Antarctic Sea-Birds as Subjects for Ecological Research

Abstract

The environment of the Antarctic and Subantarctic region is briefly described, mainly as it affects the breeding of sea-birds. The 36 species of 8 families that breed mainly in this region, and their feeding and nesting requirements, are listed. Breeding distribution and annual cycles are analyzed in relation to these factors, and explanations of special cases and apparent anomalies are offered. Population ecology studies are summarized, including current work on the Wandering Albatross, Diomedea exulans, and Royal Penguin, Eudyptes chrysolophus schlegeli, at Macquarie Island. In the latter it is established that socially-induced deferment of maturity to 5-11 years of age is due to competition for feeding status at sea and not for nest-site or breeding status ashore. Suggestions are made for future ecological research on Antarctic sea-birds. The necessity for better data on their foods, available and taken, is stressed, and also the unusual opportunities that some of these species offer for long-term population study.