october, 1997 vol. 10, no. 2 - avian scientific advisory...

Penguin ConservationOctober, 1997 vol. 10, no. 2

In this issue

From the Editor 1

Humboldt penguins at sea: quo vadis? 2

Penguins in Japanese Zoos and Aquariums 3

Poultry virus infection found in Antarctic penguins 8

Gathering Information on Magellanics 9

Conferences and Symposia 11

The EEP Penguin TAG: June 1996 Meeting 15

Humboldt SSP Report, 1997; SSP 5-year action plan 18

Eye on EI Nifio 21

Penguin Conservation

Publication information:

ISSN # 1045-0076Indexed in: Zoological Record and Wildlife Review (WR is now produced by InterNIC,

online [www.nisc.com] & on CD)Serials librarians, please note:

Previous title was SPN: Sphenisclls Penguin Newsletter.Volume numbering continued from previous title.

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Penguin Conservation is published three times per year. Subscription is free, to thosewith a serious interest in penguin conservation and study.

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This journal also welcomes more informal articles, brief notes, and anecdotal reports,of interest to our readers.

Articles for the next issue must be received by February IS, 1998.Please address all correspondence to:

Cynthia Cheney, EditorPenguin Conservation8060 Upper Applegate Rd.Jacksonville, Oregon 97530USAphone: 541/899-1114fax: 541/899-1131e-mail: [email protected]

From the EditorThanks to Penguin Conservation's supporters

Announcements

We thank the New EnglandAquarium in Boston, Massachusetts,for their substantial continuingsupport, and a special thanks to thepenguin keepers there. It was theirdecision to devote the proceeds from asouvenir "penny-smashing machine"at the aquarium to helping PenguinConservation pay its printing andmailing costs. So, as the children put ina penny and a quarter, and watch thepenny being rolled out and embossedwith the image of a penguin, they aremaking a contribution toward thisjournal and its aim exemplified in itstitle. The New England Aquariummaintains a website (http://www.neaq.org/) which chronicles not onlyevents at the aquarium but also itsextensive field research.

For example, The New EnglandAquarium's Right Whale ResearchProject is wrapping up its 18th fieldseason studying right whales in theBay of Fundy, Canada. They have seenclose to a hundred whales a day andhave been reporting their distributionto the Bay of Fundy Vessel TrackingSystem in Saint John, New Brunswick.They in turn relay whale sightings toall approaching and departing vessels.More than half of all right whales bearscars that indicate they were entangledin fishing gear at some point intheir lives, but survived, and actualcollisions between whales and ships areanother serious threat to the whales.

Should any errors have crept induring data entry, or, later, wheninformation needs to be updated,please notify the editor. Correctionsand updates will be printed asreceived, between now and the 1998edition of the Directory.

The Directory's purpose is to makeit easier for those managing penguincolonies to contact one another. Fewinstitutions reported email addresses,but since this is such a fast and easymode of communica tion, we urge youto send in email addresses as they areacquired so they can be added to yourentry.

T he III Congress of ChileanOrnithology will be held inSantiago, Chile, November

12-15, 1997. A symposium entitled"Conservation and Research onPenguins in Chile" will be part of thecongress. [The deadline for submissionof papers has already passed.]

Organizers of the congress are theChilean Ornithologists' Union, and theVeterinary Medical School of laUniversidad Santo Tomas.

Alejandro Simeone, organizer ofthe Penguin Symposium, may bereached at fax 56-32-970681; [email protected].

Researchers in Peru and Chile willgather for a Population and HabitatViability Assessment workshop forthe Humboldt penguin, to be held thelast week in September, 1998, inValparaiso, Chile. It is sponsored inpart by CBse (Conservation BreedingSpecialist Group, ruCN).

New Penguin Directory

This is also the time for our annualrequest for contributions from readers.Your voluntary support is animportant part of our budget; as it hasbeen for the past 10 years, there is nosubscription fee. If you wish to helpout, please use the enclosed envelopeand form. The suggested amount isUS$15 , and of course greater amountsare very welcome.

Please note that checks shouldbe made payable to "ConservationPublications," and must be drawn ona bank whose affiliation with a USbank is printed on the check.

Penguin Conference Japan, anorganization of those working withpenguins in that country, recentlymade a generous contribution towardPenguin Conservation's productionexpenses. PC} has also been active insupporting in situ research, sponsoringconferences, and putting out its ownpublication, The Penguin.

Many thanks to our Japanesecolleagues !

A ccompanying this issue isthe latest edition of theWorld Directory of

Institutions Housing Penguins, listingover 300 zoos, aquariums, and otherlocations where penguins are held.All available information has beenincluded for each institution,including contact person, andphone/fax numbers and emailaddresses (a new category). Manyinstitutions submitted new orcorrected information on the formwhich went ou t wi th the June 1997issue.

his issue of PenguinConservation is brought toyou by the financial supportof two groups.

T

Penguin Conservation October 1997 1

Humboldt penguins at sea: quo vadis?

BORIS CULIK

D uring the El Niii.o of 198283, the Humboldt penguinpopulation diminished

dramatically in the whole distributional area of the species. Recovery ofthe population was slow since 1983,reaching only 13,000 individuals in1996 (CAMP workshop, Cape Town).It has been suggested that largenumbers of Humboldt penguins die atsea, entangled in nets, or starve todeath, even during non-"El Nino"years.

We were able to determine for thefirst time, how Humboldt penguins onPan de Azucar Island (260 09'S, 720

40'W), Northern Chile, utilize theirmarine habitat and where their feeelingareas lie (Culik and Luna-Jorquera,1997a). For this purpose we employed 2streamlined Argos-satellite-transmitters(Telonics ST 10PTI) during the 1994-95and 1995-96 breeding seasons,respectively. We determined that themean travelling speed of Humboldtpenguins during foraging trips was 0.94m.s·1 and obtained 50% of bird locations(n=512) within a radius of 5 km aroundthe island. Ninety percent of alliocations were obtained within a 35 kmradius around the island. These resultswere confirmed by a more detailedstudy (n=2710 fixes) using VHFtelemetry on 8 Humboldt penguins(Culik et aI., in press). The total areacovered by Humboldt penguinsforaging from Pan de Azucar island was12255 km2•

From this, we suggested that aprotection zone with a 35 km radiusaround breeding islands might helpto prevent or reduce conflicts ofHumboldt penguins with fisheries.

Boris Culiklnstitut fuer MeereskundeDuesternbrooker Weg 20024105 KieI.Germanyemail: [email protected]

2

Pan de Azucar Island, Chile

Satellite transmitters also recordeddive duration and penguins spenton average 7.8 to 9 h diving (i.e.submerged) per foraging day butshowed no preferences for particularfeeding areas. However, the VHFstudy showed that birds simultaneouslyincreased or decreased their foragingranges from the island on the samedays, which seems to indicate thattheir strategy of locating prey underdifficult circumstances is to increasethe search radius. Mean daily divedurations (4-day mean) of thepenguins recorded during the 1994-95breeding season were positivelycorrelated with increasing sea surfacetemperature anomalies. Warming ofthe surface water seems to directlyinfluence prey availability. Thisconclusion was supported by the factthat at the same time, fishery landingsat nearby Caldera harbor decreased.In agreement with this, sea surfacetemperatures during the 1995-96breeding season were colder thanaverage, and we observed no temperature effect on bird diving activities.

Until recently, the endangeredHumboldt penguin was considered asedentary bird, which remained nearits breeding colonies throughout theyear. In a further study (Culik andLuna-Jorquera, 1997b) we used fivesatellite transmitters on Humboldtpenguins during the austral winter.Unfortunately, four of the transmittersfailed for unknown reasons. However,we were able to track one bird fromPan de Azucar Island to Iquique (200

12'S, 700 07' W), a distance of 640 km,between May 24 and June 26,1996. We

concluded from this that whereas aprotection zone around breedingislands might be helpful to preventcompetition of penguins with fisheriesduring the summer months, this mightnot improve the survival of migratingbirds in the winter. We plan to pursueour studies to determine the extent ofmigration and to confirm the recordedtravelling route and landing locationsin order to detect possible threats toHumboldt penguins from fishing andother industries throughout the year.

ReferencesCulik, B. M., and G. Luna-Jorquera.

1997a. Satellite tracking of Humboldtpenguins Spheniscus humboldti inNorthern Chile. Marine Biology 128:547-556.

Culik, B. M., and G. Luna-Jorquera.(l997b) The Humboldt penguin: amigratory bird? Journal fUr Ornithologie138: 325-330.

Culik, B.M., Luna-Jorquera G., andH.C. Cepeda (in press). Humboldtpenguins monitored via VHFtelemetry. Mar. Eeol. Prog. Ser.

Telonics, Inc. 932 E. Impala Ave.,Mesa, Arizona 85204-6699

----Warming Antarctic climateaffects penguins

At a seminar on Capitol Hill heldby the U.s. Global Change ResearchProgram last week, researcherssuggested that the observed warmingof the western Antarctic peninsulamay be taking a toll on Adeliepenguins. As the climate warms, earlyspring snowfall seems to be increasing,making it harder for the birds to findsnow-free spots for nesting.

By Jocelyn Kaiser. Science vol. 276(5320): 1790.20 June 1997. © 1997 byThe American Associa tion for theAdvancement of Science.

Penguin Conservation October 1997

Penguins in Japanese Zoos and Aquariums

This historical review of penguincollections in Japan finds some characteristics which were typical ofnearly allzoos everywhere in past decades, such asthe tendency to maintain "postagestamp" collections, as well as othercharacteristics unique to Japan, such asthe keen interest in marine life whichmakes her a "nation ofaquariums."

A ccording to the 1995 Annual Report of the JapaneseAssociation of Zoological

Gardens and Aquariums (JAZGA),there are 96 member zoos and 65member aquariums. Vital data fromthese institutions were compiled in a332-page soft-bound Annual Report,which is entirely in Japanese. Roughlyhalf the volume is devoted to theanimal inventory, from invertebrates tomanuna[s, of member institutions. Ofthose, one zoo and two aquariumsfailed to submit animal data. Moreover,there exist non-member anima[ exhibitfacilities. It is, however, safe to assumethat this Report covers the overwhelming majority of captive wildanimals in exhibit facilities in Japan. Inmost categories in the Report, such asanimal births and [ongevities, data werecollected as of 31 March 1996.Exceptionally, the animal inventory is asof 31 December 1995. From this issue,your writer has chosen penguins as atopic to excerpt, interpret and translate.Possible errors in data compilation arehis.

IntroductionNinety-four zoos held a total of 27,901

birds, from 3 to 1,188 individ ua[s in 1 to197 species per institution. (Theseinel ude a large number of domesticatedtypes such as pigeons and chickens.) Ofthese, 867, or a mere 3% of the total,

Ken KawataBelle Isle ZooBox 39Royal Oak, Michigan 48068U.S.A.

Japan

were penguins. As for aquariwns,48 ofthem held a total of 1,989 birds, from 2to 179 individuals in 1 to 22 species perinstitution. Of these, 1,427, or awhopping 72%, were penguins. [n zoosand aquariums combined, there were29,890 birds in 142 institutions;penguins, with 2,294 individuals in 11species, shared 7.6% of the population,as shown in Table 1. (This accountexcludes three hybrids in the inventory;the issue of hybridization will bediscussed [ater.)

The number, however, is only a partof the story. In terms of n umbers ofindividuals and species, penguins mayoccupy a small part of the birdcollections, but they are unique in manyways, including strong public appeal.Specialized adaptation to aquatic life isanother, which brings about a host ofspecific requirements for captivemanagement. In that aspect, penguinsshare a niche similar to that of thepinnipeds in animal exhibit establishments. In this regard aquariums, whichare better equipped than zoos tomanage aquatic animals, play asignificant role. Japan is also uniquewhen it comes to the cultural role ofaquariums. Unlike most of its Europeanor North American counterparts, Japanis an island nation surrounded byoceans; its people have an intimaterelationship with the ocean and marineprod ucts, and marine biology is apopular branch of science. Such anaspect must be taken into account whendiscussing zoo and aquarium issues.Concerning penguins, a quick glance ata recent history of penguins as a subject

. of public display may help to provide an

KEN KAWATA

insight into the current status of theseinteresting birds.

Historical Comparison: Zoos versusAquariums

Penguins established a prominentposition in the post World War IIJapanese collections, as witnessed intheir history at Deno Zoo, Tokyo(Komori, 1991). Figures for penguinskept at JAZGA member institutions intwo sample years, 1970 and 1985, aredepicted in Tab[e 2. The number ofspecies kep t in zoos and aquari ums hasremained essentially the same over thedecades; however, other aspects such asthe nwnber of birds, the role played byaquariums, and breeding, have gonethrough a great deal of change.

In 1970, there were 61 zoos and 42aquariums belonging to JAZGA. Ofthese, ten zoos and ten aquariums failedto submit animal data for the Annua[Report. Neverthe[ess, the other 51 zoosand 32 aquariums collectivelymaintained 466 penguins of ninespecies. There was no question that zoosenjoyed a commanding position asmajor holders, having nearly threefourths of all penguins. Ueno Zoo, theoldest in the country and the leader inmany (if not all) aspects of the zoo field,was the chief holder with 39 birds (25 ofthem were Humboldt penguins) ofeight species. Next came another big cityzoo, Higashiyama Zoo in Nagoya, with24 birds (including 14 Humbo[dts) ofsix species, followed by NagasakiAquariwn with 15 birds of five species.Osaka's Tennoji Zoo had 21 birds (12were Humbo[dts) of four species.

In terms of breeding, five zoos hatcheda total of 24 Humbo[dt penguins (10 didnot survive), and again Deno was theleader with 14 chicks (7 DNS). By comparison, aquariums had not gained afoothold in this arena. They hatched twoking penguins and two Humbo[dt

Continued on page 4



Zoos Aquariums Total

No. of birds No. of birds No. of birds

48.50.90 22.21.84 70.71.174 (315)(11 zoos) (14 aquariums) (25 institutions)

did not submit complete animal data,while seven aquariums failed to send inanimal data.) The total number ofpenguins had increased by more than5O%-in the aquariums, the number ofpenguins had doubled in 15 years, whilezoos added 40%. Three speciescontributed to this growth, principallyHumboldt but also African androckhopper. As well as the total numberof birds, the number of holdinginstitutions also increased. Zoos still had65% of all the penguins held by JAZGA

Table 1. Penguins in Japanese collections, 31 Dec. 1995

continued from page 4penguins, none of which survived. Thenumber of birds per species in zoos andaquariums remained very small,representing the old -fashioned postagestamp collection. Only the Humboldtpenguins, taking up 84% of the totalnumber, were on their way toward aself-sustaining population.

The picture began to change duringthe next 15 years. Under the JAZGAumbrella there were 82 zoos and 52aquariums as of 1985. (Of these, 11 zoos

26.28.59 (113)(11 institutions)

72.78.101 (251)(33 institutions)

9.12.3 (24)(2 institutions)


38.43.115 (196)(17 institutions)

members; however, there was anindication that aquariums were gainingmomentum in penguin husbandry andexhibition. For example, in terms ofnumber of species, Ueno Zoo was nolonger the leading penguin collection inJapan; Nagasaki Aquarium took the topranking with 37 birds of eight species,followed by Ueno Zoo with 60 birds (28of them Humboldts) of six species.Osaka's Tennoji Zoo was next, with 21birds and five species.

As for breeding, 11 zoos hatched 55Humboldt penguins (37 DNS). Zoosalso hatched: 1 king penguin,1 gentoo penguin (DNS),1 rockhopper penguin (DNS) and7 African penguins (4 DNS). UenoZoo bred four species, showing thestrength of a major institution.Aquariums were catching up, aseight institutions hatched a total of41 Humboldt penguins (15 DNS).However, the overall impressionwas that, by and large, penguins inJapanese institutions still portrayeda postage stamp collection, with theexception of the Humboldt, andpossibly the African, both of whichhad sizable populations.

In the next ten years, thenational population of penguinsmore than tripled. When discussingthe increase of numbers in captiveanimals, attention must be paid towhere the increase originated,Le. whether it resulted fromreproduction or imports. TheAnnual Reports do not offer a clue,since they have no information onthe captive-hatched versus wildcaught ratio. Similarly, such topicsas the inbreeding coefficient andmean kinship cannot be detectedfrom the statistics. Nevertheless,the phenomenal growth came

307.286.492 (1085) from aquariums. Their penguinpopulations more than quintupled,

(67 institutions) even though the number of

aquariums itself increased by a merequarter. Aquariums now maintain62% of all penguins, reversing the

0.0.1 (1)(1 institution)

36.35.99 (170)(30 institutions)



9.12.3(2 aquariums)

198.178.326(28 aquariums)

49.48.80(22 aquariums)


4.7.17(1 aquarium)

2.4.2(1 aquarium)



0.0.1(1 aquarium)


4.8.10(7 zoos)

23.19.42(8 zoos)

109.108.166(39 zoos)

23.30.21(11 zoos)

7.13.2(1 zoo)

2.12.1(1 zoo)

8.9.14(2 zoos)

15.13.20(9 zoos)

Macaroni penguinE. chrysolophus

Little Blue penguinEudyptula minor

African PenguinSpheniscus demersus

Humboldt PenguinS. humboldti

Magellanic PenguinS. magellanicus

Species

Gentoo penguinP. papua

Rockhopper penguinEudyptes chrysocome

Big crested penguinE. sclateri

King penguinAptenodytespatagonicus

Adelie penguinPygoscelis adeliae

Chinstrap penguinP. antarctica

4 Penguin Conservation October 1997

have fewer species, with nearly 80% ofthem having one or two species each.By contrast, aquariums may becharacterized by having larger numbersof species. Of 40 aquariums thatmaintain penguins, only half have oneor two species each, while 15% have sixor seven species each. Let us takeanother point of view, the number ofbirds per institution regardless ofspecies. Aquariums tend to have more

individual birds than zoos do. Forexample, about half of the zoos have tenor fewer birds each, while only 30% ofaquariums do so; nearly a quarter ofaquariums have more than 50 birdseach, compared to a mere 5% of zoos.

Curiously, during the course of 25years, something has remainedunchanged. The Humboldt penguin hascontinuously held the largest number inthe species roster, although it does show

Continued on page 6Table 2. Comparison of numbers of penguin species in Japanese collections in two sample years.(Numbers of institutions in each category are also shown.)

Husbandry and ExhibitryThe Humboldt dominates the scene. A

total of 51 zoos maintain penguins. Ofthose, 33, or 65%, have only one specieseach, as shown in Table 3; zoos tend to

trend in just ten years. Behind thestatistics lie issues and questionsconcerning husbandry and exhibitry,which will be examined in the followingsections.

1970'" 1985Species In zoos In aquar. Total In zoos In aquar. Total

King 19 18 37 5.8.7 4.5.1 9.13.8 (30)(7 zoos) (3 aq) (10 inst.) (6 zoos) (1 aq.) (7 inst.)

Emperor 3 1 4 0.0.1 0.0.1 (1)(1 zoo) (1 aq.) (2 inst.) (1 aq.) (1 inst.)

AdeIie 1 1 2(1 zoo) (1 aq.) (2 inst.)

Chinstrap 1 1 2(1 zoo) (1 aq.) (2 inst.)

Gentoo 13 1 14 2.2.2 0.0.4 2.2.6 (10)(4 zoos) (1 aq.) (5 inst.) (3 zoos) (1 aq.) (4 inst.)

Rockhopper 6 6 7.6.24 1.3.21 8.9.45 (62)(4 zoos) (4 inst.) (11 zoos) (7 aq.) (18 inst.)

Big crested 0.0.1 0.0.1 (1)(1 aq.) (1 inst.)

Macaroni 4 3 7 0.1.4 1.1.8 1.2.12 (15)(2 zoos) (3 aq,) (5 inst.) (3 zoos) (4aq.) (7 inst.)

African 6.7.30 1 7.7.30 (14)(6 zoos) (1 aq.) (7 inst.)

Humboldt 291 100 391 92.95.172 58.38.82 150.133.254 (537)(43 zoos) (11 aq.) (54 inst.) (51 zoos) (23 aq.) (74 inst.)

Magellanic 3 3 0.0.4 3.3.20 3.3.24 (30)(2 zoos) (2 inst.) (2 zoos) (7 aq.) (9 inst.)

"'Sexes of birds were not reported in 1970.



Table 3. Numbers of penguin species maintainedper collection in Japan, 1995

1234

567

LongevityData in Table 5 represent penguins

that had been living for at least ten yearsas of 31 March 1996, or died wi thin oneyear of that date after at least ten yearsin captivity. As expected, Spheniscusdominates the roster, in proportion tothe huge number held. However,ranking at the top of the longevity listare two male king penguins at Nagasaki

BreedingTable 4 depicts hatchings of penguins

during the fiscal year. As expected,Humboldts lead the pack (or flock inthis case) with 198 chicks, or threefourths of all the penguin chicks thathatched during the year. Of these 198, 97survived, which amounts to 9% of theliving population of Humboldts. Zoosand aquariums combined bred eightspecies, although the true polarpenguins are not included in the successstory. Yet the 'score cards' show thatsteady improvements have been madein penguin breeding over the years.Aquariums have surpassed zoos in thisrespect, just as in other areas such as thenumber of birds and the number ofspecies kept in their collections.

Some institutions have achievedmulti-species breeding with threespecies, including the aforementionedTennoji Zoo, Tokyo Sea Life Park withrockhopper (DNS), little blue (fairy) andHumboldt, and Nagasaki Aquariumwith gentoo, Humboldt and African.

910112233

No. of aquariums

337452oo

No. of zoos

Mixed-species exhibitsand hybridization. Whiledifferent genera ofpenguinsaremaintained No. of speciestogether, chances of maintainedhybridization must beslim.

Tennoji Zoo in Osakahatched king,rockhopper andHumboldt penguinsduring 1995 (the rockhopper chick did notsurvive) while keepingthe three genera in oneoutdoor enclosure (pers. obs.). On theother hand, when species of the samegenus are kept together, reproductivebehavior between species is bound tooccur. In Japanese collections, this hashappened to Spheniscus species. In the1970 Annual Report, no hybrids werenoted. According to the 1985 Report,there were 0.0.6 hybrids in twoinstitutions; four Humboldt x Africanand two Humboldt x Magellanic. In the1995 Report, there are three Magellanicx Humboldt crosses in two aquariums.

As more biologically sound animalmanagement programs are adopted byzoos and aquariums, hybrids become afocus of debate. During the 1995 annualmeeting of the Species SurvivalCommittee of Japan, the commonpractice of mixed-species exhibits withSpheniscus was criticized, one management committee member stating thateggs should be destroyed if nestingbetween different species should takeplace (Kawata, 1996). However,management programs are run on avoluntary basis, and JAZGA musteventually have to deal with thedilemma surrounding the animalownership issue. [Editor's note: An SSP0991> and Studbook (1993) have beenestablished for Humboldts in Japaneseinstitutions. See reports in PenguinConservation, June 1997, p. 13, and July,1995, pp. 4-5.)

continued from page 5a slow decline, noted by the percentagein the overall population; 84% in 1970,74% in 1985 and 47% in 1995. As of 1995,the Humboldt is the only species withmore than 1,000 individuals; the kingpenguin, with 315 birds, is the distantsecond.

Of the zoos that maintain a singlespecies, 24 have Humboldts, sevenhaveMagellanic and two have African, all ofthem belonging to the genus Spheniscus.All but four of the 51 penguin-holdingzoos have this genus, making it the basicand reliable group of zoo penguins. Infact, every species in this genus isrepresented but one, the Galapagospenguin (5. mendiculus). Being a warmclimate group of penguins with abroader range of tolerance to captiveconditions, they can be exhibited inoutdoor enclosures, and are relativelyeasy to breed. Aquariums also favor thisgroup. In zoos and aquariumscombined, three Spheniscus speciesmake up 67% of the 1995 penguinpopulation. Despite the common publicperception of the penguins as birds offrozen ocean and icebergs, mostpenguins in zoos and aquariumsoriginated in temperate or evensubtropical climates.

Polar penguins. Unlike the Spheniscusspecies, polar penguins require dimatecontrolled housing as a necessarysupport system, and they are found inonly two institutions in this survey.Adventure World, which is part of alarge amusement complex south ofOsaka, holds Adelie and chinstrappenguins. This park specializes in fourcold-climate species, having thesubpolar king and gentoo penguins inaddition. It is also the largest penguinholder in the country with 180 birds,and exhibits them in large indoorenclosures (pers. obs.). The aquariumcounterpart is the relatively new Port ofNagoya Public Aquarium, which keepsan identical combination of species asAdventure World's, with a total of 78birds.


Table 4. Penguins hatched in Japanese collections, 1.4.1995-31.3.1996.

ZOOS AQUARIUMS TOTAL

Species # of birds # Zoos # of birds #Aq. # of birds # Inst.

hatched hatched hatched

King 9 (3) 5 3 (0) 2 12 (3) 7

Ge1too 2 (0) 1 2 (0) 1

Rockhopper 1 (1) 1 9 (6) 2 10 (7) 3

Macaroni 1 (0) 1 1 (0) 1

Little Blue 6 (5) 1 6 (5) 1

African 13 (5) 3 13 (6) 4 26 (11) 7

Humboldt 77 (46) 19 121 (55) 15 198 (101) 34

Magellanic 5 (2) 3 7 (1) 4 12 (3) 7

Figures in parentheses represent the number of hatchlings that did not survive.

Table 5. Longevity of penguins in Japanese collections, 31 March 1996.

Species >31 years 26-30 years 21-25 years 16-20 years 10-15 years

species had already established abreeding population, and was readilyavailable inside Japan. There is a longstanding practice in Japan, under whichtraffic of animals between institutionsis heavily controlled by animal dealers.Institutions, especially wos, routinely'surplus' captive-bred animals todealers, instead of sending them directlyto other institutions. Possibly, in someinstitutions the staff may not be inclinedto thoroughly check the background ofnew arrivals which are delivered bydealers. Some captive-hatched birds,whose records had been lost intransition, could well be entered as'purchased' or 'arrived' with no further

o3

o1

o1

o

King 2

Rockhopper 0

Big crested 0

Macaroni 0

African 0

Humboldt 1

Magellanic 0

Aquarium, which arrived from theAntarctic on 27 April 1962 and were stillliving after 33 years and 11 months.Closely following these two is a femaleHumboldt at Kiryugaoka Park Zoo,a small municipal zoo in GunmaPrefecture. She arrived there as an adulton 1 hme 1962, and was still living at thetime of data gathering.

On this table, only three birds werereported as captive-hatched, but thatmay be inaccurate and misleading aswell. A large number of Humboldtswho entered facilities within the last twodecades are listed as 'purchased' or'arrived'; it is doubtful that any numberof them were wildcaught, since this

ooooo2

o

o1

oo4

1

o

1

1

1

oo

10

o information. At any rate, the oldestof the captive-hatched birds on the list isa female Humboldt which hatched atKyoto Zoo on 26 May 1969, and was stillliving as of 31 March 1996.

ReferencesJapanese Association of Zoological

Gardens and Aquariums: AnnualReports 1970,1985,1995. (In Japanese.)

Kawata, K. (1996): Species SurvivalCommittee of Japan: an update on the8th Annual Conference. I.Z.N. Vol.43(1): 51-53.

Komori, A. (1991): The history ofpenguins at Ueno Zoo. I.Z.N. Vol. 38(3):19-20.

Reprinted, with permission, fromInternational Zoo News 1997, vol. 44(3).


Poultry virus infection found in Antarctic penguins

Ajtarctic penguins appear tobe relatively free of infectious

iseases, although there isserological evidence of infection with anumber of avian diseases foundelsewhere (1-4; references on p. 21). Aninfectious agent is suspected in one caseof mass mortality in Adelie penguinchicks Pygoscelis adeliae (5), but therehave been no confirmed reports of anymajor outbreaks of infectious disease.Here we report evidence for theoccurrence of an avian pathogen,infectious bursal disease virus (!BOV),in wild Antarctic penguins. This raisesconcern for the conservation of avianwildlife in Antarctica.

!BOV is a pathogen of domesticchickens, Gallus domesticus , butantibodies have been detected in avariety of wild aquatic bird species (6).

Dr. Heather Gardner*Sue Brouwer**,uwrie Gleeson**Knowles Kerry*Martin Riddle*

*Antarctic Division, Department ofEnvironment Sport and Territories,Channel Highway,Kingston, Tasmania. [email protected]®an tdiv.gov.au

** Australian Animal Health Lilboratory,CSIRO, PO Bag 24 Geelong. 3220Lilurieg®aahl.dah.csiro.auS. brouwer®aahl.dah.csiro.au

For further information contact DrHeather Gardner at the AntarcticDivision ft' 03 6232 3411 orNiall Byrne at CSIRO Animal Healthft' 03 52275028.This article is reprinted from thewebpage ofCommon wealth Scientificand Industrial Research OrganisationAustralia (http://www.ah.csiro.au/Topics/penguins/penguins.htm). Itoriginally appeared, with 2 figures, inthe magazine Nature, 15 May 1997.)

8

It affects lymphoid organs, primarily thebursa of Fabricius in chicks, the mainsite for the development of antibodyproducing B-lymphocytes populations.Subclinical effects and immunosuppression caused by even the lessvirulent strains of !BOV, retard growthand development, and predispose thechick to opportunistic infections (7).

Morbidity and mortality rates inyoung chickens vary but can be high,especially in a newly emerged, globallyspreading, high virulence strain.

We inferred !BOV infection fromthe presence of specific antibodies inserum collected from both emperorAptenodytes forsteri and Adeliepenguins. We collected samples from 52emperor penguin fledgling chicks (fourto five months of age) from AusterRookery (67° 23'564°02'E) in December1995, and between September 1995 andFebruary 1996 from 133 adult Adeliepenguins from two colonies, within 40km of Mawson (67° 31'S 62° 48'E). Weused a standard virus neutralisation test(VNT) to measure antibody titres (8).Antibody titres of 1 in 80 or greater wereregarded as positive (9).

Using this conservative criterion, theprevalence of positive VNT reactors was65.4% in emperor penguin chicks and2.1% and 2.6% in the two colonies ofadult Adelie penguins. lnfection withIBOV occurs principally in young birds(10), and so prevalence of seroreactorswould decline with age.

We found no antibodies in Adelieserum taken from ei ther chicks (n=17) oradult birds (n=26) in January 1996 froma remote and rarely visited colony atEdmonson Point (74° 21' S 165° 03'E) inthe Ross Sea. In a retrospective analysis,the prevalence of antibodies in adultAdelie penguin serum collected atMawson in January 1991 was 1.5%(n=I36).

!BOV is relatively resistant toinactivation by heat, desiccation andchemical agents, and is contagious andhighly infectious by the faecal-oral route(11). It is likely to remain an

environmental contaminant of coloniesbetween breeding seasons.

The recent rapid spread of the newhighly virulent strains throughout mostof the poultry industry in the northernhemisphere is testament to its potentialfor widespread dissemination. A potentsource of environmental contaminationin Antarctica could be from carelessor inappropriate disposal of poultryproducts, allowing access by scavengingbirds such as the south polar skua,Catharacta maccormicki. Spread withinAntarctica could be facilitated throughthe movement of people carryingthe virus on contaminated footwear,clothing, equipment or vehicles.

Although clinical disease was notapparent in either species of penguin,further investigation is warranted.The presence of seroreactors nearcentres of human activity raises thepossibility that the virus may have beenintroduced. The size of our chick sampleat Edmonson Point was sufficient todetect a prevalence of in excess of 20%seroreactors (p<O.05)12. If !BOV waspresent in this location, the seroprevalence would be expected to besimilar to that among the equivalent agegroup of emperor chicks. Thus theabsence of neutralizing antibodies in thechicks from this remote colony ofEdmonson Point suggests that this areais free from mov contamination.

At this time, it must be assumed thatIBOV may be pathogenic in Antarcticpenguins, and is likely to be spreadby human activity. The potential forexpeditioners and tourists to be vectorsof disease as they move aroundAntarctica may pose the greatest threatyet to its avian fauna.

-~o-n~tl-n-ue--'-o'-n-p-a-g-eL1


Has your zoo ever exhibited Magellanic Penguins?

We are in the process of creating a registry for Magellanic Penguins in NorthAmerica. The Penguin TAG has authorized this registry, which (we hope) will oneday grow up to be the official Magellanic Penguin Studbook.

As you know, the most difficult part of this process is getting historical information.If you are now exhibiting Magellanics, or ever have, please complete the questionnaire on the back of this page. Also, please send send copies of any documents~

you have regarding your zoo/aquarium's past or present collection of the speciesSpheniscus magellanicus. If you have knowledge of any non-AlA collections ofMagellanic penguins, please let us know.

lOOS OUTSI DE OF NORTH AMERICA are urged to send information about Magellanicpenguins received from or shipped to North American zoos.

We appreciate anything you can do to help us in this endeavor.

~ With regard to documents, no notations or log book entries, relating to hatchings,deaths, acquisitionss and dispositions, should be considered insignificant. We need toturn over every possible stone to make this registry as accurate and comprehensiveas humanly possible.

Jane Tollini, Penguin Keeper & John Aikin, Associate Curator, Birds

San Francisco loo

1 loo Road

San Francisco CA 94132

(415)753-7080

fax (415) 681-2039

~ The questionnaire is on the other side of this page;

just tear it out.


Magellanic Penguin QuestionnaireThis questionnaire is concerned with Magellanics housed in North American institutions.However, any zoos or aquariums outside North America, which have ever sentMagellanics to or received them from, North American zoos, are urged to senddetails of these transfers.

1. We currently hold or exhibit Magellanic penguins. Yes 0 No 0

2. What date did you begin exhibiting/holding Magellanics? _

3. What date did you stop exhibiting/holding Magellanics?

4. What is/was the size of your colony? . _

5. How many birds can your exhibit hold? _

6. How many chicks have hatched since you have had Magellanics? _

7. What year did you last hatch chicks? _

8. If you no longer have Magellanics, what was the disposition of your colony?

9. Please send us a specimen report for each historical and current bird received andhatched at your institution. The information we need on each bird is:

.1515 number• Place of hatch• Date of hatch

• Dam's ISIS number.Sire's ISIS number.Any transfer information

• LocallD and/or name• Date of death• Cause of death

»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

e-mailPhone

Name of Institution or company _

Name

Curator/registrar ( )

Keeper #1 ------------1"-(---"\-)--------------

Keeper #2 -+-(_---+) _

Please return this questionnaireand all information to: Jane Tollini, Penguin Keeper

San Francisco Zoo1 Zoo RoadSan Francisco CA 94132


Conferences and Symposiaconcerned with penguins, and with their environmnet and management

M ost of these announcementswere found on the web pagesofthree organizations: The Roy

al Society of New Zealand (http://www.rsnz.govt.nz/forms/index.html);UNESCO's International Marine MeetingList (Year of the Ocean-Activities andEvents), located at: http://www.unesco.org//ioc/infserv/meetings/meets.htm; and theAmerican Zoo and Aquarium Association(http://aza.org/azalcommunique/97-08/).Nearly every entry, from whatever source,also gives a source for more infonnationreachable by regular mail, phone, or fax.

October, 1997The Annual Conference of

the American Association ofZoo Veterinarians will beheld from October 26-30,1997, at the SheratonAstrodome, Houston,Texas. Included will bepaper presentations, aposter session, veterinarystudent and resident/graduate student papercompetitions, and workshops /wet labs.For further information, contact WilburAmand, VMD, Executive Director /AAZV,6 North Pennell Road, Media,PA 19063 (610) 892-4812, fax 892-4813,e-mail: [email protected].

Coastal Nutrients Workshop,Sydney, Australia. October 30-31,1997.Contact Marianne Atherton AWWAFederal Office Tel:(02) 9413 1288Fax: (02) 94131047. Ernail:[email protected].

The Seventh Annual Conference ofthe South East Asia Zoological ParksAssociation will be held in Singapore.The conference theme is "ModernizingZoos in Modernizing Societies." For further information, contact BernardHarrison, Director, Singapore Zoo, 80Mandai Lake Road, Singapore 729826.Phone 011-65-269-3411, fax 011-65-3672974, e-mail: [email protected]. orDr. Richard Tenaza, Department of


Biology, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA 95211 (209) 946-2181, fax946-3022.

UPAC International Conference onBiodiversity and BioresourcesConservation and Utilization, Phuket,Thailand. November 23-27, 1997.Contact Professor Dr SakarindrBhumiratana, IUPAC Biodiversity Conference, NationalCenter forGenetic Engineering andBiotechnology

(BIOfEC), Nation-al Science and TechnologyDevelopment Agency (NSTDA) Building, 73/1 Rama VI Road, Bangkok10400, Thailand. Tel: +66 26448150-4 ext433,532,534; Fax: +6626448107-8;Email: [email protected]

Nature Conservation in ProductionEnvironments, Taupo, New Zealand.November 30-December 5, 1997.Contact Conference Organiser, Conservation in Production Environments c/oSchool of Biological Sciences,Universityof Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, NZ. Ph. 09-373 7599x6825;fax09-373 7042; E-mail:[email protected]

DecemberUV radiation and its effects-an

update. Christchurch, New Zealand.December 4-5, 1997.Contact Sue Usher([email protected]).

The Second Biennial ZoosCommitting to Conservation Conference will be hosted by Busch Gardens,Tampa, Florida USA, December 11-14,1997. Topics include program development, biodiversity issues, case reports,and the creation of a database from existing in situ programs. For registration formor submission of abstract or papers,include title, affiliationaddress, and phonenumber. Faxes for papers/posters mustbereceived by29 September. Fax all submissions and inquiries to Beth Grayson at(813) 987-5548.

MODSIM97, InternationalCongress on Modelling and

Simulation, Hobart,Tasmania, Australia.December 8-11,1997. Contact Dr A. David McDonaldc/o CSIRO Marine laboratories, PO Box 1538, HobartTAS 7001, Australia.Ph +61-3-6232 5482,fax +61-3-6232 5000.E-mail :[email protected].

Website:http://www.ml.csiro.au/modsim97

January 1998World Genetics Congress Meeting,

Armidale, NSW, Australia. January 1216,1998. Contact Vanessa Smith, ICAR98, c/o Livestock Improvement, COlRuakura and Morrinsville Roads, Private Bag 3016, Hamilton 2020, Ph: +64 78560901, Fax: +64 7 845 2428, Email:[email protected]

February 1998IOC-WESTPAC 4th International

Scientific Symposium on the Role ofOcean Sciences for Sustainable Development, 2-7 February 1998, Okinawa,Japan. Organized by: Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture;University of the Ryukyus; Ocean Re-

contmued on page 12

11

Conferencescontinued from page 11

search Institute, the University ofTokyo, IOC. Contact: Prof. M. Terazaki,Ocean Research Institute, University ofTokyo, 1-15-1 Minimidai, Nakono,Tokyo 164, Japan. Tel: (813) 53516528;Fax: (81 3) 5351 6530; E-mail: [email protected]

SeaViews: Marine Ecosystem Management-Obligations andOpportunities, 11-13 February 1998,Wellington, New Zealand. The conference will explore the nature ofecosystem approaches to managinghwnan impacts on the marine environment, and in a participatory framework,will get people discussing their preferred futures for the sea, and how to getthere. Contact: Cath Wallace, SeniorLecturer in Public Policy and Economics, School of Business & PublicManagement, Victoria University ofWellington, PO Box 600, Wellington,New Zealand, Tel: (64 4) 4955233x8552, Fax: (644) 495 5084; Email:Cath.Wallace® vuw.ac.nz

March 1998GLOBEC Open Science Meeting,

17-20 March 1998, UNESCO, Paris,France. Co-sponsors: SCOR, IOC. Contact Dr. Roger Harris, Plymouth MarineLaboratory, Prospect Place, PlymouthPLl 3DH, England. Tel: (44 1752) 633400; Fax: (44 1752) 633 101; E-mail:[email protected]. See UNESCO webpage (http://www.unesco.org/ioc/infserv /meetings/meets.htm), for updates.

First IOCARIBE Scientific Symposium, Furi, Cartagena, Colombia.Organized by: IOC-IOCARIBE. Contact: Rafael Steer-Ruiz, IOCARIBESecretariat, Cartagena, Colombia;E-mail: [email protected]

Ocean Issues for the 21st Century, 30March-1 April 1998. Contacts: Ms Virginia Crowe Associate Director, WiltonPark. Tel: (44 1903) 817769; Fax: (441903) 815 931; and G. Kullenberg, IOC,E-mail: [email protected]

The AZA Western Regional Conference will be held in Monterey,California, March 11-14, 1998. For

further information, contact GingerHopkins, Monterey Bay Aquarium, 886Cannery Row, Monterey, CA 939401085. Phone (408) 648-4925.

April 1998The AZA Central Regional Confer

ence will be held in Grand Rapids,Michigan, April 1-4, 1998. For furtherinformation, contact Brenda Stringer,John Ball Zoological Society, 1300 W.Fulton Street, Grand Rapids,MI 495046100. Phone (616) 336-4301.

The AZA Eastern Regional Conference will be held in Boston,Massachusetts, April 22-25, 1998. Forfurther information, contact ElizabethColeman, New England Aquarium,Central Wharf, Boston, MA 02110-3399.Phone (617) 973-4925.

CLIVAR Scientific ConferenceWorld Climate Research Programme,April 1998. Co-sponsors: IOC, WMO,ICSU. Contact: Art Alexiou, lOCi Email: [email protected]

IMO Workshop On Waste Management and Marine Pollution Preventionin Southern and Eastern Africa, April1998, Cape Town, South Africa. ContactInternational Maritime Organization(1MO)4 Albert Embankment, LondonSE1 7 SR, UKFax: (44 171) 5873210; Email: [email protected]

May 1998The Annual Conference of the Pan

African Association of ZoologicalParks, Aquaria and Botanical Gardenswill be held in Bloemfontein, SouthAfrica, May 13-15, 1998.lt will be precededby the Executive meeting on 11-12 May.A warm invitation is extended to allcolleagues. For further information, contact Joyce Basel at (800) 323-8020.

The Fifth International Zoo DesignConference will be hosted by the Paignton Zoo, May 18-20, 1998. For furtherinformation, contact Peter Stevens,Executive Director, Paignton Zoo, Environmental Park,Tomes Road, Paignton,Devon, United Kingdom. TQ4 7EU.Phone 011-44-(0)1803-697500, fax01144-(0)1803-523457; e-mail: [email protected]

30th International Liege Colloquium on Ocean HydrodynamicsHydrodynamical and Ecosystems Processes in Ice-covered Seas of theSouthern and Northern Hemispheres,4-8 May 1998, Liege, Belgium. Co-sponsors: FNRS, IRMA, IOC, IAPSO, NSF,ONR, SCOR, SSTC UnL of Liege. Contact: Pr. J. Nihoul, Model EnvironmentUniversity of Liege, B 5 Sart Tilman,4000 Liege, Belgium. Fax: (32 4) 366 2355; E-mail: [email protected] the Website and register on line at:http://modb.oce.ulg.ac.be/Colloquium. See UNESCO web page (http://www.unesco.org/ioc/infserv/meetings/meets.htm), for updates.

EURASLIC 1998: Seventh BiennialMeeting of the European Associationof Aquatic Sciences Libraries and Information Centres, 6-8 May 1998.People and Technology: SharingKnowledge and Shaping the Future ofAquatic Information in Europe. National Centre for Marine Research,Athens, Greece. Contact: David Moulder, Head, National Marine BiologicalLibrary, Plymouth Marine Laboratoryand Marine Biological Association, Citadell Hill, Plymouth, PLl 2PB, UnitedKingdom. Tel: (44) 1752 633 266; Fax:(44) 1752 633 102; E-mail: [email protected]. More info in IMS Newsletteron-line Item 97-12Od4

BELGICA Centennial Symposium,14-16 May 1998. Organized by theNational Committee on AntarcticResearch, Royal Academy of BelgiumSecretariat: Belgian National Committeeon Antarctic Research, Dr. C. De Broyer, Secretary, Institut Royal des SciencesNaturelles de Belgique, 29 rue Vautier,B-tOOO Brussel. Fax: 02/627-42-77 or02/646-44-33.

Maritime Terminology: Issues inCommunication and Translation, International Conference, 15-16 May1998, Brussels, Belgium. Convenedby the College for Interpreters andTranslators (1511). Contact: ConferenceSecretariat, International Conferenceon Maritime Terminology, CentreTERMIS11-ISTI, 34, rue Joseph Hazard, B-1180 Brussels, Belgium, Tel. :


+32.2.346.26.41. Fax: +32.2.346.21.34,Email: [email protected]. More infoon http://www.refer.fr/termisti/nauterm/nauten.htm. See also IMSNewsletter on-line: Item 97-119.

International Symposium on Oceanic Fronts and Related Phenomena(The Konstantin Federov MemorialSymposium), 18-22 May 1998, Pushkin(Sankt-Petersburg), Russia. Co-sponsors: Russian Academy of Sciences, IOC,SCOR. Contact: Dr Andrei Zatsepin,Chairman of International ScientificCommittee, or Dr Alexander Ostrovskii,Scientific Secretary Oceanic Fronts,Russian Academy of Sciences,P.P. Srurshov Institute of Oceanology 36Nakhimovskii pr., 117851 Moscow,Russia. Tel: (7 095) 124 7392;Fax (7095) 1245983; E-mail: [email protected], [email protected],[email protected]. More info onhttp://www.rc.msu.ru/ocfronts

1998 Ocean Circulation and Climate-The 1998 WOCE Conference,24-29 May 1998, Halifax, Nova Scotia,Canada. Co-sponsors: WCRP, 10C.Contact: John Gould, WOCE IPO,Southampton. Oceanography Centre,Room 256/18 Empress Dock,Southampton, 5014 3ZH, UK. Tel: (441703) 596 789; Fax: (44 1703) 596 204; Email: [email protected]. Moreinfo on http://www.soc.soton.ac.uk/OTHERSI woceipoI wconfI index.hhnl.

International Conference on Education and Training in Integrated CoastalArea Management (lCAM)-TheMediterranean Prospect, 25-29 May1998, Genoa, Italy. Convened by: International Centre for Coastal and OceanPolicy Studies (ICCOPS). Co-sponsors:IOC, MAP of UNEP, ICS of UNIDa.Contact: Adalberto Vallega, ConferenceScientific Co-ordinator, University ofGenoa, Department Polis, 16123 Genoa,Italy. Tel: (39 10) 2095858; Fax: (39 10)209 5907; E-mail: [email protected] info on http://www.polis.unige.it/1998educationl

The IOC/American MeteorologyConference on Satellite, Meteorologyand Oceanography, 25-29 May 1998.Organized by: IOC and American Mete-


orological Society. Co-sponsors: WMO. Contact: WilliamErb, IOC, UNESCOTel: (331)45684019; E-mail: [email protected].

June 1998Coastal and Marginal

Seas, 1-4 June, UNESCO Headquarters,Paris, France. Organized by: The Oceanography Society (TOS) and 10C.Contact: Judi Rhodes, TOS4052 TimberRidge Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23544,USA. Tel: (1 757) 464 0131; Fax: ( 1757)464 1759; E-mail: [email protected] info on http://www.tos.org.

2nd International Conference onMarine Pollution and Ecotoxicology,10-14 June 1998, Hong Kong. Convenedby: the City University of Hong Kong,Dpt of Biology and Chemistry.Co-sponsored by IOC. Contact: Prof.Rudolph Wu, Chairman, OrganizingCommittee of the Conference on MarinePollution and Ecotoxkology, City University of Hong Kong, Dpt of Biologyand Chemistry, Tat Chee Avenue,Kowloon, Hong Kong. Tel: (852) 27887404; Fax: (852) 2788 7406.

3rd Annual International CleanOcean Conference, Hawall, 12-14 June1998. This conference celebratesOceans Day in the USA and Hawaii.More info on http:/planet-hawaii.com/sosI c1ean-oceans.hhnl.

International Symposium on Coastal Mega-Cities, Mid-1998, Shanghai,China. Supported by: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China; State Science andTechnology Commission, China; StateOceanic Administration, Shanghai Municipality. Contact: Li Haiqing, IOC,UNESCO; Tel: (331)45683994. E-mail:[email protected].

Pan-African Conference on Sustainable Integrated Coastal Management(PACSICOM), June-July 1998, Maputo,Mozambique. Organized by: UNESCO,Government of Mozambique. Preparatory meeting held on 25 March 1997.Contacts: Robin Harger, IOC, UNESCO;E-mail: [email protected], andMiguel Clusener-Godt, MAB,UNESCO. More info on http:/ I

www.unesco.org/ioc/pacsicom/pacsicom.htm.

July 1998EUROMAT98--Conference on Ma

terials in Oceanic Environment, 22-24July 1998, Lisbon, Portugal. Organisedby: SPM (Sociedade Portuguesa deMaterials) On behalf of: FEMS (TheFederation of European MaterialsSocieties). Contact: Prof. Luciano Faria,SPM Av. Rovisco Pais, 1ST, 1096 LisboaCodex, Portugal. Tel: (351 1) 841 7746;Fax: (3511)8417915. See UNESCO webpage (http://www.unesco.org!ioc/infserv Imeetings/meets.htm), for updates.

August 1998XXVI International Conference on

Animal Genetics, Auckland, New Zealand. Starts August 9,1998, ends August14, 1998. Contact Ian Anderson,Chairman,Organising Committee,Equine Blood Typing & Research Centre, MasseyUniversity, PalmerstonNorth, NZ. Ph 063569099 x 7261,Fax: 06 350 5621; email:ebtu@manawatu. gen.nz Webpage:http:\ \www. wise. edu\ animalsci\isag\index.htrnI

SCAR VII International BiologySymposium Christchurch, NewZealand. August 31-Seprember4, 1998.Contact:http://www.scar.org/scar-meetings Ibiology.htrnI

Joint IGU-IOC Seminar on OceanProgramme, August 1998, Lisbon.Contact: G. Kullenberg, [email protected]; or A. Vallega, University of Genoa, DepartmentPolis, 16123 Genoa, Italy. Tel: (3910) 2095858; Fax: (39 10) 209 5907; E-mail:[email protected]

13

Conferencescontinued from page 13International Conference on

Satellites, Oceanography and Society(ICSOS), 17-21 August 1998, Lisbon,Portugal. Co-sponsors: ESA, EXP098,IGBP, IOC, NASA, NOAA, SCOR,WCRP. Contact: Dr. David Halpern, JetPropulsion Laboratory, MS 300-323,California Institute ofTechnology, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099, USA. E-mail:[email protected]. SeeUNESCO web page (http:/ /www.unesco.org/ioc/infserv/meetings/meets.htm), for updates.

International Oil Spill Conference(SPILLCONd598), 17-21 August 1998,International Conference Centre,Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Enquiries: Australian Maritime SafetyAuthority. E-mail contact: [email protected], [email protected]

6th International Conference onPaleoceanography (lCP.VI), 23-28August 1998, Lisbon, Portugal. Organized by: Associaeao Portuguesa dePaleoceanografia. Sponsored by:EXP098, Instituto Geologico e Mineiro(IGM), European Commission,IOC.Contact: Dr. Fellima Abrantes,IGM, Associaeao Portuguesa de Paleoceanografia, Rua Academia dasCiencas, 19 - 2, 1200 Lisboa, Portugal.Tel: 346 39 15; Fax: 342 46 09. SeeUNESCO web page (http://www.unesco.org/ioc/infserv /meetings/meets.htm), for updates.

The Atlantic: Past. Presentand Future,30 August-2 September 1998, Lisbon,Portugal. Organized by: theInternational GeographicU n ionContact: Prof. Carminda Cavaco, Centro de Estudos Geographicos (CEG),Faculdade de Letras, Alameda da Universidade, 1699 Lisboa Codex, Portugal.Tel: (3511) 796 5469/7940218; Fax (3511) 793 8690; E-mail: [email protected] info on http://www.geoficies.com / athens / ac ropolis /2510/index.htmJ.

Black Sea and the World Ocean,Summer 1998, Georgia.organized by:Georgian National OceanographicCommittee.Contact: Irakli Khomerik.

October 1998Symposium on Marine Pollution,5

9 October 1998, Monaco. Co-sponsors:IABA, IOC, UNEP, IMO. Contacts: DrN. Andersen; University of Maryland,Hom Point Environmental LaboratoryCEES, PO Box 775, Cambridge MD21613, USA. Fax: (1 410) 2218490; Email:andersen@hpel. umd.edu; G.Kullenberg, IOC; and InternationalAtomic Energy Agency (IAEA)MarineEnvironment Laboratory (MEL), BP800,98012 Monaco. Tel: (377) 92 05 22 22;Fax: (377) 92 05 33 48. See UNESCO web

page (http://www. unesco.org/ioc/infserv / meetings / meets.h tm), forupdates.

IMO Maritime Search and Rescue(SAR) Conference, 1998, Australia.Contact: International Maritime Organization (IMO), 4 Albert Embankment,London SEI 7 SR, UK. Fax: (44 171) 5873210; E-mail: [email protected].

Regional Workshop on the protection of marine environment fromshipping environment, Dates to beidentified. Sponsors: IMO and theGovernment of Australia.

March, 2000Water 2000 Conference & Expo

"Guarding the Global Resource"Auckland, New Zealand. March 17-25,2000. Contact New Zealand Water &Wastes Association, POBox 15-974New Lynn, Auckland 1232, NewZealand. Email: [email protected]: +64-9-827 5757; Fax: +64 9 8272003;WATER 2000 Website: http://www.nzwwa.org.nz

The naming of penguins: some quirks among the science

Some penguin species acquiredtheir vernacular and Latinnames in interesting ways.

The Adelie was named by the nineteenth-eentury French explorer JulesSebastien-Cesar Dumont d'Urvilleafter his wife. History does not recordwhether she was as squat and frumpyas her namesake. The macaroni penguin was named for its crest of feathers, which to the eyes of the earlyAntarctic explorers resembled the fop-

14

pish coiffure of members of London'sMacaroni Club. Gentoo is a name firstused by English explorers in the Falkland Islands and is the archaic wordfor "Hindu," referring to the twin triangular white patches, reminiscent ofa turban, on the pengUin's head. TheLatin name for the gentoo, Pygoscelispapua, is one of the great misnomersof science. The bird's describer, JohannReinhold Forster (after whom the emperor penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri, is

named), a naturalist who circumnavigated the world with Captain JamesCook, falsely believed that the speciesoccurred in Papua New Guinea. Infact, the nearest gentoos to NewGuinea are on Macquarie Island, 6900kilometers due south.

[from The CnJstal Desert: summers inAntarctica, by David G. Campbell.1992. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.page 266, note 5.]

Penguin Conservation October1997

Captive Management Programs: Europe

The EEP Penguin TAG: minutes of the June 1996 meeting

EEPsThere were still only two penguin

EEPs; reports were given from each.

Minutes of the meeting held inPoznan June 1995 were referred to.

The assessment of goal achievementfrom the previous year was carried out.

books. The TAG chair would now officially ask them to do this.She would also contact the othertwo BI co-ordinators, Chris Gough,Dudley Zoo (macaroni) and Dave Edgington, Cotswold Wildlife Park(rockhopper), asking them if theywould expand their studbooks to include EEP collections. If they agreed thiswould then be put to the EEPExecutive Office. These four would thenbe asked to join the TAG.

Membership: Ian Keymer andAndrew Cunningham had both agreedto become members of the TAG on aconsultative basis. Both are veterinarysurgeons with a speciality in penguins.Thomas Hildebrandt and Hubert Boschwould also be asked to join.

Sexing and Tagging

TaggingIt should be a condition of joining the

EEP that all birds are externally taggedat the very least. Preferably they shouldalso be transpondered. At the SCARmeeting in Cambridge there was to be aWorkshop on Alternative PenguinMarking Techniques. Miranda Stevenson and Simon Blackwell would attendthis on the 30th July. The goals of theworkshop were to:

• identify new and emerging techniques for marking penguinS

·to present data on how these techniques are being applied and evaluatedin the field and experimental studies

·one of the workshop objectives willbe to advise SCAR on the status of penguin marking techniques

[Please note: appendix regarding theSCAR meeting appears at the end of theseminutes (see p. 17). Complete minutes ofthe 5CAR banding meeting appeared inPenguin Conservation, June 1997 (vol. 10(1): 9-12.1

Saumur, France

been parent or hand-reared. There isalso a need for collections to send inp.m. (post mortem) reports. It was important that more collections sexed theirbirds; of the current EEP population51% had not been sexed. Some collections, e.g. Munich, still do not mark theirbirds. There had, however, been an increase in the use of transponders. It wasurgently required that a husbandrymanual be developed for the Spheniscusgroup.

Breeding recommendations wereprovided for collections W1der three categories. Negative breeding: i.e. do notbreed; neutral breeding: can breed but nottop priority; positive breeding: breed-genetically important birds. Theserepresented: negative breeding 40%,neutral breeding 44% and positivebreeding 16%. There are 60 5. humboldticollections in the EEP.

African (Black-footed) Penguin:Jaap Govers, Amsterdam Zoo. At31.12.95 there had been an increase of68 birds to a total of 725. There werenew participants, Doue la FOW1taine inFrance in 1995 and Cambron-Casteauin Belgium in 1996. Again there was aproblem with birds being both W1sexedand untagged.

It was suggested that as a condition ofbeing a member of the EEP, institutionsmust individually mark their birds. Adviceshould be given on the best methods toachieve this.

Miranda Stevenson reported thatboth Robert Thomas and MartinGibbons may agree to expand their British Isles studbooks, for king and gentoopenguins respectively, into EEP stud-

Kolmarden ZooKolmarden ZooBristolEmmenArtis Zoo,

AmsterdamEdinburghAmhemRheineRotterdamCologneWhipsnadeRhenenCopenhagenLeipzigBelfastZSL

Present:Mats AmW1dinBirgitta AmW1dinDuncan BoIton*Pierre de Wit*Jaap Covers *

David Field*Bart HiddingaAchim JohannCathyIGngLydia Kolter*Nick LindsayGerard MeijerCamiIia NorgaardGerd NotzoldJohn StrangeSimon TongeStevenVansteenkiste AntwerpRoger Wilkinson* Chester* Full TAG member

T he EEP Penguin TAG met inSaumur, France, on 24th June1996. Then TAG Chairperson:

Miranda F. Stevenson, Edinburgh(current Chairperson is David Field,Edinburgh).

Humboldt's Penguin:Pierre de Wit. Studbook up to

31.12.95. There remain three hybridbirds with Spheniscus demersl15 and atone location hybrids with Spheniscusmagellanicus.

There are 1770 (376.373.1021) animalsin the studbook. The EEP population at31.12.95 was 1074, one bird more than atthe same time in 1994. There is a lack ofinformation as to whether birds have



1996 EEP MeetingContinued from page 15

A discussion on tagging methods followed:

oThe questionnaire previously circulated and analysed two years ago hadshown four main types of marking: metal band, plastic band, transponder andwingstaple. Transponders were universally listed under the categories good andvery good. Some problems had been encountered with all other methods.

oWing-staples and ear-tags throughthe flipper were considered not an acceptable method of marking because ofdamage to the flipper with possible resulting infection, and the tags falling out

oLamboume flipper bands: thesehad been formerly in aluminium(which Edinburgh had found good forgentoo) and overlapped when closed.The present bands were steel and openended. Not good for gentoos owing tosize problems, but good for smallerspecies. Itwas noted that field-workersalso used these bands.

-Plastic cable ties: good but requirefrequent changing.

-Darvic ffipper bands - not good andnot recommended - too rigid

oLeather bands - used successfullyby some collections.

-Flagging inclividuals with insulationtape on bands. Colour coding allows forobservation from a distance. Used atEdinburgh and Baltimore.

-Spot patterns can be used on Spheniscid birds.

-Transponder-the neck appearedto be the chosen site for fitting these.

ActionA questionnaire is required about the

use of different methods. Lydia Kolterto include this on her survey of Humboldt penguins. Miranda Stevenson toprepare a questionnaire on the subjectfor all penguin species to be sent out bythe EEP office. She would seek advicefrom those attending the CambridgeMeeting as to some information thatthey felt might be worth ascertaining.

16

Sexing MethodsCurrently the following information

was available:-Abdominallaparoscopy was not

practical in penguins-Examination of the cloaca with an

endoscope was not reliable butAmhem claimed that this method hadbeen successful in their birds.

-Sexing by karyotyping using whiteblood cells had proved successful in theBrookfield laboratories (Dubach, 1996);success elsewhere was limited. However, karyotyping methods usingregenerating tail feathers,is reportedfrom Nell Anderson, Peoria IL.

-University Diagnostics, Ltd. are tryingout methods with Humboldt's penguinsusing feather pulp for Simon Blackwell.Method they use not yet dear.

oVetgen, using DNA fingerprintingmethods. So far had been unable tofindmarkers which determined sex differences in penguins.

- Ultra-sonic probes into cloaca.Hildebrandtet al (1996) reported on thismethod. Birds had to be anaesthetised.

Action-David Field to collate information on

DNA and Karyotyping methods fromcompanies in UK, liaising with SimonBlackwell.

oLydia Kolter would contactThomas Hildebrandt Lyclia would alsoprocure the video on the subject fromErlangen.

-Work on beak measurements andweights to be looked at by collections,Edinburgh David Field, Whipsnade,Nick Lindsay.

-Species co-ordinators to requestsex/measurement/weight data for collections.

Research on Pair-formation, Pairbond and Reproductive Success inthe Colony of Humboldt Penguins atCologne Zoo.

Lyclia Kolter presented a summary ofsome of the findings of DorisMarlene Linzmeier who had carried out

some work at Cologne Zoo and hopes tocontinue with this work for her PhD.She hopes that more colonies can be included in the work.

She had looked at sex differences withrelationship to weight, beak length andbeak height Weight had proved to be themost reliable method, both beak measurements show considerable overlap.

Qualitative behavioural differenceswere present in the two sexes, which canbe used for sexing. Quantitative behavioural differences were found betweenreproductively successful and nonsuccessful birds.

From the field it is reported ofMagellanic populations that they have a25% increase in weight before breeding.This may be important for breedingsuccess. It is possible that females tendto prefer heavier males, this may be inconnection with the quality of the nestthey offer. It also shows the importanceof recording the time of year the birdswere weighed.

Non-invasive weighing techniquesallow the birds to be weighed severaltimes per year. In the course of DorisLinzmeier's PhD the use of a balancebuilt into the penguin enclosure andremote recording will be tested.

The main subject of the PhD will bemate choice, pair-bond and reproductive success. The study aims atcontributing to both basic research andEEP relevant issues (see Humboldt penguin survey)

Future research targets-an analysis of the population of

Humboldts-research into the control of body

weight during the breeding season (clifferences in weight loss of males andfemales, differences in energetical investment of males and females)

-carrying out a survey in Europeanzoos about daily routine, nutrition andnest sites. The results would form agood basis for modification/complementation of the North AmericanGuidelines for European Collections



Research on Water Management andNutrition

Louise Pagan of the International ZooVeterinary Group was carrying outwork on this subject. She wasdoing work on the Edinburghpenguin colony. This involved takingsamples of fish for analysis and alsofaeces.

It was noted that Ellen Dierenfeld ofthe Bronx Zoo was working onpenguin supplements with the NA Penguin TAG. She was liaising withEdinburgh Zoo on this matter.

Post Mortem ProtocolMiranda Stevenson would recircu

late this with the minutes of themeeting. It was subsequently suggested that this be sent to all collections.This could be done with the questionnaire circulation.

Avian Malaria ProphylacticsThierry Petit had undertaken to col

lect and collate information on thissubject from collections. Institutionswould be asked to contact him withdetails of their prophylactic treatments.Simon Blackwell had circulated twodocuments with the HI Penguin TAGreport, one was signs and symptomsfrom adults that had died at CotswoldWildlife Park. Some although not all,had died from avian malaria. He hadalso compiled a list, from Penguin Conseroation, on the clinical signs of avianmalaria. Miranda Stevenson would circulate these with the minutes.

Humboldt Penguin SurveyLydia Kolter and Doris Linzmeier were

about to send out a questionnaire onHwnboldts penguin to holding Europeancollections. This action is supported by theEEP co-ordinator, Pierre de Wit. Thiscovered areas from nutrition to nest-sitesto enclosure cleaning.


Third International PenguinConference, South Africa

Itwas noted thatJaap Covers would beattending this and would report back.

The Chair thanked all those attendingand promised to be active in helping tocomplete the assigned action points designated for the year.

~-

~.

Appendix: Workshop onAlternative MarkingTechniques held in BAS,Cambridge, on 30th July 1996

Below are summary points:

• Problems encountered withtransponders in the field

-migration of TAGs from the injection site.

-infection associated with injectionsite-suggest swabbing of area and using a fresh sterile needle each time.

-site: back of neck may not be best.Top of leg has advantages and can beused to record birds when they walkover a reader.

Problems encountered with bandsin the field

-open end of band digging intoflipper by as much as 5mm.

-most field workers use steel bandsmade by Lamboumes.

-suggestion that flipper bands have adrag effect on swimming ability (couldincrease by 12%) and may be having adetrimental effect on bird survival; alsoflashing metal may attract predators. Apaper on rate of loss of birds (king penguins) that were single- and double- (i.e.both flippers) banded, suggested thatloss of double banded birds was higher.

Other methods-small mammal ear-tags through toe

webbing.-leg bands (steel) which may be

better although more difficult to observe.

-bar-code strip glued to beaks--butproblems with outer sheath of beakshedding

-in some studies birds' feet-webbinghad been punched to indicate that a birdhad been banded

-plastic tag (like those used forlabelling clothes) wi th a coloured numbered plastic tube on the end. Insertedthrough the skin - may result in overpreening of insertion point and only lastone season. These were available fromthe U.s and were made for tagging fishin fish farms.

-micro-satellite locators attached tothe birds and tracked by satellite

ActionWorkshop attendees decided that

they would develop a questionnairefor distribution concerning taggingmethods, problems etc.

-This would be done by WilliamFraser. Simon Blackwell and MirandaStevenson would get copies and be onthe mailing list.

-Simon and Miranda indicated thatmany institutions would be willing tohelp by trying out band, tag types to assist with the work.

Publications to note:Sexing:Hildebrandt, Goritz, Bosch, Seidel

and Pitra (1996). Ultrasonographicsexing and reproductive assessmentof penguins. Penguin Conservation9 (1):16-12.

Dubach (1996). Gender determination in captive and wild species ofpenguins. Penguin Conservation9 (1):14-15.

MalariaCranfield, Beall, Skjoldager and

laleggio (1991). Avian malaria. Penguin Conservation 4 (2):5-7.

Brossy (1993) Haemoparasites in theAfrican (Jackass) penguin (Spheniscusdemersus). Penguin Conseroation 6 (2):20-21.

17

Captive Management Programs: North America

Humboldt Penguin SSP: 1996 reportGAIL BRANDT

PATRICIA MCGILL

T he status of the NorthAmerican Humboldt penguinpopulation is very similar to

last year, and the program continues toprogress. The 31 December, 1996, SSPpopulation was 235 penguins housedin 11 zoos and aquariums.Calculations using 90% of geneticdiversity for 150 years suggest aminimum viable population of 300birds.

The original challenges of a slowpopulation decline and high mortalityhave been resolved. The critical needfor additional SSP spaces has beenrelieved due to responses by both newand existing institutions to increase ordedicate space for this population.Some of this needed space has alreadybecome available; a total of 280-300spaces at 12 institutions areanticipated by year-end 1997. Thebreeding moratorium, that was ineffect for three years because ofinsufficient space, was lifted in 1995.New breeding recommendations andpairings are in progress. Overall,cooperation on completingrecommended transfers has beengood.

Current Population StatusIn September 1996, CBSG

conducted a Penguin CAMP meeting.The following informationsummarizes the best current information on status of Humboldtpenguins in the wild. The totalpopulation was estimated at 16,00020,000 birds in about 1981. Breedingpopulations decreased markedlyduring the pronounced 1982-83 EI

Patricia McGill, Species CoordinatorGail Brandt, Studbook KeeperChicago Zoological SocietyBrookfield Zoo3300 Golf Rd.Brookfield, Illinois 60513-1060fax 708-485-3532

18

Nino (by 65% in Peru and ca. 74% inChile).

Although there are discrepancies inpopulation estimates from differentsources (probably due to differentmethodologies and times of year ofthe surveys), the current 1996 worldpopulation is estimated at about13,000 individuals. In general, itappears that the population is stableor continues to decline.

Demographic TrendsReproduction occurs in the captive

population and many founders orpotential founders are surviving.During 1996, 17 pairs hatched 21young (4.9.8); of those, all survivedmore than 30 days. However, twochicks died before year-end. Life tableanalysis of the studbook populationindicates a population growth rate (r)of 0.009 males/0.005 females (up from-0.01 in 1990). The generation time is12 - 13 years and the net reproductiverate (Ro) is 1.1. Breeding is possiblebetween ages two and 25 for femalesand up to 30 for males. Peak fecundityis between approximately 10 and 21years of age. Fecundity is low untilabout age 5.

Despite a maximum recorded lifespan of 33 years, very few individ ualslive beyond 25 years. Of the 14 deathsduring 1996, two were young of theyear and none were older than 15years. It is of particular note that 11females died, nine of which werebreeding age.

The SSP population of Humboldtpenguins has been stable recently; in1992 a breeding moratorium wasdeclared to prevent production ofyoung that could not be placed in SSPinstitutions. Additional spacesbecame available in 1995 and 1996 andbreeding has resumed. Although thepopulation growth rate has varied,dependent in part on managementchanges, the historic record does give

some indication of potential forpopulation growth. Growth duringyears (1988-1991 ) in which handrearing was common was 10% to 17%per year. In other years when breedingwas active, population growthaveraged about 5% to 10% per year.The population declined only slightly,about SOlo, in each of the years of thebreeding moratorium. One goal of themost recent masterplanning session isto increase the population rapidly tothe target size, with emphasis onunder-represented individuals.

Population GeneticsThe genetic profile of the pop

ulation remains very encouraging.Recent calculations using retention of90% genetic diversity for 150 yearssuggest a minimum viable populationof 300 birds. This should be attainablewith continued good geneticmanagement, even though thecolonial nature of breeding oftenprecludes precise control over whichbirds pair together in a colony.

The original 219 potential foundersof the population have livingdescendants from 63 founders. Thirtyeight wild caught birds are still living.Gene drop analysis shows that 98.5%of the gene diversity that was presentin the wild source population ispresently retained and has 33.5founder genome equivalents. If allliving birds are managed optimally, itis theoretically possible to achieve99.3% gene diversity and 69.5 foundergenome equivalent. However, thenext few years are the last opportunityto breed the 12 remainingunrepresented founders before theybecome physiologically postreproductive or die.

Special Concerns• identifying sexes. Because of the

recognized risk following transportand the difficulty of managing proper



genetic pairing in a colonial species, itis imperative that the sexes of birdscan be properly identified prior totheir moves into breeding colonies.

-aging population, particularlyunrepresented founders. Because 14%of the population is greater than 20years old, breeding unrepresentedfounders contin\les to be a highestpriority. The next five years is the lastchance to push the peak geneticrepresentation.

-strategies for genetically managingcolonial birds need to be pursued.

Progress Toward Goals1. Thirty-seven of 48 recommended

transfers (77%) were accomplished in1996. The group that was not accomplished was associated with a newexhibit that was not completed as soonas anticipated; those 11 are carriedover to recommendations for 1997.

2. Twenty-three of the 38 unsexedbirds from 1995 have now been sexed;however, of the 23 unsexed penguinsat year-end 1996 only eight are young

of the year, leaving 15 older juvenilesthat still need sexing.

3. Masterplan draft was completed;strategies for breeding all birds needsto be detailed (broad recommendations were given).

4. Five-year action plan draftcompleted, but without specific fieldconservation or education projects;awaiting PHVA.

Financial ReportStarting balance $2599.Funds raised: $0Funds expended: $0Current balance: $2599.[From generous donations by

Daily's Juice and Stride Ritecorporations.]

Short-term Goalsfor Upcoming Year

1. Transfers: 28 transfers havealready been recommended orendorsed by mid-1997; another 25recommended transfers are

anticipated. Among the transfersalready identified is the endorsementof the receipt of eight Humboldtpenguins (4.4) from Germany(Dresden and Schwerin Zoos).

2. Strongly endorse and assist CBsein organizing a Humboldt penguinPHVA in Chile or Peru; send SSPrepresentative(s); use results todevelop field conservation andeducation sections of 5-year actionplan.

3. Assist in securing funding forgenetic study (examining potentialhybridization, inbreeding, geneticdiversity of wild vs. captivepopulations) of Humboldt penguins(Milwaukee and Brookfield).

4. Select keeper liaison to SSP (twonominations received); assist inorganizing keeper participation andinput.

DATA TABLE Two years One year Currentago ago year

Data Current through31 December 1996 (1994) (1995) (1996

Participating Institutions 10 11 11Total Captive Population 92.93.41 93.97.38 108.104.23

# SSP animals managed 226 228 235# SSP recommended

births/hatches 9 29 21# of non-recommended

births 1 1 0# of deaths of S SP animals 22 28 14# of imports 0 0 0# of exports 0 0 0# of founders with descendants 62 63 63



5-year Action Plan: Humboldt Penguin SSPPATTY MCGILL

T he following list of priorityaction items emerged from adiscussion at the SSP meeting

held in Seattle, September IS, 1995.

I. Husbandry & Management.Environmental conditions of nest

boxes, particularly temperature and humidity. Examine conditions withrespect to "successful" sites (Le. lowchick/adult mortality) vs. "less successful" sites (Le. high chick/adultmortality); compare captive data to datafrom wild sites in Chil& (field data: E.Diebold and K. Smith)

Alternate: Evaluate type and numberof substrates offered with respect to incidence of bumblefoot. a. Ffinch andothers)

II. Genetics.Survey population to detect inter

specific hybrids. It is thought that someindividuals in the population may beoffspring of crosses with other Spheniscus species, most likely Africanpenguins. It is not possible to trace thisdefinitively through old records. Advanced techniques of genetic analysiscould resolve this and identify hybridbirds. a. Dubach, L. Henry, and others)

• Detection of extra-pair parentage. Itis assumed that there is a high level ofmate fidelity in these colonies. This maybe a fairly safe assumption based ondata from Magellanic penguin coloniesin Argentina (G. Fowler pers. comm.);however, extra-pair copulations and fertility are documented among otherseabird species. Detecting the frequencyand identity of parentage other than therecorded "behavioral" parent wouldclearly improve our knowledge of this

Patricia McGill, Species CoordinatorChicago Zoological SocietyBrookfield Zoo3300 Golf Rd.Brookfield, Illinois 60513-1060fax 708-485-3532

20

population and our ability to managethe genetic characteristics effectively.O. Dubach and others)

Altemate: Management strategies forcolonial species. In a colonial species, itis possible to recommend appropriatepairings between birds, but it is notpossible to guarantee that the proposedpair will actually mate with each otherto the exclusion of other matings. Additionally, it is tirneand labor-intensive toensure that there is no appropriatepotential mate in each colony (e.g. arelated bird of opposite sex) whenmoves are recommended. Both theoretical considerations and practicalmethods need to be developed toaddress these management concerns.(A. Lyles and D. Wharton).

III. Veterinary I Medical Issues.Diagnosis and treatment of

aspergillosis. Aspergillosis is a fungaldisease that has been a repeated problem in the health and management ofHumboldt penguins. Advances havebeen made in the prevention ofaspergillosis, but both diagnosis andtreatment remain problematic and needwork. Comparisons of data fromcaptivity with frequency of titers to aspergillosis in wild populations may alsoprovide insight. (T. Reidarson, R.Wallace, R. Cook)

• Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of malaria. Although Humboldtpenguins have not been regular sufferers of avian malaria, occasionaloutbreaks can devastate local populations. Environmental, management,improved protocols for prophylaxis;improved early diagnosis and treatmentall may improve prevention and survivability. Comparisons with captiveAfrican penguins and with incidencein the wild may also be useful.(T. Reidarson and R. Wallace)

IV. NutritionAlternate: Nutrient analysis of diets

used in parent-rearing chicks. Chickmortality, particularly within the first10-14 days, remains relatively high inthe population. One hypothesis hasbeen inadequate nutrition at the timethe yolk sac is fully absorbed by thechick. Analysis of growth rate of chicksand nutrient content of the diet offeredto pairs or colonies that successfullyparent-raise chicks vs. those that haverepeatedly failed could provide specificmanagement improvements.(S. Crissey, P. McGill, and others)

V. Education.Development of scholarship

opportunity for students in SouthAmerica. Students of penguin biologyand conservation in Peru and Chileotten need support to assist in field studies. Perceived as an investment in thefuture of these threatened birds, the SSPhas proposed developing a scholarshipfund. The new education liaison, GregMelaik, could take the lead in investigating and organizing such an effort.(G. Melaik, P. McGill, MilwaukeeCounty Zoo, and others)

VI. In situ conservation.PHVA. One of the most needed ac

tivities is to convene a PHV A withbiologists and other stakeholders fromboth Chile and Peru. It is anticipatedthat it may be possible to secure an invitation from Chile for this workshop.Problems facing this species in the wildare diverse, and in some cases differgreatly by region. A PHVA could assistin sorting through the relative Significance of the factors and in identifyingspecific useful projects for SSP support.Strongly endorsed by the 1996 PenguinCAMP meeting. (S. Ellis; MilwaukeeCounty Zoo; Sea World; P. McGill)


Poultry virus in Antarctic penguins

continued from page 8

References1. Clarke J. R. and Kerry K. R.

Korean J. Polar Res. 4:1019-1027 (1981).2. Morgan I. R. and Westbury H. A.

Avian Dis. 25: 1019-1027 (1981).3. Morgan I. R. and Westbury H. A.

Hydrobiologica 165: 262-269 (1988).4. Austin F. J. and Webster R. G.

JWildlife Dis. 29,568-571 1993).5 Kerry K. R. , Gardner H. G. &

C1arke,J. R.Microbiol. Aust. 17:16 (1996).

Eye on E1 Nino

H ere are some first-handobservations from penguinresearchers along the coasts of

Peru and Chile. The source was theENSO monitoring page begun by Dr.David Duffy (http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/-sustain/ENSO.html). This provides awealth of information, categorized bycountry/oceanic region, by subject suchas birds or fisheries, and is searchableonline or downloadable. Other sourceslisted at the end of this article.

3 SEPTEMBER. CHILEKaren Gryzbowski and I are

members of the team working on aproject at Algarrobo (central Chile),and were there this past May andJune. Torrential rains that persisted forapproximately 6 weeks caused nearlytotal abandonment of the colony atAlgarrobo. Alejandro Simeone andMariano Bernal, who have beenmonitoring the island, stated thatprior to the storms in May, there wereover 200 active nests on the island. Bythe time I left June 24 th, we found onebird with two chicks remaining Thisbird had its nest in a very protectedrock crevice on the eastern aspect ofthe island. ("Island" also includes therock breakwater extending from theeast side of the island). Many of thedirt burrows collapsed from the rains,but the waves were so high that a


6. Wilcox G. E., Flower, R. I. P.,Baxendale, W. & McKenzie J. S. AvianPathol.12: 135-139 (1983).

7. McFerran J. B. in: Virus Infectionsof Birds (ed. J. B. McFerran and M.S.McNulty) pp. 213-228 (ElsevierScience Pub. 1993).

8. Office Internationales desEpizooties, in: Manual of standards fordiagnostic tests and vaccines, pp. 496-503(1996).

9. Giambrone J. J. Avian Dis. 24:284-287 (1980).

majority of the south side of the islandwas flooded by the ocean itself.

-Roberta Wallace, DVM,Milwaukee Zoo

6 OCTOBER. CHILEA brief note from Alejandro Simeone

regarding early breeding attempts atthe Humboldt Penguin colony atAlgarrobo, Chile. As with last winter,rains have been very intensive,especially during early-mid Septemberand early October. Consequence: thebreeding for this season is severelydelayed. Last Saturday 27th of Sept.there were about 10 active nests, whatwe consider with Mariano to be verypoor in relation to same date last year.

-Ed Diebold, Riverbanks [email protected]

13 OCTOBER. PERUI was at Punta San Juan, Peru, three

weeks ago (25 September) and itrained for three consecutive days; aweek later, two more consecutive daysof rain. At Punta San Juan, about 70%of Humboldt penguins breed insurface nests and most of them werelost due to flooding. We countedabout 200 individuals in one of thesebreeding groups, but there had beenabout 1000 the week before. Duringthe rain, pairs were ready to breed forthe second time in this year. Somefemales had laid their eggs already.

10. Hitchner S. B. Avian Diseases 2:611-613 (1976).

11. Fenner F., Bachmann P. A.,Gibbs E. P. J., Murphy F. A., StuddertM. J. & White D. O. Veterinary Virology.Academic Press, Inc., London (1987).

12. Cannon R. M. & Roe R. T.Livestock Disease Surveys: Afield manualfor Veterinarians. AustralianGovernment Publishing Service,Canberra (1982).

Two weeks after the rain (October5th), guano was getting dry and pairsoccupied the same nests again.Covered nests had better luck.

Food supply around Punta San Juandoes not seem to be low, as Inca ternsare laying eggs and Humboldtpenguin fledgelings have similarweight compared to other years. Also,Guanay Cormorants are arriving.During the winter Sea surfacetemperature was 4°C higher tha theaverage for this season, although nowthe SST is decreasing slowly.

Rain is very uncommon at PuntaSan Juan. Since 1990 when I arrivedfor the first time, it had never rained,until now. -Carlos [email protected]

(Carlos updated this piece, forpublication here.)

More online sources:+National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration's Climate PredictionCenter. http://n ic.fb4.noaa.gov /

+El Nino Theme Page: http:/ /www.pmelnoaa.gov/ toga-tao/ el-nino/

+EI Nino Scenario: http://www.c rseo.ucsb.ed u / geos / eLnino.html

·:·EI Nino Resources: http://www.coaps.fs u.ed u /lib / elninolinks /

·:-Environmental News NetworkEl Nino Special Report:

http://www.enn.com/elnino/·:·Australian ENSO Page:

http://www.csiro.au

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october, 1997 vol. 10, no. 2 - avian scientific advisory...

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