British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC), High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.
Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9-11, 26133 Oldenburg, Germany.
Nat Commun. 2017 Apr 11;8:14914. doi: 10.1038/ncomms14914.
Changes in penguin populations on the Antarctic Peninsula have been linked to several environmental factors, but the potentially devastating impact of volcanic activity has not been considered. Here we use detailed biogeochemical analyses to track past penguin colony change over the last 8,500 years on Ardley Island, home to one of the Antarctic Peninsula's largest breeding populations of gentoo penguins. The first sustained penguin colony was established on Ardley Island c. 6,700 years ago, pre-dating sub-fossil evidence of Peninsula-wide occupation by c. 1,000 years. The colony experienced five population maxima during the Holocene. Overall, we find no consistent relationships with local-regional atmospheric and ocean temperatures or sea-ice conditions, although the colony population maximum, c. 4,000-3,000 years ago, corresponds with regionally elevated temperatures. Instead, at least three of the five phases of penguin colony expansion were abruptly ended by large eruptions from the Deception Island volcano, resulting in near-complete local extinction of the colony, with, on average, 400-800 years required for sustainable recovery.
南极半岛上的企鹅种群变化与几个环境因素有关，但火山活动的潜在破坏性影响尚未被考虑在内。在这里，我们使用详细的生物地球化学分析来追踪过去 8500 年来阿德莱岛（这里是南极半岛上最大的巴布亚企鹅繁殖地之一）上企鹅群体的变化。第一个持续的企鹅群体大约在 6700 年前在阿德莱岛上建立，比半岛范围内的化石证据早了大约 1000 年。该群体在全新世经历了五次种群最大值。总的来说，我们没有发现与当地-区域大气和海洋温度或海冰条件有一致的关系，尽管大约 4000-3000 年前的种群最大值与区域温度升高相对应。相反，至少有五次企鹅群体扩张阶段中的三次是由欺骗岛火山的大规模喷发突然结束的，导致该群体几乎完全灭绝，平均需要 400-800 年才能恢复可持续发展。
