Comparative population ecology of New Zealand’s Eudyptes and Megadyptes penguins
[Presented at 2nd World Seabird Conference, Cape Town, South Africa, October 2015] Of the world’s 18 extant penguin species six species live and breed in New Zealand. Four of these are Eudyptes species, namely the Fiordland (E. pachyrhynchus), Snares (E. robustus), Erect-crested (E. sclateri) and Southern Rockhopper penguins (E. chrysocome); the former three species and the Yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) are all endemic to New Zealand. With exception of the Snares penguin, the populations of all these species are believed to have undergone significant declines in the past decades. In comparison with most other penguin species world-wide, New Zealand penguins – particularly those breeding on the remote sub-Antarctic islands – have received little scientific attention which hampered interpretation of determined and assumed population trends. However, in recent years a handful of studies have started to gather first information on the marine ecology of various species and provide us with some insights of potential factors driving population developments. For the Yellow-eyed penguin on the mainland a picture emerges which puts anthropogenic alterations of the marine habitat at the forefront of factors negatively affecting population developments in recent years. Rockhopper and Erect-crested penguins struggle with decreasing oceanic productivity in the sub-Antarctic region. This, however, seems to be of lesser concern for Snares and (presumably) Fiordland penguins that breed in subtropical water closer to the NZ mainland. In the light of increasing selective pressure as a result of anthropogenic influences in the marine environment (e.g. fisheries interactions, habitat alteration, climate change) behavioural flexibility and adaptability seem to be the key for success for penguins in New Zealand.
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Featured
Featured (20)
Comparative population ecology of New Zealand’s Eudyptes and Megadyptes penguins
- 3. Little (Eudyptula minor) Eastern Rockhopper (E. filholi) Fiordland (E. pachyrhynchus) Snares (E. robustus) Erect-crested (E. sclateri) Yellow-eyed (M. antipodes)
- 5. 115,000 28,000 28,141 26,000 0k 20k 40k 60k 80k 100k 120k 140k 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 Breedingpairs
- 6. 115,000 52,000 34,226 0k 20k 40k 60k 80k 100k 120k 140k 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 Breedingpairs
- 7. 50,000 3,392 2,475 0k 10k 20k 30k 40k 50k 60k 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 Breedingpairs
- 8. 619,925 42,528 33,239 0k 100k 200k 300k 400k 500k 600k 700k 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 Breedingpairs
- 9. 10,000 3,600 0k 2k 4k 6k 8k 10k 12k 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 Breedingpairs
- 10. 11000 20000 23250 30,979 26053 30187 0k 5k 10k 15k 20k 25k 30k 35k 40k 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 Breedingpairs
- 11. 3,000 0k 1k 2k 3k 4k 5k 6k 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 Breedingpairs
- 12. 3,000 0k 1k 2k 3k 4k 5k 6k 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 Breedingpairs ? ? ?
- 13. ?
- 16. iron rich (river run-off fertilization) high productivity iron deficiency (compounded by ocean warming) low productivity
- 17. Population developments driven primarily by ocean productivity
- 18. Population developments driven primarily by ocean productivity Stoat attack on Fiordland penguin chick at Gorge River, West Coast
- 21. 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 1981 1991 2001 2011 Numberlocationsmonitored Meannumberofbreedingpairs 270 bp (mean) 2000 2050 2100 2150 2200 050100150200250300 Stochastic population projection intrinsic groth rate lambd Year Numberofpenguins Population projection YEP, Boulder Beach Complex, Otago Peninsula
- 22. DEGRADATION OF FORAGING HABITAT HUMAN DISTURBANCE FISHERIES BYCATCH POLUTION Population developments driven primarily by anthropogenic factors
- 24. Climate change Ocean warming Eastern Rockhopper penguin Erect-crested penguin
- 25. Climate change Ocean warming Snares penguin Limited breeding habitat Eastern Rockhopper penguin Erect-crested penguin
- 26. Climate change Ocean warming Fiordland penguin Exotic predators Snares penguin Limited breeding habitat Eastern Rockhopper penguin Erect-crested penguin
- 27. Climate change Ocean warming Fiordland penguin Exotic predators Yellow-eyed penguin (mainland) Anthropogenic influences (plus all of the below) Snares penguin Limited breeding habitat Eastern Rockhopper penguin Erect-crested penguin