This field season is the first time we’ve been at Punta Tombo, Argentina persistently from October to March since before the pandemic! We’ve seen chicks hatch and watched them grow into chubby fledglings. Unfortunately many died in December with their bellies full; we suspect it was due to toxic algae, which could also be the cause of the 71 southern […]
Field update: Argentina, December 2024 – January 2025 Read More »
From abstract:“Using a 40-year dataset on free-ranging Magellanic penguins, we find evidence of both positively and negatively correlated behavioural plasticities. Plasticity did not strongly affect lifetime reproductive success, but its effect on interannual performance varied significantly by environmental context: plasticity reduced success in average oceanic conditions, increased success in anomalously productive conditions and, contrary to expectation, did not buffer against
We continued our Punta Tombo field season this winter with graduate student Erik Johansson, former undergrad lab member Chloe Rabinowitz, and program coordinator Kalyna Durbak staying on site from January 12 through February 21. Our goal for this trip was to attach GTA* and GPS tags on adult penguins who were actively feeding chicks in order to log their foraging
Field Updates: Tombo Jan-Feb 2024 Read More »
Authors: T. J. Clark-Wolf, Katie A. Holt, Erik Johansson, Anna C. Nisi, Kasim Rafiq, Leigh West, P. Dee Boersma, Elliott L. Hazen, Sue E. Moore, Briana AbrahmsJournal: Journal of Applied EcologyDOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14669 “A major obstacle to preventing and reversing biodiversity loss in the Anthropocene lies in the scarcity of tools and data for monitoring the health and trajectory of ecosystems. Sentinel species can provide insight into unobserved ecosystem change,
In January and February of 2023 Dr. Dee Boersma, along with PhD students Katie Holt (Boersma Lab) and Erik Johansson (Abrahms Lab), spent six weeks in Punta Tombo to set up the remote scales that weigh penguins on their way in and out of the breeding area, and followed 19 penguins using GPS tags. The three of them were also able
Field updates: Argentina, Winter 2023 Read More »
Authors: Briana Abrahms, Neil H. Carter, T. J. Clark-Wolf, Kaitlyn M. Gaynor, Erik Johansson, Alex McInturff, Anna C. Nisi, Kasim Rafiq & Leigh WestJournal: Nature Climate ChangeDOI: 10.1038/s41558-023-01608-5Coverage: KUOW, NPR, The Guardian, Newsweek, Scientific American Climate change and human–wildlife conflict are both pressing challenges for biodiversity conservation and human well-being in the Anthropocene…
Climate change as a global amplifier of human–wildlife conflict Read More »
