Survival in macaroni penguins and the relative importance of different drivers: individual traits, predation pressure and environmental variability.

Understanding the demographic response of free-living animal populations to different drivers is the first step towards reliable prediction of population trends. Penguins have exhibited dramatic declines in population size, and many studies have linked this to bottom-up processes altering the abundance of prey species. The effects of individual traits have been considered to a lesser extent, and top-down regulation through predation has been largely overlooked due to the difficulties in empirically measuring this at sea where it usually occurs. For 10 years (2003-2012), macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) were marked with subcutaneous electronic transponder tags and re-encountered using an automated gateway system fitted at the entrance to the colony. We used multistate mark-recapture modelling to identify the different drivers influencing survival rates and a sensitivity analysis to assess their relative importance across different life stages. Survival rates were low and variable during the fledging year (mean = 0·33), increasing to much higher levels from age 1 onwards (mean = 0·89). We show that survival of macaroni penguins is driven by a combination of individual quality, top-down predation pressure and bottom-up environmental forces. The relative importance of these covariates was age specific. During the fledging year, survival rates were most sensitive to top-down predation pressure, followed by individual fledging mass, and finally bottom-up environmental effects. In contrast, birds older than 1 year showed a similar response to bottom-up environmental effects and top-down predation pressure. We infer from our results that macaroni penguins will most likely be negatively impacted by an increase in the local population size of giant petrels. Furthermore, this population is, at least in the short term, likely to be positively influenced by local warming. More broadly, our results highlight the importance of considering multiple causal effects across different life stages when examining the survival rates of seabirds.

Sustained year-round oceanographic measurements from Rothera Research Station, Antarctica, 1997-2017.

Oceanographic changes adjacent to Antarctica have global climatic and ecological impacts. However, this is the most challenging place in the world to obtain marine data due to its remoteness and inhospitable nature, especially in winter. Here, we present more than 2000 Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) profiles and associated water sample data collected with (almost uniquely) full year-round coverage from the British Antarctic Survey Rothera Research Station at the west Antarctic Peninsula. Sampling is conducted from a small boat or a sled, depending on the sea ice conditions. When conditions allow, sampling is twice weekly in summer and weekly in winter, with profiling to nominally 500 m and with discrete water samples taken at 15 m water depth. Daily observations are made of the sea ice conditions in the area. This paper presents the first 20 years of data collection, 1997-2017. This time series represents a unique and valuable resource for investigations of the high-latitude ocean's role in climate change, ocean/ice interactions, and marine biogeochemistry and carbon drawdown.

Polar biodiversity data: From a national marine platform to a global data portal.

Global access to accurate biodiversity data is a prerequisite to our progress in understanding biodiversity dynamics in ecosystems and any changes that are occurring. Despite recent major advancements in sharing data on the world's species, one of the remaining challenges relates to the mechanics of guiding data systematically from its provenance to end users. It can take considerable effort to orchestrate a successful sampling campaign, manage samples obtained in often extreme, remote conditions and to secure preservation of, and access to, the acquired data. Here, we briefly describe biodiversity data flow from a polar ship to a national data repository and onward to a global data portal. This paper highlights a few crucial points in this process, which aims to provide information systematically into the mosaic of our polar species biodiversity knowledge. This flexible workflow can be modified for other data types and adopted by other data repositories.

Increasing Accuracy: A New Design and Algorithm for Automatically Measuring Weights, Travel Direction and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) of Penguins.

A fully automated weighbridge using a new algorithm and mechanics integrated with a Radio Frequency Identification System is described. It is currently in use collecting data on Macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) at Bird Island, South Georgia. The technology allows researchers to collect very large, highly accurate datasets of both penguin weight and direction of their travel into or out of a breeding colony, providing important contributory information to help understand penguin breeding success, reproductive output and availability of prey. Reliable discrimination between single and multiple penguin crossings is demonstrated. Passive radio frequency tags implanted into penguins allow researchers to match weight and trip direction to individual birds. Low unit and operation costs, low maintenance needs, simple operator requirements and accurate time stamping of every record are all important features of this type of weighbridge, as is its proven ability to operate 24 hours a day throughout a breeding season, regardless of temperature or weather conditions. Users are able to define required levels of accuracy by adjusting filters and raw data are automatically recorded and stored allowing for a range of processing options. This paper presents the underlying principles, design specification and system description, provides evidence of the weighbridge's accurate performance and demonstrates how its design is a significant improvement on existing systems.

Evaluation of DNA dosimetry to assess ozone-mediated variability of biologically harmful radiation in Antarctica.

In this study we investigated the use of a DNA dosimeter to accurately measure changes in ultraviolet B radiation (UVBR; 280-315 nm) under Antarctic ozone hole conditions. Naked DNA solution in quartz tubes was exposed to ambient solar radiation at Rothera Research Station, Antarctica, between October and December 1998 for 3 h during UVBR peak hours (1200-1500 h). Trends in UVBR-mediated DNA damage (formation of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers [CPD]) were related to cloud cover, ozone-column depth and spectroradiometric measurements of ambient radiation. Ozone-column depths ranged from 130 to 375 DU during the study period, resulting in highly variable UVBR doses, from 1.6 to 137 kJ m(-2) over the 3 h exposure, as measured by spectroradiometry. There was a strong positive correlation (86%) between dosimeter CPD concentrations and DNA-weighted UVBR doses. Ozone depth was a strong predictor of DNA damage (63%), and there was no significant relationship between CPD formation and cloud cover. Subtle changes in spectral characteristics caused by ozone depletion were detected by the biodosimeter; the highest CPD concentrations were observed in October when ozone-mediated shifts favored shorter wavelengths of UVBR. We conclude that the DNA biodosimeter is an accurate indicator of biologically effective UVBR, even under highly variable ozone conditions.