Reliable, up-to-date assessments of population status and trends are essential for effective conservation. For the four Spheniscus penguin species, these are often undermined by methodological and logistical constraints due to their unique breeding ecology (e.g., burrow nesting and asynchronous breeding). As a result, no single survey method is universally applicable across the genus. Moreover, uneven sampling effort, inconsis...

Anthropogenic climate forcing is altering ocean circulation and water mass distribution across the Southern Ocean, reshaping the habitat of circumpolar marine predators such as threatened crested ( Eudyptes ) penguins. Understanding species vulnerability remains challenging due to substantial uncertainties in climate projections. Here, we integrate two state-of-the-art climate assessment tools—storylines and time of emergence—...

Aim To understand the influence of Andean uplifts and glacial cycles on South American biodiversity, we delve into the population genetics and evolutionary history of a unique subantarctic island raptor specialised in exploiting marine food webs. Location Islands in Tierra del Fuego and Malvinas/Falklands. Time period Last glacial period to the present. Taxon Phalcoboenus australis . Methods We used RAD sequencing to assess ge...

Anthropogenic climate change is resulting in spatial redistributions of many species. We assessed the potential effects of climate change on an abundant and widely distributed group of diving birds, Eudyptes penguins, which are the main avian consumers in the Southern Ocean in terms of biomass consumption. Despite their abundance, several of these species have undergone population declines over the past century, potentially du...

Foraging behavior and diet of breeding seabirds may be analysed simultaneously with the combined use of remote sensing devices and stable isotope analysis. Imperial shag, Phalacrocorax atriceps , breeding at Punta León colony, Argentina, were equipped with global positioning system (GPS) loggers to record foraging trips and blood samples were taken after removal of the devices in order to analyse their nitrogen and carbon stab...