Adaptive Management of Sustainable Tourism in Antarctica: A Rhetoric or Working Progress?

Sea ice concentration decline in an important Adélie penguin molt area

Unlike in many polar regions, the spatial extent and duration of the sea ice season have increased in the Ross Sea sector of the Southern Ocean during the satellite era. Simultaneously, populations of Adélie penguins, a sea ice obligate, have been stable or increasing in the region. Relationships between Adélie penguin population growth and sea ice concentration (SIC) are complex, with sea ice driving different, sometimes contrasting, demographic patterns. Adélie penguins undergo a complete molt annually, replacing all their feathers while fasting shortly after the breeding season. Unlike most penguin species, a majority of Adélies are thought to molt on sea ice, away from the breeding colonies, which makes this period particularly difficult to study. Here, we evaluate the hypothesis that persistent areas of high SIC provide an important molting habitat for Adélie penguins. We analyzed data from geolocating dive recorders deployed year-round on 195 adult penguins at two colonies in the Ross Sea from 2017 to 2019. We identified molt by detecting extended gaps in postbreeding diving activity and used associated locations to define two key molting areas. Remotely sensed data indicated that SIC during molt was anomalously low during the study and has declined in the primary molt area since 1980. Further, annual return rates of penguins to breeding colonies were positively correlated with SIC in the molt areas over 20 y. Together these results suggest that sea ice conditions during Adélie penguin molt may represent a previously underappreciated annual bottleneck for adult survival.

A review of leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) births and pups using a standardised age-class classification system

Despite the ecological importance of leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) as apex marine predators, little is known about their reproductive biology. To address this paucity, we reviewed leopard seal birth and pup records and applied a standardised age-class classification system to differentiate between births/newborns (offspring ≤ 14 days old) and pups (> 14 days but <  6 months old). We compiled 19 birth/newborn and 141 pup records and examined their occurrence by month, region, substrate, birth-specific attributes (i.e. birth observations, fresh umbilicus or placental), standard length, weight, presence of mother, presence of lanugo, sex, status (e.g. born alive) and fate. These records indicate that leopard seal births occur between September and December, with peak records from September to November, whilst pup records peaked between August and December. The regions with the most birth/newborn records were the sub-Antarctic Islands (31.6%) and Chile (31.6%), followed by Antarctica (15.8%), New Zealand (15.8%) and the Falkland Islands (5.3%). Pups were recorded predominantly in the sub-Antarctic Islands (54.6%), followed by the Antarctic (42.6%), Chile (2.1%) and Australia (0.7%). Whilst leopard seal birth records were predominantly on ice, they were also found on terra firma. The northernmost published leopard seal birth records occurred in New Zealand whilst the northernmost published leopard seal pup records occurred in Australia. This study contradicts the long-standing hypothesis that leopard seals only give birth on Antarctic pack ice, and instead, here we indicate that 84.2% and 57.4% of collated leopard seal birth and pup records, respectively, occur outside of Antarctica. Our records illustrate the importance of northern regions as part of the leopard seal’s range. We emphasise the need to conduct research focused on the reproductive biology of this keystone species throughout its range and that future management of leopard seal populations should also consider their northern range.

What are the real environmental impacts of Antarctic tourism? Unveiling their importance through a comprehensive meta-analysis

Human activities in Antarctica were increasing before the COVID-19 pandemic, and tourism was not an exception. The growth and diversification of Antarctic tourism over the last few decades have been extensively studied. However, environmental impacts associated with this activity have received less attention despite an increasing body of scholarship examining environmental issues related to Antarctic tourism. Aside from raising important research questions, the potential negative effects of tourist visits in Antarctica are also an issue discussed by Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties. This study presents the results of a meta-analysis of scholarly publications that synthesizes and updates our current knowledge of environmental impacts resulting from Antarctic tourism. A first publication database containing 233 records that focussed on this topic was compiled and subjected to a general bibliometric and content analysis. Further, an in-depth content analysis was performed on a subset of 75 records, which were focussed on showing specific research on Antarctic tourism impacts. The main topic, methods, management proposals, and research gaps highlighted by the respective authors of these 75 publications were assessed. The range of research topics addressed, the methods used - including the application of established research designs from the field of environmental impact assessment -, and the conclusions reached by the study authors are discussed. Interestingly, almost one third of the studies did not detect a direct relationship between tourism and significant negative effects on the environment. Cumulative impacts of tourism have received little attention, and long-term and comprehensive monitoring programs have been discussed only rarely, leading us to assume that such long-term programs are scarce. More importantly, connections between research and policy or management do not always exist. This analysis highlights the need for a comprehensive strategy to investigate and monitor the environmental impacts of tourism in Antarctica. A first specific research and monitoring programme to stimulate a debate among members of the Antarctic scientific and policy communities is proposed, with the ultimate goal of advancing the regulation and management of Antarctic tourism collaboratively.

Drone Technology for Monitoring Protected Areas in Remote and Fragile Environments

Protected Areas are established to protect significant ecosystems and historical artefacts. However, many are subject to little structured monitoring to assess whether the attributes for which they have been protected are being maintained or degraded. Monitoring sensitive areas using ground surveys risks causing damage to the values for which they are being protected, are usually based on limited sampling, and often convey insufficient detail for understanding ecosystem change. Therefore, there is a need to undertake quick and accurate vegetation surveys that are low impact, cost effective and repeatable with high precision. Here we use drone technology to map protected areas in Antarctica to ultra-high resolution and provide baseline data for future monitoring. Our methods can measure micro-scale changes, are less expensive than ground-based sampling and can be applied to any protected area where fine scale monitoring is desirable. Drone-based surveys should therefore become standard practice for protected areas in remote fragile environments.