Environmental monitoring and management proposals for the Fildes Region, King George Island, Antarctica

Seabirds in seasonal environments are often long-distance migrants and, for many species and populations, their ranges throughout the non-breeding period are unknown. As conditions during the non-breeding season often affect subsequent performance, the choice of migration strategy can have major implications for timing of breeding and success and, ultimately, population dynamics. We tracked south polar skuas Catharacta maccormicki from a single breeding population at King George Island in the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica). Overall, 27 birds (69%) migrated to the northern Atlantic (3 regions), 10 birds (26%) to the northern Pacific Ocean (2 regions), and 2 birds wintered in the southern hemisphere. Individuals tracked in consecutive non-breeding seasons chose the same ocean for wintering. Despite migrating to different oceans, birds showed a similar figure-of-eight flight pattern and equivalent residency periods in the main wintering areas. In addition, 87% of the migrants used terminal stop-over sites off South America shortly before returning to the breeding site. High diversity of migration patterns may buffer south polar skuas from climate change and other anthropogenic threats

Antarctic marine ecosystems undergo enormous changes, presumably due to climate change and fishery. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have an unprecedented potential for measuring these changes by mapping indicator species such as penguins even in remote areas. We used a battery-powered fixed-wing UAV to survey colonies along a 30-km stretch of the remote coast of southwest King George Island and northwest Nelson Island (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica) during the austral summer 2016/17. With multiple flights, we covered a total distance of 317 km. We determined the exact position of 14 chinstrap penguin colonies, including two small unknown colonies, with a total abundance of 35,604 adults. To model the number of occupied nests based on the number of adults counted in the UAV imagery we used data derived from terrestrial time-lapse imagery. The comparison with previous studies revealed a decline in the total abundance of occupied nests. However, we also found four chinstrap penguin colonies that have grown since the 1980s against the general trend on the South Shetland Islands. The results proved the suitability of the use of small and lightweight fixed-wing UAVs with electric engines for mapping penguin colonies in remote areas in the Antarctic.