Komarowska Katarzyna, Fudala Katarzyna, Dziembowski Michał, Hagge Alexander, Bialik Robert Józef
Faculty of Biological and Veterinary Sciences, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 87-100 Torun, Poland.
Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland.
Biology (Basel). 2025 Mar 17;14(3):305. doi: 10.3390/biology14030305.
The present study sets out to examine the status of sympatric populations of south polar () (SPSs) and brown skuas () (BSs) at two sites on King George Island, Antarctica. The study sites were designated as Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and were monitored for three (for Point Hennequin (PH)) and four (for West Admiralty Bay (WAB)) consecutive breeding seasons, concluding with the 2023/24 season. The most recently reported data from these areas are from the 2004/05 season, and the data presented herein allow both areas to be assessed in the context of their IBA and Antarctic Specially Protected Area values. The mean number of total pairs for the investigated seasons for WAB was 67 ± 7, while for PH, it was 157 ± 18. The number of pairs of SPSs at PH and WAB justifies the positive evaluation of the areas as IBAs based on global designation criterion A4 proposed jointly by BirdLife International and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). PH is of particular interest, as it has been determined that at least 2.3% of the global population of SPSs, estimated by BirdLife International to be between 6000 and 15,000 adult individuals, breeds at this site. The expansion of both IBA boundaries is also recommended based on this study.
本研究旨在调查南极乔治王岛两个地点的南极贼鸥（SPSs）和棕贼鸥（BSs）同域种群的状况。研究地点被指定为重要鸟类和生物多样性区域（IBAs），并在连续三个繁殖季节（亨内昆角（PH）为三个，西阿德默勒尔湾（WAB）为四个）进行监测，截至2023/24季节结束。这些区域最近报告的数据来自2004/05季节，本文所呈现的数据使这两个区域能够在其作为重要鸟类和生物多样性区域以及南极特别保护区的价值背景下进行评估。在调查的季节中，WAB的总对数平均值为67±7，而PH为157±18。根据国际鸟类联盟和南极研究科学委员会（SCAR）联合提出的全球指定标准A4，PH和WAB的南极贼鸥对数证明了将这些区域积极评估为重要鸟类和生物多样性区域是合理的。PH尤其值得关注，因为据国际鸟类联盟估计，全球南极贼鸥种群数量在6000至15000只成年个体之间，而据确定，至少2.3%的全球南极贼鸥种群在该地点繁殖。基于这项研究，还建议扩大这两个重要鸟类和生物多样性区域的边界。
