CCAMLR

The study of diseases in wild penguins is important for the identification of endemic diseases and the detection of exotic diseases should these occur. It is also important in the understanding of the degree to which disease may be expected to influence the results of biological studies. Results may be confounded and interpretation made difficult by both the transient and long term presence of disease particularly if it is at the sub clinical level. We present here a compilation of diseases and parasites recorded for all species of penguins present both in the wild and in captivity. Normal values for blood biochemistry and haematology are given as an aid to the identification of illness in penguins.

Published in: Korean Journal of Polar Research, 4(2): 79-96 (1993)

This paper draws attention to the possible implications for the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program (CEMP) of infectious and parasitic disease among penguin being monitored and to this end present a summary of all such diseases of penguin species found in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic. Haematological and biochemical values for healthy penguins which may be of use in diagnosis are presented also. Just as environmental factors are being examined for their possible effect on the variables being monitored we suggest that health of monitored species also should be considered in CEMP.

Thirty eight regurgitated casts collected in a colony at Half-moon Island, South Shetland Islands, during January and February 1993, were analyzed to determine the importance of fish in the diet of the blue-eyed shag Phalacrocorax atriceps bransfieldensis. Fish species were identified by means of otoliths found in the casts. The size and weight of the fish were estimated from the otolith lengths, using equations derived from data on local populations. Fish remains were present in all casts, comprising 91% of prey items. From the 937 otoliths found, 562 fish were represented and 524 were assigned to 5 demersal benthic species: Nototheniops nudifrons, Harpagifer antarcticus, Trematomus newnesi, Notothenia coriiceps and Gobionotothen gibberifrons. N. nudifrons was the most frequent (68.4%) and important by number (37.9%), whereas N. coriiceps prevailed in mass (35.8%). With the exception of G. gibberifrons, the fish species (and their size and age ranges) were identical to those found in a similar study at Duthoit Point, Nelson Island. However, the relative importance of the fish species in the diet differed between shags from the two areas.

Forty stomach contents of the blue eyed shag Phalacrocorax bransfieldensis were sampled at Nelson Island, South Shetland Islands, in January 1994. The analysis of the diet showed that fish were by far the main component, followed by octopods, polychaetes and gammarids. Notothenia coriiceps, predominated in frequency (58%) and in weight (65%), whereas Nototheniops nudifrons was the most important by number (47%) . The comparison with data published on pellets analysis of shags from the same colony gave similar results. However, although the methodology used in the present study requires more time in the field, it reduces the errors arose from the examination of regurgitated casts, like erosion by digestion or loss of the otoliths through the gastrointestinal tract. The analysis of the stomach contents is complemented with information on shags’ foraging trips, obtained in the field by film records.