CONSERVATION OF MIGRATORY MAGELLANIC PENGUINS REQUIRES MARINE ZONING

STOKES, DAVID; BOERSMA, DEE; LOPEZ DE CASENAVE, JAVIER; GARCIA BORBOROGLU, P.

BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2014 vol. 170 p. 151 - 161

0006-3207

Effective conservation of migratory species requires thorough understanding of their migration path and pattern. We used band returns and satellite tracking to characterize the seasonal migration of the Magellanic penguin, a Near-Threatened species breeding in southern Argentina. Band returns show this species migrates annually to the coastal waters of northern Argentina, Uruguay, and southern Brazil, an average one-way distance of approximately 2000 km. Satellite data indicate that the penguins follow a migration corridor within 250 km of shore. Timing of movement broadly corresponds to seasonal shifts in spawning activity of anchovy, a primary prey species. Mean migration distance varied among years, perhaps reflecting changes in prey availability. Juveniles migrated farther on average than older birds, although migration distance of different age classes overlapped substantially. Annual juvenile mortality rate during migration was inversely correlated with cohort recruitment. A minimum of 13% of the migrationperiod mortality we recorded was caused by human activities: fisheries bycatch and oil pollution. Because of the penguin?s mode of travel?swimming at or near the surface?the large extent of its migration, and the intensity of human use of the area, protection through conventional coastal marine reserves is unlikely. Marine zoning is an alternative approach that could provide the spatial scale and flexibility necessary to accommodate both penguin migratory behavior and appropriate human activities. As the waters traversed by Magellanic penguins are among the most threatened in Latin America, zoning for protection of this wide-ranging and charismatic species can also serve to conserve regional biodiversity.