Long-term ecology studies in Patagonian seabirds: a review with the Imperial Cormorant as a case study. Chapter 10

FLAVIO QUINTANA; RORY P. WILSON; PRANDONI NICOLAS; SVAGELJ WALTER; GOMEZ LAICH, AGUSTINA

Global change in Atlantic coastal Patagonian ecosystems: A journey through time

Springer Nature

Año: 2022; p. 10 - 27

Natural and human-induced environmental changes are worldwide and recurrent threats to seabirds. It is clear that global change and climate variability influence seabird reproduction, distribution, phenology and survival in many regions of the globe, both on large and local-scales. Indeed, seabirds are widely recognized as reliable indicators of marine environmental changes associated with climatic as well as other anthropogenic and natural factors. Long-term monitoring of seabirds, both at the breeding sites and at-sea, is key to understanding population drivers over time. In the present work, we review the long-term ecological studies of seabirds along coastal Patagonia Argentina (Part I) and we offer unprecedented results from a long-term dataset (i.e. 16-year period) on demographic, breeding and at-sea ecological variables for the Imperial Cormorant (Part II), as an example of the type of long-term ecological research needed on the Patagonian coast to understand the potential effects of global change on Patagonian seabirds.