Abandoned penguin rookeries as Holocene paleoclimatic indicators in Antarctica

Baroni, Carlo; Orombelli, G.

doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1994)022<0023:aprahp>2.3.co;2

Cited by 164 publications

(128 citation statements)

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“…Preserved organic remains from ornithogenic soils at abandoned penguin colonies, recognized by accumulations of juvenile penguin bones, eggshell fragments, nest pebbles, and guano on the Victoria Land Coast, provide evidence for past occupations by Adélie pen-guins (Baroni & Orombelli 1994, Lambert et al 2002. These data also indicate that populations north of the Drygalski Ice Tongue have remained relatively stable since the mid-Holocene ).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 52%

“…1). By 4000 to 3000 yr BP, during a warming period known as the 'penguin optimum' (Baroni & Orombelli 1994), the occupation extended southward to Marble Point and lasted until 2288 to 1865 yr BP (2σ calibrated range), when all sites were permanently abandoned on this southern coast. One date from Franklin Island (2293 to 1813 yr BP) also extends to this latest age of abandonment (Table 1).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2 & 3). The warming interval at 3900 and 3100 yr BP, which is reflected by the δ 18 O values of Adamussium fragments, coincides with the 'penguin optimum' previously discussed (Baroni & Orombelli 1994). However, the subsequent cooling occurred during a period when sand accumulation was increasing in the prograding delta adjacent to the meltwater streams at the mouth of Taylor Valley (Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 93%

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Late-Holocene initiation of ice-free ecosystems in the southern Ross Sea, Antarctica

Emslie¹,

Berkman²,

Ainley³

et al. 2003

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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New data on marine sediments, seawater paleotemperatures, and the occupation history of Adélie penguins indicate that modern ice-free conditions in the southern Ross Sea developed only within the last 1000 yr. Here we show that penguins permanently abandoned the southern Victoria Land Coast 2000 yr ago when extensive sea-ice cover blocked access to ice-free terrain for breeding. The first colonization of Ross Island in East McMurdo Sound, where over 300 000 penguins breed today, did not commence until after 1170 yr BP when coastal areas became exposed from under the Ross Ice Shelf. Our results demonstrate that investigations of abandoned penguin colonies can provide increased resolution to Holocene paleoclimatic records and paleoceanographic conditions in Antarctica.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 52%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 93%

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Late-Holocene initiation of ice-free ecosystems in the southern Ross Sea, Antarctica

Emslie¹,

Berkman²,

Ainley³

et al. 2003

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Population dynamics of the Adélie penguin Pygoscelis adeliae are sensitive to Antarctic climate, an observation made by geologists, glaciologists, and paleontologists, as well as marine biologists (Baroni & Orombelli 1994, Emslie 1995, Smith et al 1999). The species is an obligate associate of sea-ice (Ribic & Ainley 1988/ 1989, Ainley et al 1994), which constitutes a major marine habitat.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adélie penguin population change in the pacific sector of Antarctica: relation to sea-ice extent and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current

Wilson¹,

Ainley²,

Nur³

et al. 2001

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

159

157

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One of the longest continuing data sets involving a marine organism in the Antarctic is that of annual estimates of breeding population size of Adélie penguins Pygoscelis adeliae at colonies on Ross Island, Ross Sea, 1959 to 1997. The sizes of these colonies have displayed significant interannual variability during the 29-yr period. We hypothesized that changes are related to natural environmental factors; and used path analysis to analyze annual variation in population growth in relation to physical environmental factors during that part of the record with comparable sea-ice satellite imagery from 1973 to 1997. The Ross Sea sector of the Southern Ocean lying north of Ross Island, from 150°E to 130°W, comprised our study area. Annual population growth measured during summer was explained best, and inversely, by the extent of sea-ice in the study area 5 winters earlier, and in some way related to the Southern Oscillation. Analysis of a subset of the sea-ice data from 1979 to 1997 indicated strong correlations to ice conditions in the eastern portion of the study area (174 to 130°W), and virtually no correlations to the western half (150°E to 175°W). This result supported other indirect evidence that the Ross Island penguins winter in the eastern Ross Sea/western Amundsen Sea. A demographic model indicated that variation in survival of juveniles and subadults might account for the observed population variation, and would also explain the 5-yr lag as 5 yr is the average age of recruitment to the summer breeding population. Extensive sea-ice during winter appears to reduce subadult survival, expressed subsequently when these cohorts reach maturation. We hypothesize that extensive (more northerly) sea-ice limits access of penguins to productive waters known to occur south of the southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, with starvation or increased predation disproportionately affecting less-experienced birds. The observed patterns of penguin population change, including those preceding the satellite era, imply that sea-ice extent has changed significantly over recent decades.

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“…The information recorded in these sediments about palaeoclimate changes and glacier advance and retreat has been extensively studied (e.g., Mäusbacher et al, 1989;Schmidt et al, 1990;Goodwin, 1993;Martinez-Macchiavello et al, 1996;Björck et al, 1996;Hjort et al, 1997;Smith et al, 1999), but comparatively less attention has been given to the palaeoecological processes of Antarctic marine animals, such as seal, penguin, etc. (Baroni et al, 1994;Polito et al, 2002;McDaniel et al, 2002;Emslie et al, 2003). lowing a previous study by Sun et al (2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

A preliminary study of elemental geochemistry and its potential application in Antarctic Seal palaeoecology

et al. 2005

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The elemental geochemical composition of sediments influenced by seal excrements in the Antarctic Fildes Peninsula has been examined in order to establish the source of organic matter, identify potential bio-elements and explore their potential palaeoecological implications. The combination of total organic carbon concentration (TOC), total nitrogen concentration (TN), organic carbon isotope (d 13 C) and atomic C/N ratio shows that the organic matter in the sediments with many seal hairs has a marine origin, predominantly derived from seal excrements. Among the determined element/ oxide concentrations, S, Se, F, Zn, Hg, FeO and P 2 O 5 were found to be remarkably enriched in the sediments influenced by seal excrements with respect to the sediments with few or without seal hairs, and their concentrations displayed strong and positive correlations with organic matter abundance, indicating that they had the same source and transportation mechanism as the in situ organic material. A comparison of these element/oxide concentrations with the seal hair numbers showed that they had similar distribution patterns with depth, and the correlations were positive and statistically significant. Based upon these results, S, Se, F, Zn, Hg, FeO and P 2 O 5 in the seal excrement sediments were identified as potential bio-elements and their concentrations could potentially be used as inorganic geochemical indicators for tracking seal palaeoecological processes in the Antarctic region.

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Abandoned penguin rookeries as Holocene paleoclimatic indicators in Antarctica

Cited by 164 publications

References 0 publications

Late-Holocene initiation of ice-free ecosystems in the southern Ross Sea, Antarctica

Late-Holocene initiation of ice-free ecosystems in the southern Ross Sea, Antarctica

Adélie penguin population change in the pacific sector of Antarctica: relation to sea-ice extent and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current

A preliminary study of elemental geochemistry and its potential application in Antarctic Seal palaeoecology

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