Distribution, abundance and dates of relict Adelie Penguin colonies in the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT). Current mapping efforts have focused on the Windmill Islands in preparation for a PhD study to commence in 2004/05 with the two investigators. The planned PhD study will work at either the Windmill Islands or the Vestfold Hills. This project integrates ASAC projects 1219 and 1322 (ASAC_1219, ASAC_1322). The fields in the excel spreadsheet are: Radiocarbon Samples Isotope Samples Site - list of precise locations provided in the downloadable paper Level - horizontal stratum (depth), given in 5cm blocks Species Material Weight (g) Notes Lab no. Uncorrected Date (BP) - (day) Standard Deviation Delta R - range of corrected date for sample, 2 standard deviations either side of the mean Mean - estimated mean of sample date See the paper included in the download file for further information.

The relationship between colony area and population density of Adelie Penguins Pygoscelis adeliae was examined to determine whether colony area, measured from aerial or satellite imagery, could be used to estimate population density, and hence detect changes in populations over time. Using maps drawn from vertical aerial photographs of Adelie Penguin colonies in the Mawson region, pair density ranged between 0.1 and 3.1 pairs/m2, with a mean of 0.63 - 0.3 pairs/m2. Colony area explained 96.4% of the variance in colony populations (range 90.4 - 99.6%) for 979 colonies at Mawson. Mean densities were not significantly different among the 19 islands in the region, but significant differences in mean pair density were observed among colonies in Mawson, Whitney Point (Casey, East Antarctica) and Cape Crozier (Ross Sea) populations. This work was completed as part of ASAC project 1219 (ASAC_1219). The fields in this dataset are: Island Latitude Longitude Date Colony area Breeding Pairs Breeding Pairs per square metre Area per nest Number of nests Number of adults

Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 1252 See the link below for public details on this project. Currently three datasets are attached to this metadata record. Dive data collected in 1988, track data from adult birds collected in 1994 and track data from fledglings collected in 1995. Dive data are available in Microsoft Word format, while the track data are available in Microsoft Excel format. A readme file (txt) is included in each download file to explain column headings, etc. ---- Public Summary from Project ---- To breed successfully the winter-breeding emperor penguins must fatten on two occasions: once before the onset of moult in January, and again prior to the commencement of the new breeding season in March. Interference with the capacity of the penguins to fatten in summer might be detrimental to the their breeding performance and survival later on in winter. This study seeks to determine the likely impact of commercial fishing operations on emperor penguin colonies at the Mawson Coast. More specifically, the data pertains to the locations of emperor penguins when fattening prior to the moult, and prior to the new breeding season. Project objectives: 1. To determine the extent and location of foraging areas of post-breeding adult Emperor penguins in summer. 3. To determine the extent and locations of foraging areas of fledgling Emperor penguins on their first trip to sea. 4. To identify interseasonal and interannual variations in foraging areas in conjunction with changes in seaice conditions and compare these with results from different colonies. 5. To survey the coastline of the AAT to verify the existence (or non-existence) of Emperor penguin colonies. Emperor penguins are icons of Antarctic wildlife and their conservation is of paramount interest to the wider community. They are also key consumers of marine resources in several areas and consequently there is great potential for interactions between feeding penguins and harvesting of fish and krill. Emperor penguins are one of the few species to breed on the fast ice (although there are three known land-based colonies, one of which has all but ceased to exist in recent years). Thus, the breeding habitat of Emperor penguins is subject to direct alteration as a result of climate change. Colonies of Emperors are found across a wide latitudinal range, from deep in the Ross Sea to the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. This range includes breeding areas where significant changes in seaice are not (yet?) thought to be occurring to areas where seaice is changing rapidly. Accordingly, studies at multiple locations will provide valuable clues on how this species will be affected by a warming Antarctic. Additionally, Emperor penguins are large animals that live in a relatively small number of discrete locations. It is therefore more than feasible, using an international effort, to study an entire species and to make some predictions about their response to a warming world and to current and future fishing practices. This project aims to make the first steps towards an overall conservation assessment of Emperor penguins through studies in several locations around the Antarctic continent. Should these attempts be successful, then a more ambitious international project will be launched to take a species-wide perspective.

The dataset contains boundaries of Adelie penguin breeding colonies at numerous breeding sites across east Antarctica. The boundary data were obtained using a range of methods which are detailed in separate spatial group-season accounts. The database of potential Adelie penguin breeding habitat in Southwell et al. (2016a) was used to associate colony boundaries to a particular breeding site and structure how the boundaries are stored. The breeding site database has a unique identifying code of every site of potential breeding habitat in East Antarctica, and the sites are aggregated into spatial sub-groups and then spatial groups. The file structure in which the boundaries are stored has a combination of 'group' and 'split-year breeding season' at the top level (eg VES 2015-16 contains all boundaries in spatial group VES (Vestfold Hills and islands) taken in the 2015-16 breeding season). Within each group-year folder are sub-folders for each breeding site where photos were taken (eg IS_72276 is Gardner Island in the VES group). Please refer to the Seabird Conservation Team Data Sharing Policy for use, acknowledgement and availability of data prior to downloading data.

This dataset contains the results from surveys of Royal Penguins (Eudyptes schegeli) on Macquarie Island. The surveys were conducted between May 1984 and January 1985. The total number of Royal penguins breeding on Macquarie Island is estimated at 848,719 pairs (+/-10.5%). The sizes and locations of all 57 colonies are given. The results are listed in the documentation. All Royal penguins breeding at Macquarie Island were allocated to one of 57 colonies identified by locations and varying in size from 75 breeding pairs to over 160,000 breeding pairs. The mean number of nests in the Lower Sandy Bay plots was 2.43/m2 (range at 95% confidence limits 2.32-2.54). The occupied area given for Hurd Point colony has been reduced by 5% from that surveyed to allow for two areas included in the survey which were subsequently found not to be used by breeding birds in the 1984-85 season. The variation in the difference between the lower and upper estimates of individual colonies given in Table 2 ranges from 17% to 50%. This was mainly due to the extreme variability of the terrain and/or the degree of association with Rockhopper penguins. The number of breeding pairs calculated for the colonies surveyed through the winter was 487,932 (range 465,838 - 510,014). The total estimated for the unsurveyed colonies was 360,787 (range 294,100 - 427,475) breeding pairs. The total estimated number of breeding pairs of Royal penguins on Macquarie Island is 848,719 +/- 10.5% (range 759,938 - 937,489). The dataset includes two text files (csv format) detailing the number of breeding pairs at each colony, and an sketch map of Macquarie Island detailing the locations of the colonies. The fields in this dataset are: Colony Area Range Breeding Pairs

This dataset contains data on the habitats, distribution and numbers of Adelie Penguins (Pygoscellis adeliae) along the Vestfold Hills coast (including colonies on the mainland and offshore islands) during November 1973. The data are obtained from counts at the colonies and black and white photographs. Some aerial photographs were taken at Davis in 1981-82 and 1987-88, and will be compared to the results of this survey. The results are listed in the documentation. A total of 174178 26127 breeding pairs were counted. An increase in Adelie penguin population was found at most locations in East Antarctica. Data from this record has been incorporated into a larger Adelie penguin dataset described by the metadata record - Annual population counts at selected Adelie Penguin colonies within the AAT (SOE_seabird_candidate_sp_AP). It also falls under ASAC project 1219 (ASAC_1219).

The following are excerpts from Ensor and Bassett (1987). A census by counts and estimates of Adelie penguin chicks on the George V Land coast of Antarctica between Commonwealth Bay and Buchanan Bay was undertaken during January 1982. Sections of colonies were photographed for comparison with photographs taken in 1913 during the Australasian Antarctic Expedition; positions and sizes of sub-colonies appeared unchanged after an interval of 68 years. Observations on the distribution of breeding Antarctic fulmars, Cape petrels, Snow petrels, Wilson's storm-petrels and South polar skuas are presented. This report describes the breeding status of seabirds, particularly Adelie penguins, on the George V Land coast of Antarctica between Commonwealth Bay (67 degrees S, 142.5 degrees E) and Buchanan Bay 67.1166 degrees S, 144.6666 E). The area was visited in January 1982 during the Mawson anniversary expedition of the Oceanic Research Foundation (ORF) on the schooner Dick Smith Explorer. The observations on the breeding of seabirds were conducted as a contribution to the International Survey of Antarctic Seabirds (ISAS) designed to investigate the abundance and distribution of seabirds in the Southern Ocean ecosystem. Of particular interest to this program is the the population status of Adelie penguins Pygoscelis adeliae. The George V Land coast has seldom been visited. The main expeditions to the area have been the 1911-13 Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) and the 1929-31 British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE). Falla (1937) summarised the biological observations made during these expeditions, including estimates of the numbers of Adelie penguins breeding in the Cape Denison area (67 degrees S, 142.6666 degrees E). The Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions and Expeditions Polaires Francaises have also made visits. The present observations provide a recent estimate of the breeding population of Adelie penguins in the area. Since the authors' visit to the colonies was late in the breeding season, estimates of numbers were restricted to chicks. The number of chicks gives an approximation of the number of pairs of penguins breeding but due to annual variations in breeding success, these estimates are not as reliable as the direct counts of occupied nests that can be made during the incubation period. The 1981-82 ORF expedition was based at Cape Denison between 11 and 30 January 1982 where a census of Adelie penguin chicks and observations on the breeding of other birds was conducted. A camp was established on the Mackellar Islands (66.9666 degrees S, 142.65 degrees E) from 12 to 14 January to enable a census of penguin chicks to be made. On 30 January the expedition departed Cape Denison towards the Mertz Glacier tongue (154.3333 degrees E). The cruise track of the vessel followed approximately the outer limit of islets of the Way Archipelago (143.6666 degrees E) and passed close to Moyes Islands (143.85 degrees E) and Hodgeman Islands (144.25 degrees E). Brief visits were made to two islets in the Way Archipelago, Stillwell Island (143.8 degrees E) and an unnamed islet near Garnet Point (143.7666 degrees E). En route to the Mertz Glacier, a planned landing at Cape Hunter (66.95 degrees S, 142.3333 degrees E) to investigate the breeding population of seabirds including a large colony of Antarctic petrels Thalassoica antarctica (Falla 1937), had to be abandoned due to the onset of high winds. Adelie Penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae Locations of Adelie penguin colonies and counts and estimates of the numbers of chicks in each colony are given in a spreadsheet available at the url below. The total numbers of Adelie penguin chicks on the coast between Cape Denison and Buchanan Bay was 55,242. At Cape Denison, on the Mackellar Islets and on Stillwell Island, direct counts of chicks were made. Counts were replicated until a 5% accuracy was achieved. To aid the counting, the distribution of guano

The factors that control the number of animals in a population are often difficult to understand. However, this basic understanding is central to managing those populations and assessing how they might respond to human induced pressures. For animals living in the Antarctic, like penguins, the marine environment that they depend on for food can vary due to natural events such as El Nino, and potentially due to human induced changes such as global warming. This study uses modern computer technology to track Royal penguins at sea and to monitor their time on land. By relating where the birds go to feed, what they feed on, and how successfully they catch their food to the survival rates of their chicks, this study will describe how fluctuations in a major Antarctic oceanographic feature (the Antarctic Polar Front) can influence the size of the Royal penguin population at Macquarie Island. Information on breeding success, diet and foraging success were collected each year between 1997-2001. Diving behaviour and at-sea movements were also quantified between 1997 and 1999. These data will also be available in the ARGOS satellite tracking database. Attached to this metadata record are ARGOS tracking data collected by Cindy Hull between 1994 and 2000. The tracking data have been collected from 19 different royal penguins. The download file contains a csv file with tracking data.

Fourteen colonies with breeding Adelie colonies were mapped this season in the Rookery Island group between the 29th November and 14th of December 2015. Subcolonies were mapped by circumnavigating the perimeter on foot while carrying a Garmin GPS (Etrex30) to record the track. When mapping the perimeter of the subcolonies, generally an average buffer distance of 2.5 meters was maintained between the mapper and breeding birds. However on Gibbney and Rookery Island one of the mappers was mapping at a distance between 3 and 5m. Buffer distances were reduced accordingly for the varying tracks to produce a combined average buffer distance of 2m in the final layer. Given this the boundary mapping for these two islands may vary in accuracy. Note on Gibbney and Giganteus there were at least two subcolonies on both islands that were mapped but the density of breeding birds in these mapped sections was much less than that in the surrounding colonies. Subcolonies were tagged with L at the end of their name in the track files. This will not be shown in the final layer and if information on this is needed then the subcolonies can be identified from the original track data or created shapefiles for the individual subcolonies on the island. Please refer to the Seabird Conservation Team Data Sharing Policy for use, acknowledgement and availability of data prior to downloading data.

Two colonies with breeding Adelie colonies were mapped this season in the Rookery Island group in conjunction with colony counts. Subcolonies were mapped by circumnavigating the perimeter of sub-colonies on foot while carrying a Garmin GPS (Legend Cx) to log the track taken. The person walking the perimeter of the sub-colonies maintained a buffer distance of approximately 2.5m between themselves and the breeding birds along the sub-colony boundary. This buffer distance was reduced to approximately 2m in the final shapefiles. Please refer to the Seabird Conservation Team Data Sharing Policy for use, acknowledgement and availability of data prior to downloading data.