Oregon Project
Long-term meta-population demographics of Adélie penguins on Ross island, Antarctica
September 2002 - September 2025
Personnel
Participating Agencies
- Office of Polar Programs
- subcontracted through H.T. Harvey & Associates
The Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) is a sea-ice obligate species so ocean habitats in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica are crucial during all stages of the species annual cycle. Changes in wind, temperature, and associated sea ice patterns in some of the more northern regions of the species range in are causing reductions in the size and distribution of Adélie penguin breeding colonies. In collaboration with Point Blue Conservation Science and HT Harvey and Associates, this NSF-funded study is designed to investigate the effects of environmental variation on vital rates and population size for Adélie penguins at 3 colonies within a metapopulation in the Southern Ross Sea. The core of our research is a long-term data set (24th season in 2019) on individually marked, known-age, known-breeding history penguins at these 3 colonies. With these data we can estimate population-level vital rates that produce population change, and attempt to understand the ecological factors that affect these vital rates. The southern Ross Sea has experienced a much smaller human footprint than other regions on the planet, so this project provides a unique and invaluable opportunity to disentangle climate change effects from anthropogenic influences for a species sensitive to predicted environmental changes.
| Research Publications | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Youngflesh, C., S. Jenouvrier, Y.Li, R. Ji, D.G. Ainley, G. Ballard, C. Barbraud, K. Delord, K.M. Dugger, W.R. Fraser, J.T. Hinke, P.O’B. Lyver, S. Olmastroni, S.G. Trivelpiece, W.Z. Trivelpiece, and H.J. Lynch. Importance of environmental variability in phenological match-mismatch: lessons from a circumpolar analysis of the Adélie penguin. Ecology 98(4):940-951. | April 2017 |
| Wilson, D. J., P. O’B. Lyver, T. C. Greene, A. L. Whitehead, K. M. Dugger, B. J. Karl, J. R. F. Barringer, R. McGarry, A. M. Pollard, and D. G. Ainley. 2016. Adélie Penguin numbers predict breeding South Polar Skua numbers on Ross Island, Antarctica. Polar Biology early relesase: DOI 10.1007/s00300-016-1980-4 | June 2016 |
| Whitehead, A.L., P. O'B. Lyver, G. Ballard, K. Barton, B.J. Karl, K. M. Dugger, S. Jennings, A. Lescroel, P.R. Wilson, and D. G. Ainley. 2015. Factors driving Adelie penguin chick size, mass and condition at colonies of different sizes in the Southern Ross Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 523:199-213. | January 2015 |
| Van Doorslaer, K, V. Ruoppolo, A. Schmidt, A. Lescroel, D. Jongsomjit, M. Elrod, S. Kraberger, D. Stainton, K.M. Dugger, G. Ballard, D.G. Ainley, and A. Varsani. 2017. Unique genome organization of non-mammalian papillomaviruses provides insights into the evolution of viral early proteins. Viral Evolution 3(2):1-12. doi: 10.1093/ve/vex027 | October 2017 |
| Morandini, V, KM Dugger, AE Schmidt, A Varsani, A Lescroël, G Ballard, PO'B Lyver, K Barton and DG Ainley. 2024. Sex-specific recruitment rates contribute to male-biased sex ratio in Adélie penguins. Ecology and Evolution 000:000-000. | February 2024 |
| Lesroel, A, KM Dugger, G Ballard, and DG Ainley. 2009. Effects of individual quality, reproductive success and environmental variability on survival of a long-lived seabird. Journal of Animal Ecology 78:798-806. | October 2009 |
| LaRue, M.A., D.G. Ainley, M.Swanson, K.M. Dugger, P.O'B. Lyver, K.Barton, and G. Ballard. 2013. Climate change winners: receding ice fields facilitate colony expansion and altered dynamics in an Adélie penguin metapopulation. PLoS ONE 8(4):e60568. Doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0060568. | April 2013 |
| Jongsomjit, D, A Lescroël, A Schmidt, S Lisovski, D Ainley, E Hines, M Elrod, KM Dugger, G Ballard. 2024. Going with the floe: Sea-ice movement affects distance and destination during Adélie penguin winter movements. Ecology 2024;105:e4196. DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4196 | Download | January 2024 |
| Jennings, S., A. Varsani, K.M. Dugger, G. Ballard, and D.G. Ainley. 2016. Sex-based differences in Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) chick growth rates. PloS ONE 11(3): e0149090. doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0149090. | March 2016 |
| Jennings, S, KM Dugger, G Ballard, and DG Ainley. 2023. Faster growth and larger size at crèche onset are associated with higher offspring survival in Adélie Penguins. Ornithology 140: 1-11. DOI: 10.1093/ornithology/ukad006. | Download | March 2023 |
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Gremillet, D., A. Lescroel, G. Ballard, K.M. Dugger, M. Massaro, and D.G. Ainley. 2018. Energetic fitness: Field metabolic rates assessed via 3D accelerometry complement conventional fitness metrics. Functional Ecology 32:1203-1213, DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13074. |
May 2018 |
| Dugger, KM, G Ballard, DG Ainley, and K Barton. 2006. Effects of flipper-bands on apparent survival and foraging behavior of Adélie penguins. The Auk 123:858-869. | October 2006 |
| Dugger, KM, DG Ainley, P Lyver, K B, and G Ballard. 2010. Survival differences and the effect of environmental instability on breeding dispersal in an Adélie penguin meta-population. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107:12375-12380. | June 2010 |
| Dugger, K.M., G. Ballard, D.G. Ainley, P.O'B Lyver, and C. Schine. 2014. Adélie penguins coping with environmental change: results from a natural experiment at the edge of their breeding range. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. | October 2014 |
| Ballard, G, DG Ainley, KM Dugger, and N Nur. 2010. Foraging strategies of Adélie penguins: adjusting body condition to cope with environmental variability. Marine Ecology Progress Series 405:287-302. | October 2010 |
| Ainley, DG, KM Dugger, V Toniolo, and I Gaffney. 2007. Cetacean occurrence patterns in the Amundsen and southern Bellingshausen Seas sector, Southern Ocean. Marine Mammal Science 23:287-305. | October 2007 |
| Ainley, DG, G. Ballard, and KM Dugger. 2006. Competition among penguins and cetaceans reveals trophic cascades in the Western Ross Sea, Antarctica. Ecology 87:2080-2093. | October 2006 |
| Ainley, DG, G Ballard, BJ Karl, and KM Dugger. 2005. Leopard seal predation rates at penguin colonies of different size. Antarctic Science 17:335-340. | Publisher Website | October 2005 |
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Ainley, D.G., K.M. Dugger, M. La Mesa, G. Ballard, K.J. Barton, S. Jennings, B.J. Karl, A. Lescroël, P.O’B. Lyver, A. Schmidt, P. Wilson. 2018. Post-fledging survival of Adélie penguins at multiple colonies: Chicks raised on fish do well. Marine Ecology Progress Series 601:239-251. DOI: 10.3354/meps12687 |
August 2018 |
| Presentations | Presentation Date |
|---|---|
| Morandini, V., K.M. Dugger, G. Ballard, and D.G. Ainley. 2020. SEX-RELATED SURVIVAL, AGE-AT-FIRST BREEDING, AND BREEDING PROPENSITY OF ADÉLIE PENGUINS ON ROSS ISLAND, ANTARCTICA. 47th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Seabird Group, Portland, OR, February 12-15, 2020. | February 2020 |
| Dugger, K.M. 2020. THE COMPLEXITIES OF SEABIRD DEMOGRAPHICS IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT – ADÉLIE PENGUINS IN THE SOUTHERN ROSS SEA, ANTARCTICA. 47th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Seabird Group, Portland, OR, February 12-15, 2020. | February 2020 |
| Ballard, G., A. Schmidt, A. Lescroel, S. Burcher, K.M. Dugger, and M. Cimino. 2024. Disparate dispersal behavior of fledgling Adélie penguins from three colonies. 11th SCAR Open Science Conference, 19-23 August 2024, Pucón, Chile. | August 2024 |
| Theses and Dissertations | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Kappes, Peter J. 2019. The influence of alternate life history strategies and natal conditions on the reproductive performance of Adélie penguins breeding on Ross Island, Antarctica. Ph.D. Dissertation, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. 171 pp | March 2019 |
| Jennings, S. 2015. Provisioning, growth and survival of Adelie penguin chicks at Cape Crozier, Ross Island, Antarctica. M.S. thesis, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 116pp. | March 2015 |