance and distribution can be used to understand the response of species to climate change and fisheries pressures, and as a gauge of ecosystem health. Traditionally, population estimates have involved direct counts, but remote sensing and digital mapping methodologies can provide us with alternative techniques for assessing the size and distribution of penguin populations. Here, we demonstrate the use of a field-based digital mapping system (DMS), combining a handheld geographic information system with integrated geographical positioning system as a method for: (a) assessing penguin colony area and (b) ground-truthing colony area as derived from satellite imagery. Work took place at Signy Island, South Orkneys, where colonies of the three congeneric pygoscelid penguins: Adélie Pygoscelis adeliae, chinstrap P. antarctica and gentoo P. papua were surveyed. Colony areas were derived by mapping colony boundaries using the DMS with visual counts of the number of nesting birds made concurrently. Area was found to be a good predictor for number of nests for all three species of penguin. Using a maximum likelihood multivariate classification of remotely sensed satellite imagery (QuickBird2, 18 January 2010; Digital Globe ID: 01001000B90AD00), we were able to identify penguin colonies from the spectral signature of guano and differentiate between colonies of Adélie and chinstrap penguins. The area classified (all species combined) from satellite imagery versus area from DMS data was closely related (R 2 = 0.88). Combining these techniques gives a simple and transferrable methodology for examining penguin distribution and abundance at local and regional scales.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agnew DJ (1997) The CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Programme. Antarct Sci 9:235–242

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ainley DG (2002) The Adélie penguin—bellwether of climate change. Columbia University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Barber-Meyer S, Kooyman GL, Ponganis PJ (2007) Estimating the relative abundance of emperor penguins at inaccessible colonies using satellite imagery. Polar Biol 30:1565–1570

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boersma PD (2008) Penguins as marine sentinels. Bioscience 58:597–607

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooke MdL (2004) The food consumption of the world’s seabirds. Proc R Soc Lond B 271:S246–S248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CCAMLR (2004) CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program (CEMP) standard methods. CCAMLR, Hobart

    Google Scholar 

  • Chamaille-Jammes S, Guinet C, Nicoleau F, Argentier M (2000) A method to assess population changes in king penguins: the use of a Geographical Information System to estimate area-population relationships. Polar Biol 23:545–549

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ciaputa P, Sierakowski K (1999) Long-term population changes of Adélie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins in the regions of SSSI No. 8 and SSSI No. 34, King George Island, Antarctica. Pol Polar Res 20:355–365

    Google Scholar 

  • Croxall JP, Kirkwood ED (1979) The distribution of penguins on the Antarctic peninsula and islands of the Scotia Sea. British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Croxall JP, Rootes DM, Price RA (1981) Increases in penguin populations at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands. Br Antarct Surv Bull 54:47–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Croxall JP, McCann TS, Prince PA, Rothery P (1988) Reproductive performance of seabirds and seals at South Georgia and Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, 1976–1987: implications for Southern Ocean monitoring studies. In: Sahrhage D (ed) Antarctic Ocean and resources variability. Springer, Berlin, pp 261–285

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Croxall JP, Trathan PN, Murphy EJ (2002) Environmental change and Antarctic seabird populations. Science 297:1510–1514

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Curtis ML, Riley TR, Flowerdew MJ, Tate AJ (2011) Short note: the application and benefits of digital geological mapping in Antarctica. Antarct Sci 23:387–388

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forcada J, Trathan PN (2009) Penguin responses to climate change in the Southern Ocean. Glob Change Biol 15:1618–1630

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forcada J, Trathan PN, Reid K, Murphy EJ, Croxall JP (2006) Contrasting population changes in sympatric penguin species in association with climate warming. Glob Change Biol 12:411–423

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fretwell PT, Trathan PN (2009) Penguins from space: faecal stains reveal the location of emperor penguin colonies. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 18:543–552

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fretwell PT, LaRue MA, Morin P, Kooyman GL, Wienecke B, Ratcliffe N, Fox AJ, Fleming AH, Porter C, Trathan PN (2012) An emperor penguin population estimate: the first global, synoptic survey of a species from space. PLoS One 7(4):e33751

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield LG, Wilson KJ (1991) Adélie penguin colony estimations from aerial photography and ground counts. Polar Rec 27:129–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guinet C, Jouventin P, Malacamp J (1995) Satellite remote sensing in monitoring change of seabirds: use of Spot Image in king penguin population increase at Ile aux Cochons. Crozet Archipelago Polar Biol 15:511–515

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson AL, Bearhop S, Thompson DR (2005) Shape can influence the rate of colony fragmentation in ground nesting seabirds. Oikos 111:473–478

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jehl JR, Todd FS (1985) A census of the Adélie penguin colony on Paulet Island, Weddell Sea. Antarct JUS 20:171–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Bohec C, Whittington J, Le Maho Y (2013) Polar monitoring: seabirds as sentinels of marine ecosystems. In: Verde C, di Prisco G (eds) Adaptation and evolution in marine environments, vol 2. Springer, Berlin, pp 205–230

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lishman GS (1985) The comparative breeding biology of Adélie and chinstrap penguins Pygoscelis adeliae and P. antarctica at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands. Ibis 127:84–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch HJ, White RW, Black AD, Naveen R (2012) Detection, differentiation, and abundance estimation of penguin species by high-resolution satellite imagery. Polar Biol 35:963–968

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynnes AS, Reid K, Croxall JP, Trathan PN (2002) Conflict or co-existence? Foraging distribution and competition for prey between Adélie and chinstrap penguins. Mar Biol 141:1165–1174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naveen R, Lynch HJ, Forrest S, Mueller T, Polito M (2012) First direct, site-wide penguin survey at Deception Island, Antarctica, suggests significant declines in breeding chinstrap penguins. Polar Biol 35:1879–1888

    Google Scholar 

  • Penney RL (1968) Territorial and social behavior in the Adélie penguin. Antarctic Res Ser 12:83–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Reid B (1962) An assessment of the size of the Cape Adare Adélie penguin rookery and skuary—with notes on petrels. Notornis 10:98–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Reid K, Croxall JP, Briggs DR, Murphy EJ (2005) Antarctic ecosystem monitoring: quantifying the response of ecosystem indicators to variability in Antarctic krill. ICES J Mar Sci 62:366–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sander M, Balbão CT, Polito MJ, Costa ES, Bertoldi AP, Carneiro B (2007) Recent decrease in chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) populations at two of Admiralty Bay’s islets on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Polar Biol 30:659–661

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwaller MR, Olson CE, Ma Z, Zhu Z, Dahmer P (1989) A remote sensing analysis of Adélie penguin rookeries. Remote Sens Environ 28:199–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwaller MR, Southwell CJ, Emmerson LM (2013) Continental-scale mapping of Adélie penguin colonies from Landsat imagery. Remote Sens Environ 139:353–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trivelpiece WZ, Volkman NJ (1979) Nest-site competition between Adélie and chinstrap penguins: an ecological interpretation. Auk 96:675–681

    Google Scholar 

  • Trivelpiece WZ, Hinke JT, Miller AK, Reiss CS, Trivelpiece SG, Watters GM (2011) Variability in krill biomass links harvesting and climate warming to penguin population changes in Antarctica. PNAS 108:7625–7628. doi:10.1073/pnas.1016560108

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Volkman J, Trivelpiece WZ (1981) Nest-site selection among Adélie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins in mixed species rookeries. Wilson Bull 93:243–248

    Google Scholar 

  • Weimerskirch H, Inchausti P, Guinet C, Barbraud C (2003) Trends in bird and seal populations as indicators of a system shift in the Southern Ocean. Antarct Sci 15:249–256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White MG, Conroy JWH (1975) Aspects of competition between pygoscelid penguins at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands. Ibis 117:371–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woehler EJ, Riddle MJ (1998) Spatial relationships of Adélie penguin colonies: implications for assessing population changes from remote imagery. Antarct Sci 10:449–454

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank staff at Signy Island, particularly Dirk Briggs, Matt Jobson and Dave Routledge for help with logistics and in the field. Thanks to Ella Walsh for the satellite image classification. This work is a contribution to the ECOSYSTEMS Programme at the British Antarctic Survey.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Michael L. Curtis

    Present address: CASP, 181A Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, CB3 0DH, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK

    Claire M. Waluda, Michael J. Dunn, Michael L. Curtis & Peter T. Fretwell

Authors
  1. Claire M. Waluda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michael J. Dunn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Michael L. Curtis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Peter T. Fretwell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Claire M. Waluda.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Waluda, C.M., Dunn, M.J., Curtis, M.L. et al. Assessing penguin colony size and distribution using digital mapping and satellite remote sensing. Polar Biol 37, 1849–1855 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-014-1566-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-014-1566-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation