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Polar Bioscience 20 (in press)
Rapid increase of Adelie penguin populations in the Lutzow-Holm Bay area since mid 1990s
Kato, A, Ropert-Coudert, Y.
The Adelie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae, an important component of the Antarctic marine ecosystem, is closely associated with sea ice. Ten breeding populations of this species along the Soya Coast in Lutzow-Holm Bay, monitored since the 1960s by the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition, have been shown to be increasing. In most colonies, small peaks of population increase were observed in late 1980s and populations started to increase rapidly since mid 1990s. Frequent sea-ice breakups occurring in the Lutzow-Holm Bay in mid 1980s and since late 1990s would induce the population increase of penguins through high subadult survival and preferred prey availability. Population monitoring needs to be continued carefully in relation to the environmental changes.
PG07-01
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