Sub-Antarctic fur seals depredate northern rockhopper penguins at Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha

dc.contributor.authorBester, Marthan Nieuwoudt
dc.contributor.authorDilley, B.J.
dc.contributor.authorDavies, D.
dc.contributor.authorGlass, T.
dc.contributor.emailmnbester@zoology.up.ac.zaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2021-01-22T07:42:05Z
dc.date.issued2020-07
dc.description.abstractThe most plausible hypothesis for declining population trends of some marine top predators at the northern extent of their breeding ranges in the Southern Ocean is that it results from environmental change. Sub-Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus tropicalis are opportunistic and pelagic foragers that feed on a variety of fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans throughout their range. Penguins are also targeted, but to what extent remains uncertain, with only two records to date: Amsterdam Island, South Indian Ocean, where they kill and feed on northern rockhopper penguins Eudyptes moseleyi; and Gough Island, the southernmost island in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, South Atlantic Ocean, where they are suspected to be significant predators of northern rockhopper penguins based on an unprecedented number of penguin carcasses (> 100) found floating at sea in 2011. We report the first documented records of such predations from the northern islands in the Tristan archipelago. Over three austral summers (2015–2017), northern rockhopper penguins with severe injuries were frequently observed at Nightingale Island. The cause of the wounds was unknown, but seal or shark attacks seemed probable. In January 2019, the first confirmed sighting of a sub-Antarctic fur seal, predating a healthy northern rockhopper penguin at sea off Nightingale Island was recorded. It remains uncertain whether the large A. tropicalis population at the Tristan da Cunha islands is significant predators of northern rockhopper penguins, but this could partly explain the significant recent decrease in northern rockhopper penguin population numbers.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentMammal Research Instituteen_ZA
dc.description.departmentZoology and Entomologyen_ZA
dc.description.embargo2021-06-07
dc.description.librarianhj2020en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://link.springer.com/journal/300en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBester, M.N., Dilley, B.J., Davies, D. et al. Sub-Antarctic fur seals depredate northern rockhopper penguins at Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha. Polar Biology 43, 925–927 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-020-02688-1.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0722-4060 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1432-2056 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1007/s00300-020-02688-1
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/78087
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherSpringeren_ZA
dc.rights© Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020. The original publication is available at : http://link.springer.comjournal/300.en_ZA
dc.subjectPredation risken_ZA
dc.subjectNightingale Islanden_ZA
dc.subjectSouth Atlantic Oceanen_ZA
dc.subjectNorthern rockhopper penguin (Eudyptes moseleyi)en_ZA
dc.subjectSub-Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis)en_ZA
dc.titleSub-Antarctic fur seals depredate northern rockhopper penguins at Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunhaen_ZA
dc.typePostprint Articleen_ZA

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