Decrease in a population of Adelia penguins at King George Island, Antarctica.

SANTOS M.; CARLINI A.R.; CORIA N.R.; NEGRETE J.

Ushuaia, Argentina

Conferencia; V International Penguin Conference; 2004

  Penguins are the most widely distributed of the Antarctic Penguins, showing a circumpolar distribution and the southernmost breeding range of any birds. They are potentially good indicators of krill stocks, since they fit the main criteria for choosing a species to monitor: they are widely distributed, they are at their breeding sites, and they are specialist predators on krill. As the pressure upon marine resources accelerates, particularly with technological developments, the conservation and management of the Southern Ocean ecosystem has become more critical than ever before. It has been accepted that certain aspects of the biology of Antarctic sea birds, if recorded accurately and with adequate sample sizes, act as an index of changes in the local marine environment. This work presents annual counts of breeding pairs and chicks at fledging carried out at Stranger Point, King George Island, and discusses the possible reasons for the fluctuations observed.