Penguin Program

Below, please find a summary of the Southern Rockhopper and Macaroni penguin studies that Feather Link has been enthusiastically participating in to help conserve these birds and the areas that they need to survive.  Our important efforts continue, as populations of these penguins decline in areas throughout their range.  If you would like to help in these efforts, please read on and contact us to become a valuable investor in the future of these charismatic birds.
 
The Southern Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes c. chrysocome) and Macaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) along the coast of Chile are restricted to the southern islands with estimated populations of 75,000 -150,000 and 25,000 -75,000 individuals, respectively.[1] [2]   Both taxa have been classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN/BirdLife International Red List [3] because of declining populations of at least 30% over the last 30 years, and continued anthropogenic pressures, (e.g., fisheries activities) and changes in the marine environment.

Rockhopper Penguin

The number of Southern Rockhoppers in Chile was estimated to be 175,000 pairs with the largest colonies of 70,000 and 13,000 pairs on Isla Noir and Diego Ramirez Islands, respectively. However, there is no comprehensive program to monitor long-term population trends.[1] [2]  The colony of 70,000 pairs on Isla Noir was estimated to contain 35% of the total number along the coast of Chile.[3] 
 
Isla Terhalten: Our yacht-based census in 2005 estimated approximately 1000 Rockhopper Penguin nests within the colony on Isla Terhalten.  In 2007, our land-based observations indicate that there are approximately 3000 nests on this island.
 
Isla Noir: We surveyed Isla Noir in 2005 and determined the total area of all colonies was 31.61 hectares, producing a population estimate of 158,200 (95% CI 139716,176700) Rockhopper Penguin pairs for all colonies combined. For occupied nests in the random quadrats within the colonies, 98% of pairs were incubating eggs, with the remainder attending empty nests.

Isla Recalada:  No active nest sites or individual crested penguins were found in any of the Rockhopper or Macaroni penguin colonies on Isla Recalada during our survey in 2005.  Evidence of historic nesting colonies was present with clearly defined paths and remnants of individual nest cups within areas of tussock grasses. 
Ildefonso:  Kirkwood (2007) estimated there were 86,400 (54,000 to 135,000) Rockhopper pairs Ildefonso.
 
Diego Ramírez: Kirkwood (2007) estimated there were 132,721 (88,860 to 185,665) Rockhopper pairs at Diego Ramírez during the 2005 season.
 

Conservation

Monitoring of penguin colonies must continue to be implemented along the coast of Chile to estimate population size, status, and population trends. These efforts will allow for implementation of conservation efforts within specific areas involving important penguin populations during possible shifts in populations due to prey availability and detrimental anthropogenic activities. There is a need to immediately to establish procedures and to control collecting expeditions as suggested by Venegas (1991).
 
Our study represents the first complete inventory of Rockhopper numbers on Isla Noir through direct observation of each individual colony using standardized methodology. The population trends of the Southern Rockhopper Penguins on Isla Noir appear to mirror documented increases along the coast of Argentina.[4] Previously published estimates of 70,000 pairs of Southern Rockhopper Penguins on Isla Noir (Venegas 1984) are significantly lower than the 158,200 [139716,176700] pairs of Rockhoppers present in November of 2005 and reported here. However, site inventories by Venegas (1984) did not encompass the entire island and occurred during the later portion of the breeding season (the month of December). Inability to access all of the colonies and attrition due to nest failure could partially account for the lower counts in 1983. While the initial survey by Venegas (1984) described a significant population of Southern Rockhopper Penguins on Isla Noir, those results may have underestimated the population size and thus cannot reliably be used to demonstrate an increase in the population since 1983.
 

These data also support designation of Isla Noir as an important nesting area for Southern Rockhopper Penguins. Sustainable management of Isla Noir for nesting Rockhoppers would require additional legal protection for the island. Developing such a management scheme requires detailed information on the population and further study into the biology of the penguins, including foraging areas and population recruitment. Presently, Isla Noir is not within Chile’s park system, lacks statutory protection and is not monitored as closely as other areas containing penguin colonies.  Management of Isla Noir would offer future protection for the existing population of Rockhoppers and provide a favorable breeding site that may attract birds from regions where populations are under adverse pressures.

 
2008/2009 Season
 
In November of 2007, we began to collect feathers from colonies along the coast of Chile.  Initial deployment of geolocator archival tags also began that year.  Retrieval of tags is scheduled for November 2008.  Development of known penguin microsatellite primers for amplification via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is presently underway.  Final genetic evaluation will be completed in 2009.
 
The tracking of these penguins is the initial step of an international collaboration involving the recording of the annual movements of the Rockhopper Penguins after they leave their breeding sites on Isla Noir.  Future investigations will couple the known movements of the Rockhopper Penguins at Isla Noir with genetic samples taken from birds within these colonies and those along the Diego Ramírez Archipelagos, Chile and Staten Island, Argentina.  To date genetic materials have been obtained from adults in the field at Isla Noir and we are exploring the possible collection and tracking of penguins in the areas aforementioned.  Plans to collect additional samples from captive specimens, from Isla Recalada, are underway since the wild population no longer can be found on that island.
 
The primary objective of this tracking project is to examine the movement of Rockhopper Penguins along the coast of Chile and to determine if these birds incurred any recruitment from the Argentine populations. The genetic study will augment data gathered via the tracking of individual birds.  Populations of Southern Rockhopper Penguins at important breeding sites, in the Southern Hemisphere, have declined substantially in the past 50 years, with the status of major breeding sites in southern Chile being poorly documented. In addition to providing foraging ranges and of rates of gene flow, the work is a necessary first step in the definition of conservation management units. This has important implications, as several Rockhopper Penguin populations, notably those at the Falkland Islands, have declining as a result of over fishing.
 

Feather Link is looking for environmentally active investors to sponsor the tracking of individual penguins for the 2008 season.  Tracking efforts are expensive, although the information that we gather is imperative for saving the foraging areas these birds need once they leave the breeding areas.  For $1,200 you can help track one penguin for an entire year.  Please contact David Oehler at if you would like to help!

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This work was supported through Feather Link, Inc. by grants-in-aid for scientific research from local and international foundations. We thank Brian and Holly Hunt of African Safari Wildlife Park, Indianapolis Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers, Faunia, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, and the Wave Foundation of the Newport Aquarium for financial support of this and past expeditions. We also thank Bob Brinkman at Woolpert LLP for assistance with the AutoCAD system, and Claudio Venegas for support. We express special appreciation to our contacts in Chile, the crew of the Chonos, staff members of Fantastico Sur Birding and Nature, and government officials of the Ministerio de Economia, Fomento y reconstrucción, Republica de Chile for granting permission to work on Isla Noir. We thank the crew and staff of the M/S Nordnorge for close approaches to Terhalten. Our gratitude is also expressed to Clinton Nagy, Edward Maruska, and Greg Hanson for their continued support and participation in this project.