INVESTIGADORES
PALACIOS Maria Gabriela
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
¿Does ecotourism have an impact on reproductive success and growth of Magellanic penguins?
Autor/es:
CUMPLIDO, M.; BONNAT, A.; D´AMICO, V.L.; BERTELLOTTI, M.; PALACIOS, M. G.
Lugar:
Puerto Iguazú
Reunión:
Congreso; Ornithological Congress of the Americas; 2017
Institución organizadora:
Association of Field Ornithologists, Sociedade Brasileira de Ornitologia y Aves Argentinas
Resumen:
Patagonia is a famous and popular ecotouristicdestination worldwide and a main attraction is the Magellanic penguin Spheniscus magellanicus. The number oftourist visits has been increasing rapidly over the last decades. Recently wehave documented physiological alterations in penguins exposed to tourism in theNatural Protected Area Punta Tombo (Chubut), main reproductive colony of thespecies. The aim of this study was to determine if touristic activity also hasan impact on fitness indicators such as reproductive success or chick growth. Todo this, during the breeding season 2016-2017 we selected nests at twodifferent sites (one visited by tourists and the other control, not visited) inPunta Tombo. To determine reproductive success, we selected 60 nests per siteand recorded the number of eggs laid, eggs hatched, and chicks alive until thefifth week of age, not finding significant differences between sites. Todetermine growth, we selected 20 nests per site and at two developmental stages(week one and four) we weighed chicks and measured their bill length andheight, wing length and leg length. Only bill height showed significantdifferences between sites, being slightly bigger in the visited site, while theother variables only showed differences between ages. This study, together withthe evaluation of immunological parameters and stress indicators, willcontribute to the adaptation of tourist practices for minimizing the impact onthe species.