Bird Island
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The weights of fledging Macaroni penguin chicks at Bird Island have been monitored since 1989. The colony at Fairy Point, also known as Little Mac, contains approximately 400 breeding pairs. Each year, just before their departure from the colony, a sample of 100 fledgling birds are weighed as part of the Bird Island long-term monitoring programme. This data is submitted to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) as part of their Ecosystem Monitoring Programme (CEMP). This work was funded by Natural Environment Research Council (UK) core funding to the British Antarctic Survey.
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Macaroni penguins spend the winter at sea and return to colonies on land during the austral spring to reproduce. Arrival weights of male and female Macaroni penguins on Bird Island, South Georgia have been monitored since 1988. The current protocol is that 50 males are weighed on 28th October and 50 females on 8th November. This work was funded by Natural Environment Research Council (UK) core funding to the British Antarctic Survey.
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The breeding success (calculated from nest and chick counts) of Macaroni penguins is monitored annually at Bird Island, South Georgia. A transect is used to estimate the incubating nests and chicks hatched in the large colony at Goldcrest Point where counts have been made since 1976. The number of incubating nests and chicks reaching fledging stage in the whole of the smaller colony at Fairy Point are counted and data exist from 1982 onwards. This work was funded by Natural Environment Research Council (UK) core funding to the British Antarctic Survey.
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The chronology of Gentoo penguins on Bird Island, South Georgia has been monitored since 1988 (no data for 1989-90 or 1990-91). 30 nests are marked in the colony at Square Pond, and 40 in the Johnson Beach colony. Regular checks are made to record when eggs are laid and the peak laying date (when 75% of nests have eggs) is calculated. This work was funded by Natural Environment Research Council (UK) core funding to the British Antarctic Survey.
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The breeding success (calculated from nest and chick counts) of Gentoo penguins is monitored annually at Bird Island, South Georgia. The number of incubating nests and chicks reaching fledging stage are counted in several Gentoo penguin colonies. Data exist from 1982 onwards. This work was funded by Natural Environment Research Council (UK) core funding to the British Antarctic Survey.
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The weights of chicks in monitored nests of Black-browed Albatrosses are measured at 80 and 108 days after hatching (prior to 2006, weights at 85 and 90 days were also taken). Similarly the weights of Grey-headed Albatross chicks are measured at 100 and 131 days after hatching (prior to 2006, weights at 90 and 95 days were also taken). Data exist since 1989.
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The weight of Antarctic fur seal pups at Main Bay on Bird Island have been measured since 1973. 50 pups on the beach and 50 pups in the Tussac grass at the back of the beach are sexed and weighed in January, February and March each year. This work was funded by Natural Environment Research Council (UK) core funding to the British Antarctic Survey.
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The weights of fledging Gentoo penguin chicks at Bird Island have been monitored since 1989. The colony at Johnson Cove can have over 1000 breeding pairs. Each year, just before their departure from the colony, a sample of 100 fledgling birds are weighed as part of the Bird Island long-term monitoring programme. This data is submitted to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) as part of their Ecosystem Monitoring Programme (CEMP). This work was funded by Natural Environment Research Council (UK) core funding to the British Antarctic Survey.
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Platform Transmitting Terminal (PTT) tags were used to track Antarctic Fur Seals (Arctocephalus gazella) from Bird Island, South Georgia, 1995-2010. PTT tags use the ARGOS satellite system to collect geospatial data. Tags were deployed on breeding females during the summer, to provide information on where the seals are foraging during lactation and into the winter months.
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Since 2009, the weights of male and female Antarctic Fur Seal pups from the Maiviken area on South Georgia have been monitored. 100 pups are randomly sampled from two areas, tussock and beach, at the start of January, February and March. This work was funded by Natural Environment Research Council (UK) core funding to the British Antarctic Survey.