Abstract
This work is a quantitative analysis of the population of breeding pairs of Pygoscelis adeliae and Pygoscelis antarctica, which use Penguin Island as a breeding area. There was a decrease in the populations of P. adeliae and P. antarctica by 75 and 66%, respectively, from the breeding season of 1979/1980 to 2003/2004. A mixed breeding colony of both species was also documented, according to published data which has existed since 1979/1980. The P. antarctica has an advantage over P. adeliae in this mixed breeding situation, where the breeding pairs of the former increased by 127%, indicating an interspecies competition for nesting ground.
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Acknowledgments
Our thanks to the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), the Secretary of the Inter-ministerial Commission for the Resources of the Sea (SeCIRM) and the team of the Laboratory of Ornithology and Marine Animals of the Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos. Thanks for the referees for the essentials suggestions and contributions and to Pe Edward Benya SJ for English revision.
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Sander, M., Balbão, T.C., Costa, E.S. et al. Decline of the breeding population of Pygoscelis antarctica and Pygoscelis adeliae on Penguin Island, South Shetland, Antarctica. Polar Biol 30, 651–654 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-006-0218-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-006-0218-2