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Annual breeding successPlease note: this page is due for review. The information here, while accurate at the time, is now not current. For the latest information, please check our home page, try a search, or contact us.
The annual breeding success of the penguins is determined by a series of population counts throughout the breeding season. The breeding success of the penguins varies from year to year, and over 14 years has ranged from total failure (all chicks starved in 1994/95) to 1.1 chicks per nest (1993/94 season). Fluctuations in prey availability in the penguin foraging grounds are responsible for this variation in penguin breeding success. As there is currently no fishing in the region, these prey fluctuations are attributed to environmental factors. The penguin monitoring program allows us to determine the extent of natural variability within this realm of the Antarctic ecosystem. We are currently investigating the environmental factors which influence the prey availability off Béchervaise Island. So far, we have found that seasons with extensive sea-ice cover are also seasons of low penguin breeding success (Irvine et al. 2000, Clarke et al. 2002), but we don't know why. We are now investigating the links between sea-ice cover, oceanography, prey availability and penguin breeding success to find out the answers.  | | Adélie penguin population in relation to sea ice extent (updated from Clarke et al. 2002) |
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