Symposio: Conservation status of the world's penguins

GARCÍA BORBOROGLU, PABLO; BOERSMA, DEE; TRATHAN, PHIL; PUTZ, KLEMENS; WIENECKE, BARBARA; LE MAHO, YVON; KOOYMAN, GERRY; MATTERN, THOMAS; CRAWFORD, ROBERT; UNDERHILL, LES; KEMPER, JESSICA; DANN, PETER; ELLENBER, URSULA; SEDDON, PHIL; VAN HEEZIK, YOLANDA; STEINFURTH, ANTJE; VARGAS, H; JIMENEZ, GABRIEL; NARANJO, SIXTO; BOST, CHARLES; DELORD, K.; LYNCH, HEATHER; DAVID, LLOYD; CERDENA, MARCOS; MAJLUF, PATRICIA; CUTHBERT, RICHARD; TRIVELPIECE, WAYNE

Boston, Massachusets, Estados Unidos

Congreso; VIII International Penguin Conference; 2010

New England Aquarium

Marine and coastal ecosystems are undergoing unprecedented alterations in their processes and structure. Penguins are sensitive species impacted by these phenomena. As top predators, they are key constituents of marine ecosystems, and are indicators of the oceanic and coastal ecosystem health. We integrated the most updated information on distribution, abundance and trends for all penguin species. IUCN has listed 60% of the 18 penguin species as vulnerable or endangered. Some species are at their lowest recorded populations: Galapagos, Yellow-eyed, and Fiordland, with their restricted ranges, have less than 3,000 pairs; Humboldt, Snares and African, have less than 30,000 pairs. Even abundant species like the Macaroni, and the two Rockhopper species are in steep decline. Around 80% of the threatened species occur on islands, increasing their vulnerability to threats such as introduced predators. Threatened penguins are mainly concentrated in New Zealand, East-Pacific Coast (Galapagos and Peru-Chile), and South-Africa. The status of penguin species is not improving. Anthropogenic sources of mortality are likely to increase and are drivers of penguin decline. Oceanic threats include climate change, marine pollution, and fisheries mismanagement. Prey availability potentially linked to climate variation is one of the most commonly suggested causes of population decline. Human activities, including irresponsible tourism, coastal development, and introduced predators, have a major impact on penguin populations. Larger scale ecosystem-based conservation planning and more focused local efforts are needed for the successful conservation of many penguin species.