The Distribution of Seabird Biomass in the Australian Antarctic Territory: Implications for Conservation

1990 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric J. Woehler
Keyword(s):  
Prey Species ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Prydz Bay ◽  
High Biomass ◽  
Nesting Habitat ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Emperor Penguins ◽  
Vestfold Hills ◽  
Free Area ◽  
Adélie Penguins

The minimum total breeding seabird biomass in the Australian Antarctic Territory was estimated to be 9,971.1 t, dominated by Emperor Penguins, 3,863 t (38.7%) and Adélie Penguins, 5,825 t (58.4%). The 5° sector between 75°E and 80°E, in south-east Prydz Bay, held 35% of the total AAT seabird biomass. Prydz Bay has been shown to be an area of high productivity, and the concentration of seabird biomass in this area reflects the high biomass of prey species and the availability of nesting habitat in the Vestfold Hills, a large ice-free area adjacent to Prydz Bay. Activities associated With research stations are believed to be the only factors that have impacted on breeding seabird populations to date, but minerals activities, tourism and support facilities, and a Krill fishery, are future conservation issues that will have an impact on this major concentration of seabird biomass in East Antarctica.

Penguin occupation in the Vestfold Hills

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Huang ◽  
Liguang Sun ◽  
Yuhong Wang ◽  
Renbin Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Core ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Before Present ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
History Of ◽  
Vestfold Hills ◽  
Free Area ◽  
Ornithogenic Sediment

AbstractDuring CHINARE-22 (December 2005–March 2006), we investigated six penguin colonies in the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica, and collected several penguin ornithogenic sediment cores, samples of fresh guano and modern penguin bone and feather. We selected seven penguin bones and feathers and six sediments from the longest sediment core and performed AMS14C dating. The results indicate that penguins occupied the Vestfold Hills as early as 8500 calibrated years before present (cal. yrbp), following local deglaciation and the formation of the ice free area. This is the first report on the Holocene history of penguins in the Vestfold Hills. As in other areas of Antarctica, penguins occupied this area as soon as local ice retreated and the ice free area formed, and they are very sensitive to climatic and environmental changes. This work provides the foundation for understanding the history of penguins occupation in Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica.

Thermal history of the Vestfold Hills (East Antarctica) between Lambert rifting and Gondwana break-up, evidence from apatite fission track data

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Lisker ◽  
Christopher J.L. Wilson ◽  
Helen J. Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Fission Track ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Prydz Bay ◽  
Apatite Fission Track ◽  
Subsequent Evolution ◽  
History Of ◽  
Thermal Histories ◽  
Break Up ◽  
Vestfold Hills

Analysis of five basement samples from the Vestfold Hills (East Antarctica) reveals pooled apatite fission track (FT) ages ranging from 188 to 264 Ma and mean lengths of 13.7 to 14.9 μm. Quantitative thermal histories derived from these data give consistent results indicating onset of cooling/denudation began sometime prior to 240 Ma, with final cooling below 105°–125°C occurring between 240 and 220 Ma (Triassic). A Cretaceous denudation phase can be inferred from the sedimentary record of the Prydz Bay offshore the Vestfold Hills. The two denudational episodes are likely associated with Palaeozoic large-scale rifting processes that led to the formation of the adjacent Lambert Graben, and to the Cretaceous Gondwana break-up between Antarctica and India. Subsequent evolution of the East Antarctic passive continental margin likely occurred throughout the Cenozoic based on the depositional record in Prydz Bay and constraints (though tentative) from FT data.

Geochemical and paleomagnetic characteristics of Vestfold Hills mafic dykes in Prydz Bay region: implications on the Paleoproterozoic connection between East Antarctica and proto-India

2021 ◽  
pp. SP518-2021-33
Author(s):  
Manoj K. Pandit ◽  
Anthony Pivarunas ◽  
Joseph G. Meert
Keyword(s):  
Granite Gneiss ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Prydz Bay ◽  
Crustal Component ◽  
Mafic Dykes ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Block Based ◽  
Vestfold Hills ◽  
Dyke Swarms ◽  
High Degree

AbstractThe Archean age granite gneiss basement along the Prydz Bay coastline in East Antarctica hosts N-S, E-W, NE-SW, and NW-SE trending mafic dyke swarms in the Vestfold Hills region that intruded between 2420 and 1250 Ma. The dyke trends do not show a direct correlation with the dyke geochemistry but can be broadly discriminated into high-Mg and Fe-rich tholeiites. The former type being more siliceous, LILE, HFSE, and LREE enriched, crystallized from a fractionated melt with a notable crustal component or fluid enrichment through the previous subduction process. The Fe-rich tholeiites are less siliceous, have lower abundances of LILE and REE, and were derived from an undifferentiated, primitive melt. The geochemical characteristics of both types underline a shallow level and a high degree of melting in the majority of cases, and a broadly Island Arc Basalt (IAB) affinity. Paleomagnetic analysis of hand samples shows directional groups consistent with geochemical groupings. The Vestfold Hills dykes show a possible linkage with the coeval mafic dykes in Eastern Dharwar and Bastar cratons of the South Indian Block, based on the similarity in the Paleoproterozoic paleolatitudes.

Monazite petrochronology of polymetamorphic granulite‐facies rocks of the Larsemann Hills, Prydz Bay, East Antarctica

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven K. Spreitzer ◽  
Jesse B. Walters ◽  
Alicia Cruz‐Uribe ◽  
Michael L. Williams ◽  
Martin G. Yates ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Granulite Facies ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Prydz Bay ◽  
Larsemann Hills

Spatial distribution and source apportionment of PAHs in marine surface sediments of Prydz Bay, East Antarctica

2016 ◽  
Vol 219 ◽  
pp. 528-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Xue ◽  
Ling Chen ◽  
Zhibo Lu ◽  
Juan Wang ◽  
Haizhen Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Source Apportionment ◽  
Surface Sediments ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Prydz Bay ◽  
Marine Surface

On the Tidal Currents Observed by Moorings in Prydz Bay, East Antarctica

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengyan Liu ◽  
Zhaomin Wang ◽  
Robin Robertson ◽  
Chen Cheng ◽  
Xi Liang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tidal Currents ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Prydz Bay

scholarly journals The influence of subcolony-scale nesting habitat on the reproductive success of Adélie penguins

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Annie E. Schmidt ◽  
Grant Ballard ◽  
Amélie Lescroël ◽  
Katie M. Dugger ◽  
Dennis Jongsomjit ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Colony Size ◽  
Nest Predation ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Area Ratio ◽  
Slope Aspect ◽  
Nesting Habitat ◽  
Terrain Attributes ◽  
Small Colony ◽  
Adélie Penguins

AbstractGroup-size variation is common in colonially breeding species, including seabirds, whose breeding colonies can vary in size by several orders of magnitude. Seabirds are some of the most threatened marine taxa and understanding the drivers of colony size variation is more important than ever. Reproductive success is an important demographic parameter that can impact colony size, and it varies in association with a number of factors, including nesting habitat quality. Within colonies, seabirds often aggregate into distinct groups or subcolonies that may vary in quality. We used data from two colonies of Adélie penguins 73 km apart on Ross Island, Antarctica, one large and one small to investigate (1) How subcolony habitat characteristics influence reproductive success and (2) How these relationships differ at a small (Cape Royds) and large (Cape Crozier) colony with different terrain characteristics. Subcolonies were characterized using terrain attributes (elevation, slope aspect, slope steepness, wind shelter, flow accumulation), as well group characteristics (area/size, perimeter-to-area ratio, and proximity to nest predators). Reproductive success was higher and less variable at the larger colony while subcolony characteristics explained more of the variance in reproductive success at the small colony. The most important variable influencing subcolony quality at both colonies was perimeter-to-area ratio, likely reflecting the importance of nest predation by south polar skuas along subcolony edges. The small colony contained a higher proportion of edge nests thus higher potential impact from skua nest predation. Stochastic environmental events may facilitate smaller colonies becoming “trapped” by nest predation: a rapid decline in the number of breeding individuals may increase the proportion of edge nests, leading to higher relative nest predation and hindering population recovery. Several terrain covariates were retained in the final models but which variables, the shapes of the relationships, and importance varied between colonies.

Emperor penguins and the First German South Polar Expedition, 1901–1903: The elusive colony in Posadowsky Bay

Polar Record ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Wienecke
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Scientific Interest ◽  
Breeding Colony ◽  
Emperor Penguins ◽  
Aptenodytes Forsteri ◽  
South Polar

Abstract Members of the First German South Polar Expedition (1901–1903) encountered emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) near their wintering station in the sea ice of Posadowsky Bay, East Antarctica. The penguins appeared to be generally less of scientific interest, but more of a useful resource. Despite the presence of chicks, the men were uncertain about the existence of a breeding colony, and did not record the position of the penguin aggregation they encountered. In later years, only a few sightings confirmed the existence of a colony, and the last ground visit took place in 1960. Based on satellite imagery, a colony appears to exist even now. This paper examines what impact the expedition may have had on this colony, and whether it still exists.

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