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Long-term dataset reveals declines in breeding success and high fluctuations in the number of breeding pairs in two skua species breeding on King George Island

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Abstract

Marine ecosystems face a variety of threats induced by environmental changes and anthropogenic activities. Seabirds are predators often used as indicator species to monitor the status and health of their communities and the environment. Here, we present the results from a 35-year monitoring time series of Brown Skuas (Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi) and South Polar Skuas (C. maccormicki) breeding sympatrically in the Maritime Antarctic on Fildes Peninsula and Potter Peninsula, King George Island. Our results reveal high annual variability in the number and proportions of breeding pairs across the entire study period. Apart from that, the breeding pair numbers of Brown Skuas were relatively stable. By contrast, the breeding pair number of mixed species and South Polar Skua pairs increased substantially until 2003/2004 and 2010/2011, respectively. Both pair types experienced a decline in the breeding pair numbers within recent years. Despite the strong fluctuations in the number of breeding pairs, the sum of occupied territories has been stable during the last 9 years. The breeding success of all pair types declined significantly, and within recent years, both South Polar Skuas and mixed species pairs completely failed to produce offspring. The ultimate causes driving the breeding success decline remain unclear. The overall increase in the number of skuas might have raised density-dependent factors and resulted in a higher predation rate between conspecifics. The more recent total breeding failures, however, indicate a drastic shortage in local food availability.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the following current and former members of the Polar & Bird Ecology Group for their instrumental help in the field: Klaus Reinhardt, Jorg Welcker, Markus Ritz, Steffen Hahn, Anne Fröhlich, Matthias Kopp, Tobias Gütter, Michel Stelter, Marie-Charlott Rümmler and Martin Senf and three anonymous referees for helpful comments on the manuscript. The research was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (PE 454/1 ff.) and the German Federal Environment Agency (FKZ 3708 91 102, 3708 91 102 and 3712 87 100).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ecology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Dornburger Straße 159, 07743, Jena, Germany

    Johannes Krietsch, Jan Esefeld, Christina Braun & Hans-Ulrich Peter

  2. Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Road, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia

    Simeon Lisovski

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  1. Johannes Krietsch
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  2. Jan Esefeld
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  3. Christina Braun
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  4. Simeon Lisovski
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  5. Hans-Ulrich Peter
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Correspondence to Johannes Krietsch.

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Krietsch, J., Esefeld, J., Braun, C. et al. Long-term dataset reveals declines in breeding success and high fluctuations in the number of breeding pairs in two skua species breeding on King George Island. Polar Biol 39, 573–582 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1808-7

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