DSpace Collection:

Microplastics in gastrointestinal tracts of gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) chicks on King George Island, Antarctica

2023-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Microplastics in gastrointestinal tracts of gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) chicks on King George Island, Antarctica Authors: Kim, Youmin; Kim Hankyu; Jeong Min-Su; Kim Dowoon; Kim Juyang; Jung Jaehak; Seo Hae-Min; Han Hyun-Jin; Lee Woo-Shin; Choi Chang-Yong Abstract: Microplastics (< 5 mm) have been found in marine ecosystems worldwide, even in Antarctic ecosystems. In this study, the stomach and upper intestines of 14 dead gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) chicks were collected and screened for microplastics on King George Island, a gateway to Antarctic research and tourism. A total of 378 microplastics were identified by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, with 27.0 & PLUSMN; 25.3 microplastics per individual. The detected number of microplastics did not increase with the mass of penguin chicks, suggesting no permanent accumulation of microplastics. However, the concentration of microplastics was much higher (9.1 & PLUSMN; 10.8 microplastics per individual within the size range 100-5000 & mu;m) than the previously reported concentration in the penguin feces, and a greater number of smaller microplastics were found. Marine debris surveys near the breeding colony found various plastic (79.3%) to be the most frequent type of beached debris, suggesting that local sources of marine plastic waste could have contributed to microplastic contamination of penguin chicks being fed by parents that forage in nearby seas. This finding confirms the presence of microplastics in an Antarctic ecosystem and suggests the need for stronger waste management in Antarctica and a standardized scheme of microplastic monitoring in this once-pristine ecosystem.

Dietary niche partitioning in brown skuas (Stercorarius lonnbergi) during the chick-rearing period at Nar？bski Point on King George Island, Antarctica

2022-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Dietary niche partitioning in brown skuas (Stercorarius lonnbergi) during the chick-rearing period at Nar？bski Point on King George Island, Antarctica Authors: Kim, Youmin; Jung, Jin-Woo; Kim, Jong-U; Oh, Yeon-Soo; Chung, Hosung; Kim, Jeong-Hoon Abstract: Brown Skuas (Stercorarius lonnbergi) are known to feed on other birds or eggs during the breeding season. In some cases, however, a few pairs monopolize a penguin colony, and the other skuas mainly forage in the sea. We installed automatic camera traps to monitor two groups of breeding Brown Skua pairs on King George Island: the nests of Group A were located near a Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua) colony, while those of Group B were relatively far away. From the resulting photographs, we were able to distinguish the food items that parents brought to the nest and could confirm the egg hatching date. Overall, 97.1% of the food items that group A brought to the nest were from the penguin colonies, while 94.1% of the prey items of group B were fish. Group A had a hatching date at least 8 days earlier than Group B. Our results show that a few Brown Skua pairs that bred near the penguin colony fed primarily on penguin nest contents such as eggs or chicks within their feeding territory and had earlier hatching dates. The Brown Skuas that nested close to penguin nests may have had advantages in foraging and breeding performance.

Mare incognita: Adelie penguins foraging in newly exposed habitat after calving of the Nansen Ice Shelf

2021-10-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Mare incognita: Adelie penguins foraging in newly exposed habitat after calving of the Nansen Ice Shelf Authors: Park, Seongseop; Thiebot, Jean-Baptiste; Kim, Jeong-Hoon; Kim, Kil Won; Chung, Hosung; Lee, Won Young Abstract: Rapid environmental changes can dramatically and durably affect the animal's foraging behavior. In the Ross Sea (Antarctica), calving of the Nansen Ice Shelf in 2016 opened a newly accessible marine area of 214 km2. In this study, we examined the foraging behavior of Adelie penguins from the nearby Inexpressible Island in December 2018, by tracking 27 penguins during their at-sea trips using GPS, depth and video loggers. The penguins mainly foraged within 88.2 ± 42.9 km of their colony, for 23.4 ± 6.8 h. Five penguins headed south to the newly exposed habitat along the Nansen Ice Shelf, whereas 22 penguins exploited previously available foraging areas. There was no significant difference in any of the foraging trip or diving parameters between the two penguin groups; however, in the calved region the penguins were diving into shallow areas more often than did the other penguins. These results show that Adelie penguins on Inexpressible Island had explored the newly exposed area after calving. We conclude that the penguins respond to newly available habitat following stochastic environmental events, either through information sharing at the colony, and/or by balancing prey availability per capita across the foraging sites. Considering that this penguin breeding area is under investigation for the establishment of an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA), the results of this study may provide insights for evaluating the ecological importance of this area and formulating an ASPA management plan for conservation.

Antarctic Specially Protected Area monitroing and research station environmental managnement (7)

2021-05-30T00:00:00Z

Title: Antarctic Specially Protected Area monitroing and research station environmental managnement (7) Authors: Chung, Hosung