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Behavioural responses of two penguin species to human presence at Barrientos Island, a popular tourist site in the Antarctic Peninsula region

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 February 2022

Daniela Cajiao Open the ORCID record for Daniela Cajiao [Opens in a new window] ,
Yu-Fai Leung Open the ORCID record for Yu-Fai Leung [Opens in a new window] ,
Pablo Tejedo Open the ORCID record for Pablo Tejedo [Opens in a new window] ,
Andrés Barbosa Open the ORCID record for Andrés Barbosa [Opens in a new window] ,
Gunter Reck  and
Javier Benayas Open the ORCID record for Javier Benayas [Opens in a new window]
Daniela Cajiao*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/ Darwin 2, E-28049, Madrid, Spain Instituto de Ecología Aplicada ECOLAP-USFQ, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, PO Box 1712841, Diego de Robles y Pampite, Cumbayá, Ecuador
Yu-Fai Leung
Affiliation:
Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management and Center for Geospatial Analytics, North Carolina State University, 5107 Jordan Hall, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
Pablo Tejedo
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/ Darwin 2, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
Andrés Barbosa
Affiliation:
Evolutionary Ecology Department, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC. C/José Gutierrez Abascal, 2. 28006, Madrid, Spain
Gunter Reck
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ecología Aplicada ECOLAP-USFQ, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, PO Box 1712841, Diego de Robles y Pampite, Cumbayá, Ecuador
Javier Benayas
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/ Darwin 2, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
*
danicajiao@gmail.com
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Abstract

Visitor Site Guidelines are the principal instruments guiding tourist activities and behaviour at intensively visited sites. These instruments attempt to minimize tourist impacts on Antarctic wildlife, including penguins. However, some recommendations still need to be reinforced by empirical research. Although penguins have enjoyed considerable research attention, a knowledge gap still exists regarding penguins' behavioural responses to realistic tourist activities, including talking sound, viewing distance and movement speed. To fill this gap, we conducted a series of experiments to simulate these activities on two penguin species breeding at an intensively visited site during the 2019–2020 season. We performed 106 replicates of passive and active human presence treatments. Responses varied between species, but active human presence consistently triggered significantly higher responses of strong vigilance behaviour. Our results reinforce Visitor Site Guidelines' recommendations of keeping quiet, moving slowly and increasing viewing distance if changes in behaviour are observed. We also recommend adopting a more conservative viewing distance in the early breeding season. Additional management-orientated empirical studies are needed, including on different species, sites and stages of the breeding season, as such results are valuable for strengthening tourism guidelines and assessing the efficacy of management measures under a post-COVID-19 scenario of increasing Antarctic tourism.

Keywords

chinstrap penguinsgentoo penguinshuman-wildlife interactionsmanagementtalking soundtourism impactsVisitor Site Guidelines
Type
Biological Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 34 , Issue 2 , April 2022 , pp. 107 - 119
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Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2022

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