posted on 2023-08-30, 15:48authored byFabrizio Manco
The Southern Ocean is under several threats due to global human activities but also to
local resource exploitation. The chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus) is a key
species in the Antarctica marine food web. Along with other predators, it has been
impacted, albeit mostly indirectly, by harvesting in the past. The recent overlap and
competition with krill fisheries necessitates constant attention and a better
understanding of how this species utilises its environment; this can be achieved partly
by developing a model of their foraging habitat.
In this context, birds from two different colonies in the South Orkney Islands have been
tracked with GPS devices and TDR loggers during the breeding season. The resulting
dataset allowed me to create a three dimensional representation of their foraging trips.
The different methodological approaches I designed allowed me to assess how the birds
use their environment across space and time. By studying changes in movements, I was
able to detect when the birds were foraging. Linking these foraging locations with
explanatory environmental variables, I was then able to develop a foraging habitat
model for this species around the South Orkney Islands.
The model went through a series of performance measurements and validation
processes. The final resulting map offers a picture of where chinstrap penguins forage
from their colonies. The range of foraging, the density of birds, the hotspot areas, the
depths of foraging and how these parameters change with time can be used to support
policies and management targets. I believe these results can also be useful for further
studies.
History
Institution
Anglia Ruskin University
File version
Accepted version
Language
eng
Thesis name
PhD
Thesis type
Doctoral
Legacy posted date
2018-11-07
Legacy creation date
2018-11-07
Legacy Faculty/School/Department
Theses from Anglia Ruskin University/Faculty of Science and Technology