Rockhopper penguins as sentinels of ecosystem change in the subantarctic Southern Ocean

在海洋生境中，海鸟可作为海洋生态系统营养状况和生产力的宝贵指标。最近的工作指出了海洋生态系统的重要变化，对这种变化敏感的一个物种是南方跳岩企鹅Eudyptes chrysocome（自然保护联盟类别脆弱）。对最近和历史数据的分析表明，跳岩企鹅在变暖的海洋中生存和繁殖能力较差，气候变化可能会在繁殖和非繁殖季节的几个阶段影响它们。超过三分之一的世界人口在福克兰群岛繁殖，那里的人口显示出特别强烈的下降，我们以前的研究（2006-2011）在这里指出，在越来越温暖的海洋温度下，生存概率降低，在温暖的环境条件下，蛋更轻。然而，这些变化的根本原因仍然知之甚少。目前的项目与以前的研究有关，但我们将应用新的技术，即更小的GPS加速数据记录器来研究仍然未知的繁殖季节阶段和用于觅食运动的能量，还利用机器学习（即人工智能）方法来确定时间预算。将使用特定化合物的稳定同位素分析和粪便样本的元条形码来研究繁殖周期不同阶段的饮食。我们还将使用延时摄影机，并通过“企鹅观察”（Penguin watch）使用公民科学--这是一个从摄影机图像中提取大规模数据并吸引公众参与的工具包。总的来说，我们的目标是了解是什么使南方跳岩企鹅对变暖的海洋条件特别敏感。

In marine habitats, seabirds can serve as valuable indicators of marine ecosystem trophic state and productivity. Recent work has pointed out important changes in marine ecosystems, and one species that is sensitive to such changes is the Southern rockhopper penguin Eudyptes chrysocome (IUCN category vulnerable). Analyses of recent and historical data suggest that rockhopper penguins survive and reproduce poorer in a warming ocean, and that climate change may affect them in several stages of the breeding and non-breeding season. Over a third of the world population of this species breed in the Falkland Islands, where the populations show a particularly strong decline, and our previous studies (2006-2011) here have pointed out reduced survival probabilities under increasingly warm ocean temperatures and lighter eggs under warmer environmental conditions. However, the underlying causes of these changes are still poorly known. The present project ties in with previous studies but we will apply newly available technology, namely much smaller GPS-acceleration data loggers to study the stages of the breeding season that are still unknown and the energy used for foraging movements, making use also of Machine Learning (i.e. artificial intelligence) methods to determine time budgets. Compound-specific stable isotope analyses and metabarcoding of fecal samples will be used to study the diet during different stages of the breeding cycle. We will also employ time-lapse cameras and employ citizen science via “Penguin watch” – a toolkit for extracting large-scale data from camera imagery and engaging the public. Overall, we aim to understand what makes Southern rockhopper penguins particularly sensitive to warming ocean conditions.