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Winterl A, Richter S, Houstin A, Barracho T, Boureau M, Cornec C, Couet D, Cristofari R, Eiselt C, Fabry B, Krellenstein A, Mark C, Mainka A, Ménard D, Morinay J, Pottier S, Schloesing E, Le Bohec C, Zitterbart DP. Remote sensing of emperor penguin abundance and breeding success. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4419. [PMID: 38811565 PMCID: PMC11137044 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48239-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) are under increasing environmental pressure. Monitoring colony size and population trends of this Antarctic seabird relies primarily on satellite imagery recorded near the end of the breeding season, when light conditions levels are sufficient to capture images, but colony occupancy is highly variable. To correct population estimates for this variability, we develop a phenological model that can predict the number of breeding pairs and fledging chicks, as well as key phenological events such as arrival, hatching and foraging times, from as few as six data points from a single season. The ability to extrapolate occupancy from sparse data makes the model particularly useful for monitoring remotely sensed animal colonies where ground-based population estimates are rare or unavailable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Winterl
- Department of Physics, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.
| | - Sebastian Richter
- Department of Physics, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Aymeric Houstin
- Department of Physics, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
- Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, USA
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Téo Barracho
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
- CEFE, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
- University of Moncton, Canada Research Chair in Polar and Boreal Ecology and Centre d'Études Nordiques, Department of Biology, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
| | - Matthieu Boureau
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Clément Cornec
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
- ENES Bioacoustics Research Laboratory, CRNL, CNRS, Inserm, University of Saint-Etienne, Saint-Etienne, France
| | - Douglas Couet
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Robin Cristofari
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
- Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Claire Eiselt
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Ben Fabry
- Department of Physics, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | | | - Christoph Mark
- Department of Physics, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Astrid Mainka
- Department of Physics, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Delphine Ménard
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Jennifer Morinay
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Susie Pottier
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Elodie Schloesing
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Céline Le Bohec
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
- CEFE, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France.
- Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Département de Biologie Polaire, Monaco, Principality of Monaco.
| | - Daniel P Zitterbart
- Department of Physics, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.
- Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, USA.
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Houstin A, Zitterbart DP, Heerah K, Eisen O, Planas-Bielsa V, Fabry B, Le Bohec C. Juvenile emperor penguin range calls for extended conservation measures in the Southern Ocean. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:211708. [PMID: 36061529 PMCID: PMC9428539 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
To protect the unique and rich biodiversity of the Southern Ocean, conservation measures such as marine protected areas (MPAs) have been implemented. Currently, the establishment of several additional protection zones is being considered based on the known habitat distributions of key species of the ecosystems including emperor penguins and other marine top predators. However, the distribution of such species at sea is often insufficiently sampled. Specifically, current distribution models focus on the habitat range of adult animals and neglect that immatures and juveniles can inhabit different areas. By tracking eight juvenile emperor penguins in the Weddell Sea over 1 year and performing a meta-analysis including previously known data from other colonies, we show that conservation efforts in the Southern Ocean are insufficient for protecting this highly mobile species, and particularly its juveniles. We find that juveniles spend approximately 90% of their time outside the boundaries of proposed and existing MPAs, and that their distribution extends beyond (greater than 1500 km) the species' extent of occurrence as defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Our data exemplify that strategic conservation plans for the emperor penguin and other long-lived ecologically important species should consider the dynamic habitat range of all age classes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aymeric Houstin
- Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Département de Biologie Polaire, Monaco 98000, Principality of Monaco
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, Strasbourg F-67000, France
| | - Daniel P. Zitterbart
- Department of Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen 91054, Germany
- Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
| | - Karine Heerah
- Zoophysiology, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C 8000, Denmark
| | - Olaf Eisen
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven 27570, Germany
- Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Universität Bremen, Bremen 28359, Germany
| | - Víctor Planas-Bielsa
- Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Département de Biologie Polaire, Monaco 98000, Principality of Monaco
| | - Ben Fabry
- Department of Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen 91054, Germany
| | - Céline Le Bohec
- Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Département de Biologie Polaire, Monaco 98000, Principality of Monaco
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, Strasbourg F-67000, France
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