Ornithological investigations at Palmer Station: The first long-distance ...
Hoberg, E.P. In press. Aspects of ecology and biogeography of Acanthocephala in antarctic seabirds. Annales Parasitologie Humaine Corn paree.
Holloway, H.L., and J.W. Bier. 1967. Notes on the host specificity of Corynosorna harnanni (Linstow, 1892). Bulletin Wildlife Disease Association, 3, 76 - 78. Jones, NV., and I.C. Williams. 1969. The nematode and acanthocephalan parasites of the sheathbill, Chionis alba (Gmelin), at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands and a summary of host-parasite relationships in the sheathbill. Journal of Helminthology, 43, 59 - 67. Kagei, N., K. Asano, and M. Kihata. 1978. On the examination against the parasites of antarctic Krill, Euphausia superba. Science Reports Whales Research Institute, 30, 311 - 313. Laws, R.M. 1985. The ecology of the Southern Ocean. American Scientist, 73, 26 - 40.
Lowry, J.K., and S. Bullock. 1976. Catalogue of the marine gammaridean amphipods of the Southern Ocean. Royal Society of New Zealand Bulletin, 16, 1 - 187. Targett, T.E. 1981. Trophic ecology and structure of antarctic fish communities. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 4, 243 - 263.
Ornithological investigations at Palmer Station: The first long-distance tracking of seabirds by satellites D.F. PARMELEE and
J.M. PARMELEE
Bell Museum University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
M. FULLER Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Laurel, Maryland 20708
From 8 December 1984 to 3 January 1985 D.F. and J.M. Parmelee recorded birds that previously had been banded as chicks during the 1970s in the vicinity of Palmer Station. By means of an Arctic Survey Boat commissioned to go beyond the limits of the smaller boats (zodiacs) used near Palmer Station, they were able to search for these birds along the coasts of Anvers Island and adjacent smaller islands from Peltier Channel (64°52'S 63°32'W) in the southeast to Gerlache Point (64°35'S 64°16'W) in the northwest. The survey indicates in part that within the Palmer study area a fair number of young later return to their natal sites as breeding adults. According to Greenwood (1980), many bird species are philopatric, but only a proportion of individuals of any species is faithful to one locality. With but a single exception (Parmelee and Rimmer 1984), to date no banded individuals have been found breeding far from the natal sites at Palmer, suggesting that dispersals range beyond the confines of the current survey. Highlights of the survey are given below. Band recoveries. Twenty-two southern giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus) were recovered at nests within the Palmer study area: 162
Volkman, N.J., P. Presler, and W. Trivelpiece. 1980. Diets of pygoscelid penguins at King George Island, Antarctica. Condor, 82, 373 - 378. Watson, G.E. 1975. Birds of the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic. Washington, D.C.: American Geophysical Union. Zdzitowiecki, K. 1978-a. Corynosoma shackletoni sp. n. from hosts in South Shetlands and South Georgia (Antarctic). Bulletin L'Academie Polonaise Sciences, 26, 629 - 634. Zdzitowiecki, K. 1978-b. On the occurrence of juvenile acanthocephalans of the genus Corynosoma Luhe, 1904 in fishes off South Georgia and South Shetland Islands, (the Antarctic). Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria, 8, 111 - 127. Zdzitowiecki, K. 1984-a. Some antarctic acanthocephalans of the genus Corynosoma parasitizing Pinnipedia, with descriptions of three new species. Acta Parasitologica Polonica, 29, 359 - 377. Zdzitowiecki, K. 1984-b. Redescription of Corynosoma hatnanni (Linstow, 1892) and description of C. pseudohamanni sp. n. (Acanthocephala) from the environs of the South Shetlands (Antarctic). Acta Parasitologica Polonica, 29, 379 - 393. Zdzitowiecki, K. 1985. Acanthocephalans of birds from South Shetlands (Antarctic). Acta Parasitologica Polonica, 30, 11 - 24.
2 from 1975 bandings, 2 from 1976, 13 from 1977, 3 from 1979, and 2 from 1980; 6 additional individuals recovered there in 1983— 1984 were not observed in 1984— 1985. Of these 27 birds, 12 nested at natal sites where they had hatched, the rest at sites nearby. Of special interest was the recovery of 8 nesting adults that had been banded as chicks near Palmer Station in 1965; these 20-year-old birds carried wrap-around bands with badly defaced numbers on the outside and clearly discernible numbers on the inside. Fifteen blue-eyed shag (Phalacrocorax atriceps) were recovered at Cormorant Island (Biscoe Bay) nests: 5 from 1979 bandings, 8 from 1980, and 2 from 1981. Five additional individuals recovered there in 1983— 1984 were not observed in 1984— 1985. A yearling banded in 1984 returned to its Cormorant Island colony in 1984— 1985 but did not breed. On nearby Christine Island, a newly established colony had as many as 13 shags in adult plumage and 17 yearlings (1 banded) on 16 January 1985; several nests but no eggs were produced on this island in 1984— 1985 at what appears to be an incipient colony. No banded shags of any age were observed at colonies in the Doumer Island! Wiencke Island area, Joubin Islands, and west coast of Anvers Island where two heretofore unknown colonies were discovered near Gerlache Point on 2 January 1985. Fifteen south polar skua (Catharacta maccormicki) were recovered at nests in the Palmer area: 9 from 1975 bandings, 1 from 1977, and 5 from 1980. Five additional individuals recovered in 1983— 1984 were not observed in 1984— 1985. Of the 20 birds, 12 nested at their natal breeding sites, the rest at sites nearby. An additional 10 birds were captured in a skua club or loafing area near Palmer Station: 1 from a 1975 banding, 1 from 1977, 1 from 1979, 2 from 1980, and 5 from 1981. At least a dozen more were observed but not captured. No banded south polar skuas of any age were noted at Biscoe Point where many pairs bred only a few nautical miles east of the Palmer study area. One brown skua (Catharacta lonnbergi) was recovered. The 1984— 1985 recovery of a brown skua west of Palmer on Dream Island is noteworthy because it represents an extreme example ANTARCTIC JOURNAL
of site tenacity: the nesting skua showed no natal dispersal whatever by using the identical parental nest cup in which it had hatched in 1979. An F 1 hybrid skua (Cat haracta maccorrnicki x C. lonnbergi) was investigated. The 1983 - 1984 successful nesting of a hybrid of known age and parentage was reported by Parmelee and Rimmer (1984). The pair (hybrid x south polar) occupied the same territory in 1984 - 1985, but the birds apparently lost their eggs sometime before 1 January. They continued to occupy the site but did not repeat laying. The first documented case of repeat laying by south polar skuas within the Palmer area was recorded on Humble Island in 1985. New Adélie colony. During the 1984— 1985 survey an unknown Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colony with 171 nests was discovered at a nameless island near Gerlache Point on 2 January 1985. Heretofore, the species was not known to nest anywhere along the west coast of Anvers Island north of the Joubins. Breeding close by were gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) with 1,023 nests and chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) with an estimated 3,000 nests. Satellite tracking. From 4 to 30 January 1985, D.F. and J.M. Parmelee assisted M. Fuller in testing 200-gram, solar-powered radio transmitters that were attached to nesting giant petrels on Humble Island near Palmer Station (figure). Signals from these transmitters were received by polar orbiting ARGOS/TIROS satellites. The behavior of a select group of marked and unmarked nesting giant petrels was observed to provide information about the response of the birds to the radios and to attachment methods. The behavioral data and locations, activity, temperature, and transmitter power-budget data obtained from the radios during January, February, and March are currently being evaluated for use in refinement of transmitters and for indications of the distance the radio-marked giant petrels flew during those months. Based on data accumulated since 1955, about 7,800 giant petrels have been banded with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service numbered leg bands and about 240 recoveries have been recorded, including a dozen long-distance recoveries of birds banded during the 1970s at the Palmer study area. Because most of these recoveries were of birds in their first year of life (Sladen personal communication), there are few data about the local or wide-ranging movements of adult southern giant petrels. Clearly, additional techniques and studies relating to long-distance tracking by satellite are necessary to understand the foraging, dispersal, and migratory movements of long-lived, wide-ranging seabirds like giant petrels, albatrosses, and other seabirds occurring in remote areas.
1985 REVIEW
D.F. and J.M. Parmelee holding a giant petrel about to be set free after having received its satellite transmitter from M. Fuller. (Photographed by M. Fuller on Humble Island 20 January 1985.)
This project was supported by National Science Foundation grant DPP 82-13688. For invaluable field assistance we thank B. Mulford, B. Manning, and T. Michalski of the U.S. Coast Guard; also S. Dame, J. Fields, R. Flanders, J. Heinbokel, B. Obst, M. Snyder, and D. Wiggin.
References Greenwood, P.J. 1980. Mating systems, philopatry and dispersal in birds and mammals. Journal of Animal Behavior, 28, 1140 - 1162. Parmelee, D. E, and C. Rimmer. 1984. Current status of known age birds banded as chicks near Palmer Station in the 1970s. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 19(5), 164 - 165. Sladen, W. 1985. Personal communication.
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Holloway, H.L., and J.W. Bier. 1967. Notes on the host specificity of Corynosorna harnanni (Linstow, 1892). Bulletin Wildlife Disease Association, 3, 76 - 78. Jones, NV., and I.C. Williams. 1969. The nematode and acanthocephalan parasites of the sheathbill, Chionis alba (Gmelin), at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands and a summary of host-parasite relationships in the sheathbill. Journal of Helminthology, 43, 59 - 67. Kagei, N., K. Asano, and M. Kihata. 1978. On the examination against the parasites of antarctic Krill, Euphausia superba. Science Reports Whales Research Institute, 30, 311 - 313. Laws, R.M. 1985. The ecology of the Southern Ocean. American Scientist, 73, 26 - 40.
Lowry, J.K., and S. Bullock. 1976. Catalogue of the marine gammaridean amphipods of the Southern Ocean. Royal Society of New Zealand Bulletin, 16, 1 - 187. Targett, T.E. 1981. Trophic ecology and structure of antarctic fish communities. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 4, 243 - 263.
Ornithological investigations at Palmer Station: The first long-distance tracking of seabirds by satellites D.F. PARMELEE and
J.M. PARMELEE
Bell Museum University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
M. FULLER Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Laurel, Maryland 20708
From 8 December 1984 to 3 January 1985 D.F. and J.M. Parmelee recorded birds that previously had been banded as chicks during the 1970s in the vicinity of Palmer Station. By means of an Arctic Survey Boat commissioned to go beyond the limits of the smaller boats (zodiacs) used near Palmer Station, they were able to search for these birds along the coasts of Anvers Island and adjacent smaller islands from Peltier Channel (64°52'S 63°32'W) in the southeast to Gerlache Point (64°35'S 64°16'W) in the northwest. The survey indicates in part that within the Palmer study area a fair number of young later return to their natal sites as breeding adults. According to Greenwood (1980), many bird species are philopatric, but only a proportion of individuals of any species is faithful to one locality. With but a single exception (Parmelee and Rimmer 1984), to date no banded individuals have been found breeding far from the natal sites at Palmer, suggesting that dispersals range beyond the confines of the current survey. Highlights of the survey are given below. Band recoveries. Twenty-two southern giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus) were recovered at nests within the Palmer study area: 162
Volkman, N.J., P. Presler, and W. Trivelpiece. 1980. Diets of pygoscelid penguins at King George Island, Antarctica. Condor, 82, 373 - 378. Watson, G.E. 1975. Birds of the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic. Washington, D.C.: American Geophysical Union. Zdzitowiecki, K. 1978-a. Corynosoma shackletoni sp. n. from hosts in South Shetlands and South Georgia (Antarctic). Bulletin L'Academie Polonaise Sciences, 26, 629 - 634. Zdzitowiecki, K. 1978-b. On the occurrence of juvenile acanthocephalans of the genus Corynosoma Luhe, 1904 in fishes off South Georgia and South Shetland Islands, (the Antarctic). Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria, 8, 111 - 127. Zdzitowiecki, K. 1984-a. Some antarctic acanthocephalans of the genus Corynosoma parasitizing Pinnipedia, with descriptions of three new species. Acta Parasitologica Polonica, 29, 359 - 377. Zdzitowiecki, K. 1984-b. Redescription of Corynosoma hatnanni (Linstow, 1892) and description of C. pseudohamanni sp. n. (Acanthocephala) from the environs of the South Shetlands (Antarctic). Acta Parasitologica Polonica, 29, 379 - 393. Zdzitowiecki, K. 1985. Acanthocephalans of birds from South Shetlands (Antarctic). Acta Parasitologica Polonica, 30, 11 - 24.
2 from 1975 bandings, 2 from 1976, 13 from 1977, 3 from 1979, and 2 from 1980; 6 additional individuals recovered there in 1983— 1984 were not observed in 1984— 1985. Of these 27 birds, 12 nested at natal sites where they had hatched, the rest at sites nearby. Of special interest was the recovery of 8 nesting adults that had been banded as chicks near Palmer Station in 1965; these 20-year-old birds carried wrap-around bands with badly defaced numbers on the outside and clearly discernible numbers on the inside. Fifteen blue-eyed shag (Phalacrocorax atriceps) were recovered at Cormorant Island (Biscoe Bay) nests: 5 from 1979 bandings, 8 from 1980, and 2 from 1981. Five additional individuals recovered there in 1983— 1984 were not observed in 1984— 1985. A yearling banded in 1984 returned to its Cormorant Island colony in 1984— 1985 but did not breed. On nearby Christine Island, a newly established colony had as many as 13 shags in adult plumage and 17 yearlings (1 banded) on 16 January 1985; several nests but no eggs were produced on this island in 1984— 1985 at what appears to be an incipient colony. No banded shags of any age were observed at colonies in the Doumer Island! Wiencke Island area, Joubin Islands, and west coast of Anvers Island where two heretofore unknown colonies were discovered near Gerlache Point on 2 January 1985. Fifteen south polar skua (Catharacta maccormicki) were recovered at nests in the Palmer area: 9 from 1975 bandings, 1 from 1977, and 5 from 1980. Five additional individuals recovered in 1983— 1984 were not observed in 1984— 1985. Of the 20 birds, 12 nested at their natal breeding sites, the rest at sites nearby. An additional 10 birds were captured in a skua club or loafing area near Palmer Station: 1 from a 1975 banding, 1 from 1977, 1 from 1979, 2 from 1980, and 5 from 1981. At least a dozen more were observed but not captured. No banded south polar skuas of any age were noted at Biscoe Point where many pairs bred only a few nautical miles east of the Palmer study area. One brown skua (Catharacta lonnbergi) was recovered. The 1984— 1985 recovery of a brown skua west of Palmer on Dream Island is noteworthy because it represents an extreme example ANTARCTIC JOURNAL
of site tenacity: the nesting skua showed no natal dispersal whatever by using the identical parental nest cup in which it had hatched in 1979. An F 1 hybrid skua (Cat haracta maccorrnicki x C. lonnbergi) was investigated. The 1983 - 1984 successful nesting of a hybrid of known age and parentage was reported by Parmelee and Rimmer (1984). The pair (hybrid x south polar) occupied the same territory in 1984 - 1985, but the birds apparently lost their eggs sometime before 1 January. They continued to occupy the site but did not repeat laying. The first documented case of repeat laying by south polar skuas within the Palmer area was recorded on Humble Island in 1985. New Adélie colony. During the 1984— 1985 survey an unknown Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colony with 171 nests was discovered at a nameless island near Gerlache Point on 2 January 1985. Heretofore, the species was not known to nest anywhere along the west coast of Anvers Island north of the Joubins. Breeding close by were gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) with 1,023 nests and chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) with an estimated 3,000 nests. Satellite tracking. From 4 to 30 January 1985, D.F. and J.M. Parmelee assisted M. Fuller in testing 200-gram, solar-powered radio transmitters that were attached to nesting giant petrels on Humble Island near Palmer Station (figure). Signals from these transmitters were received by polar orbiting ARGOS/TIROS satellites. The behavior of a select group of marked and unmarked nesting giant petrels was observed to provide information about the response of the birds to the radios and to attachment methods. The behavioral data and locations, activity, temperature, and transmitter power-budget data obtained from the radios during January, February, and March are currently being evaluated for use in refinement of transmitters and for indications of the distance the radio-marked giant petrels flew during those months. Based on data accumulated since 1955, about 7,800 giant petrels have been banded with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service numbered leg bands and about 240 recoveries have been recorded, including a dozen long-distance recoveries of birds banded during the 1970s at the Palmer study area. Because most of these recoveries were of birds in their first year of life (Sladen personal communication), there are few data about the local or wide-ranging movements of adult southern giant petrels. Clearly, additional techniques and studies relating to long-distance tracking by satellite are necessary to understand the foraging, dispersal, and migratory movements of long-lived, wide-ranging seabirds like giant petrels, albatrosses, and other seabirds occurring in remote areas.
1985 REVIEW
D.F. and J.M. Parmelee holding a giant petrel about to be set free after having received its satellite transmitter from M. Fuller. (Photographed by M. Fuller on Humble Island 20 January 1985.)
This project was supported by National Science Foundation grant DPP 82-13688. For invaluable field assistance we thank B. Mulford, B. Manning, and T. Michalski of the U.S. Coast Guard; also S. Dame, J. Fields, R. Flanders, J. Heinbokel, B. Obst, M. Snyder, and D. Wiggin.
References Greenwood, P.J. 1980. Mating systems, philopatry and dispersal in birds and mammals. Journal of Animal Behavior, 28, 1140 - 1162. Parmelee, D. E, and C. Rimmer. 1984. Current status of known age birds banded as chicks near Palmer Station in the 1970s. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 19(5), 164 - 165. Sladen, W. 1985. Personal communication.
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