Recent changes in Antarctic seabird populations may reflect direct and indirect responses to regional climate change. The best long-term data for high-latitude Antarctic seabirds (Adélie and Emperor penguins and snow petrels) indicate that winter sea-ice has a profound influence. However, some effects are inconsistent between species and areas, some in opposite directions at different stages of breeding and life cycles, and others remain paradoxical. The combination of recent harvest driven changes and those caused by global warming may produce rapid shifts rather than gradual changes.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1071987 | DOI Listing |
An Acad Bras Cienc
January 2025
Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, Departmento de Solos, Av. Peter Henry Rolfs, s/nº, Campus Universitário Viçosa, 36570-900 Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
The Byers Peninsula, the largest ice-free area in Maritime Antarctica, is vital for studying landscape-scale natural processes due to its diverse periglacial landforms. This study aim to characterize the soils and environments of its southern sector, focusing on soil-landform-lithology interactions. Thirty-seven soil profiles were classified, collected, and chemically and physically analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Total Environ
January 2025
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia; CSIRO Environment, Hobart, Australia.
Ingestion of plastic can have negative health consequences for wildlife. However, our understanding of the physiological impacts of plastics is limited, often relying on opportunistic sampling. We partnered with Tasmanian Aboriginal seabird harvesters, wildlife rescue clinics, and parks managers, to collect >400 fledgling yula/short-tailed and flesh-footed shearwaters across a spectrum of body conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Total Environ
January 2025
Centro de Investigación para la Sustentabilidad (CIS-UNAB) & Department of Ecology and Biodiversity, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago 8370251, Chile; Centro de Resiliencia, Adaptación y Mitigación (CReAM), Universidad Mayor, Av. Alemania 281, Temuco, Chile.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exhibit widespread global distribution, extending to remote regions including Antarctica. Despite potential adverse effects on seabirds, PFAS exposure among Antarctic penguins remains poorly studied. We investigated the occurrence of 29 PFAS compounds in feathers and excreta of Gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) from Fildes Bay, Antarctica.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEcol Lett
December 2024
Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA.
Climate change can influence populations of monogamous species by affecting pair-bond dynamics. This study examined the impact of climate on widowhood and divorce, and the subsequent effects on individual vital rates and life-history outcomes over 54 years in a snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) population. We found that environmental conditions can affect pair-bond dynamics both directly and indirectly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPolar Biol
December 2024
Department of Geography, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE UK.
Knowledge of the spatial distribution of many polar seabird species is incomplete due to the remoteness of their breeding locations. Here, we compiled a new database of published and unpublished records of all known snow petrel breeding sites. We quantified local environmental conditions at sites by appending indices of climate and substrate, and regional-scale conditions by appending 30 year mean (1992-2021) sea-ice conditions within accessible foraging areas.
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