1,720,986 research outputs found
Adélie Penguin Monitoring Program (Ross Sea Region): an Australia-Italy Program for cooperation in Antarctica. Seasons 1996/97 and 1997/98.
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A stress ecology study for establishing a baseline data on health status of the Adélie Penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) population breeding in Mid Victoria Land, Ross Sea, Antarctica.
No full textThe first five years of the Italian? Australian joint programme on the Adelie Penguin: an overview
No full textAbout 2000 breeding pairs of Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) nest in Edmonson Point (Wood Bay, 74 degrees 21' S, 165 degrees 10' E). The penguin colony is located on a raised terrace, divided into 13 discrete small units or colonies separated by unoccupied areas, where South polar skua (Catharacta maccormicki) nest. Colony layout, breeding chronology, breeding success, diet, and foraging areas were studied for five consecutive austral summers. Satellite transmitters, time-depth recorders, and electronic tagging were used for monitoring feeding behaviour and nest attendance. An Automated Penguin Monitoring System was installed which records weight, identity, and direction of penguins as they move between the sea and their breeding colony. So far, the results of this study are documentation on colony trends, breeding biology, and differences in foraging strategies at different study seasons
Reliability of Molecular Sex Identification in the Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) from DNA-Poor Samples
No full textSex identification is crucial for behavioral, ecological and conservation studies. In monomorphic bird species, traditional methods for sex assessment require potentially invasive sampling and manipulation of individuals, such as through cloacal examination. Thus, molecular methods involving non-destructive sampling are needed to reduce the stress of animals under study. In monomorphic Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae), the use of a penguin-specific primer pair (PL/PR) to identify sex has been evaluated through DNA extracted from nondestructive feather samples. With penguin-specific primers for the CHD1 gene found on the sex chromosomes, we efficiently identified the sex of all sampled individuals (n = 92, belonging to 46 complete nesting pairs in study colonies; n = 26 belonging to surveyed individuals in a control colony). DNA extraction and PCR protocols to improve amplification success are reported. Our results were also confirmed through Sanger sequencing used to determine the previously unpublished sequences of the CHD1 alleles in Adélie penguins, which were subsequently deposited in GenBank and used to compare to similar species. In phylogenetic reconstructions, CHD1Z and CHD1W sequences of the Adélie Penguin grouped together with other Pygoscelis and were the sister group of Spheniscus and Eudyptes genera
Fabbisogno energetico e strategie utilizzate per la ricerca del cibo dal pinguino di Adelia ad Edmonson Point (Mare di Ross, Antartide).
No full textPenguins living in a challenging environment: assessment of immunohaematological parameters in specimens of Adélie penguin from the Ross Sea, Antarctica
No full textHuman activities, pollution and biological invasions summed up to climate change represent an increasing pressure on
the Antarctic ecosystem and its biodiversity. The Adélie penguin Pygoscelis adeliae is considered a sentinel species able
to reveal the impact of anthropogenic pressures on the Antarctic ecosystem and reflecting changes in habitat quality
and in the availability of marine resources. Here we investigate immune-haematological parameters (erythrocyte
nuclear abnormalities, ENAs, and white blood cells, WBCs) as indicators of health status in specimens of Adélie penguin
breeding in three colonies in the mid-Victoria Land, Ross Sea. Total ENAs including specific abnormalities and WBCs
values did not differ between specimens from the three colonies. The discriminant functions reflecting variability in
immuno-haematological parameters showed a low discriminatory power (ENAs cross-validated discriminant rate 37.9%;
WBCs cross-validated discriminant rate 40.7%), and discriminant scores overlapped substantially among colonies,
meaning that immune-haematological responses failed to explain the separation among breeding sites. Sex differences
were found on total number of ENAs and WBCs, which were respectively ~30% and ~20% higher in males than in females.
Our work integrated the measurement of immune-haematological parameters to identify a series of proxy of penguin’s
health by analysing small amounts of non-destructive samples and couple them with the bio-ecological responses,
establishing a baseline against which signals of ecosystem change can be detected
Fattori che influenzano il successo riproduttivo dello stercorario di McCormick Catharacta maccormicki.
No full textBreeding biology of Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) at Edmonson Point (Ross Sea, Antarctica).
No full textOne for all and all for one: an efficient blood sampling strategy to assess penguin health and immune status
Full text linkAntarctic penguins are considered sentinels of ecosystem health. They face multiple anthropogenic threats, including global climate change and local stressors such as tourism, fisheries, and pollution. Monitoring their physiological responses to stress is essential for assessing the Antarctic population and ecosystem health. On the other hand, it is equally important to minimize impact of handling stress, i.e., reducing time of restraint, and if possible, reducing the number of birds sampled. Given the valuable insights provided by hematological parameters in monitoring and assessing individual physiological conditions, there is growing interest in refining analytical methods (i.e., the amount of blood) and counting techniques to minimize analysis time and the number of samples required. We here refined the analysis of Erythrocytes Nuclear Abnormalities (ENAs), for genomic instability, and total White Blood Cells (WBCs) for immune status, in Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) blood smears. The improved method, using Giemsa staining, effectively distinguishes nuclear and cytoplasmic components in both erythrocytes and leukocytes, enabling the reliable enumeration of ENAs and the clear identification of different WBC classes. A statistical sample size-rarefaction analysis also informed on the number of individuals required, optimizing sampling effort while maintaining data precision. More specifically, the sums of ENAs and WBCs can be precisely estimated for all the three study colonies with a sample size of about 20–25 individuals, while the parameters micronucleus and two-lobed nucleus show greater uncertainty. For most other parameters, the estimates stabilize with approximately 15–20 samples. Our findings provide a foundation for developing optimized sampling protocols for improved hematological analysis in penguins, offering a practical tool for assessing their health and immune status; therefore, the adoption of the presented method should be supported as a cost-effective and less invasive tool at the population level for long-term conservation studies
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