Symposium: Penguins as indicators: understanding the changing marine environment

BEDNAREK, ANGELA; FROST, EMILY; GARCÍA BORBOROGLU, PABLO; BOERSMA, P. DEE

Victoria

Simposio; 2nd International Marine Conservation Congress; 2011

Society for Conservation Biology

Penguins travel great distances through the ocean as they migrate and forage and are subject to a number of environmental changes. This means that the condition of their populations can serve as an indicator of the coastal and ocean ecosystems on which they depend. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, 11 of the 17 species of penguins are threatened, due mainly to oil pollution, overfishing and climate change. For example, commercial fishing has reduced the carrying capacity of the Benguela ecosystem for penguins to only 10 to 20 percent of what it was in the 1920s, and African penguins have declined by 90 percent. Receding sea ice due to climate change is affecting chick-rearing habitat for Emperor penguins. As highly charismatic species, penguins have the ability to capture the attention of the public and decision-makers, therefore serving as an impetus for conservation action to address these and other threats to penguins and the oceans. By examining the status of four penguin species facing different threats across diverse geographic areas (Antarctica, Africa, New Zealand and South America), this symposium will examine how best to conserve penguins and the ecosystems they inhabit.