Skip to main content
WCS
Menu
Library
Library Catalog
eJournals & eBooks
WCS Research
Archives
Research Use
Finding Aids
Digital Collections
WCS History
WCS Research
Research Publications
Science Data
Services for WCS Researchers
Archives Shop
Bronx Zoo
Department of Tropical Research
Browse By Product
About Us
FAQs
Intern or Volunteer
Staff
Donate
Search WCS.org
Search
search
Popular Search Terms
WCS History
Library and Archives
Library and Archives Menu
Library
Archives
WCS Research
Archives Shop
About Us
Donate
en
fr
Title
Variability in foraging range and direction among colonies in a widespread seabird, the Magellanic penguin
Author(s)
Rebstock, Ginger A.; García Borboroglu, Pablo; Boersma, P. Dee
Published
2022
Publisher
Frontiers in Marine Science
Published Version DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.815706
Abstract
Most seabirds forage far from land, making them hard to observe when foraging. Satellite tracking of seabirds shows where they come into conflict with human uses of the ocean, and whether they use protected areas. Because tracking data are expensive, data from one colony and/or year are sometimes used to design marine protection for a species across its range. Two assumptions commonly made are that foraging distance increases with colony size and individuals are uniformly distributed around colonies. We tested these assumptions using Magellanic penguins Spheniscus magellanicus as an example. We used a large tracking dataset of 338 penguins foraging for chicks at 10 colonies in Argentina from 1996 to 2019. Foraging distance increased with population size among colonies, but predicted distances would not cover foraging areas for all colonies. There was no relationship between population size and foraging distance within colony among years for colonies with ten and 23 years of data. Penguins were not uniformly distributed around colonies. Penguins used ~24% (12-40%) of the ocean available within the colony’s maximum foraging distance. We also show that overlap between penguin foraging areas and marine protected areas (MPA) and hydrocarbon concessions varied among colonies partly because of variation in how far offshore penguins forage. Overlap with MPAs was low (0% – 20%) for seven of the ten colonies and high (23% – 100%) for the other three. Overlap with a large area permitted for hydrocarbon exploration (seismic surveys) was relatively high (23% – 81%) for seven colonies where penguins forage offshore. Data from one colony are unlikely to indicate the most effective marine spatial planning for all colonies. Our data show that to be effective, marine planning should consider the temporal and spatial dynamics of ocean conditions and the response of marine wildlife to these changes. Climate variability is predicted to increase, making knowledge of foraging-location variation among colonies and years critical to conservation planning.
Keywords
Spheniscus magellanicus; marine protected area; MPA; hydrocarbon exploitation; colony size; at-sea distribution; foraging radius; seismic survey
Access Full Text
A full-text copy of this article may be available. Please email the
WCS Library
to request.
Back
PUB35597