Abstract
Cumulative human impacts across the world's oceans are considerable. We therefore examined a single model taxonomic group, the penguins (Spheniscidae), to explore how marine species and communities might be at risk of decline or extinction in the southern hemisphere. We sought to determine the most important threats to penguins and to suggest means to mitigate these threats. Our review has relevance to other taxonomic groups in the southern hemisphere and in northern latitudes, where human impacts are greater. Our review was based on an expert assessment and literature review of all 18 penguin species; 49 scientists contributed to the process. For each penguin species, we considered their range and distribution, population trends, and main anthropogenic threats over the past approximately 250 years. These threats were harvesting adults for oil, skin, and feathers and as bait for crab and rock lobster fisheries; harvesting of eggs; terrestrial habitat degradation; marine pollution; fisheries bycatch and resource competition; environmental variability and climate change; and toxic algal poisoning and disease. Habitat loss, pollution, and fishing, all factors humans can readily mitigate, remain the primary threats for penguin species. Their future resilience to further climate change impacts will almost certainly depend on addressing current threats to existing habitat degradation on land and at sea. We suggest protection of breeding habitat, linked to the designation of appropriately scaled marine reserves, including in the High Seas, will be critical for the future conservation of penguins. However, large-scale conservation zones are not always practical or politically feasible and other ecosystem-based management methods that include spatial zoning, bycatch mitigation, and robust harvest control must be developed to maintain marine biodiversity and ensure that ecosystem functioning is maintained across a variety of scales.
Highlights
Many fisheries across the world’s oceans are depleted (e.g., Cury et al 2011; Pikitch 2012)
Each assessment was subjected to independent peer review and represents the best available information for each species. We used these assessments to summarize species-specific information on, in particular, the main anthropogenic factors threatening each species over the past approximately 250 years. We categorized these threats into 9 general themes: harvesting of adults for oil, skin, and feathers and as bait for crab and rock lobster fisheries; harvesting of eggs; terrestrial habitat degradation; marine pollution; fisheries bycatch and resource competition; environmental variability and climate change; and toxic algal poisoning and disease
Egging was common practice for Northern Rockhopper, Yellow-eyed, African, Magellanic (Spheniscus magellanicus), and Humboldt penguins in temperate and mid-latitude areas
Summary
Many fisheries across the world’s oceans are depleted (e.g., Cury et al 2011; Pikitch 2012). Seabird populations integrate spatial and temporal variability in their physical environment and in prey, so they are often considered reasonable proxies of ecosystem status (e.g., Mallory et al 2010). Penguins and their population processes potentially reflect local or regional oceanic conditions better than any other seabird group. This is because they are highly constrained in their foraging habitat, during their breeding season (RopertCoudert et al 2004).
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