Age and taphonomy of abandoned penguin rookeries in the Antarctic Peninsula region

Bibliographic Data

ID9221718
AuthorsD Emslie (0000-0001-9112-5690, Western Colorado University, corresponding author), Steven D Emslie
Year1995
Volume31
Issue179
Pages409-418
Publication date1995-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolar Record (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0032-2474 • E-ISSN: 1475-3057
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0032247400027388
OpenAlexW2114531013
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited23

Investigations on the age and taphonomy of modern and abandoned penguin rookeries were completed in the Antarctic Peninsula region, 1992–1994. Systematic collection and identification of bones from modern rookeries of Adélie ( Pygoscelis adeliae ), chinstrap ( P. antarctica ), and gentoo ( P. papua ) penguins indicate a bias in element preservation for humeri, furcula, femora, and tibiotarsi. More than 73% of the individuals represented by these elements are juveniles. Bones from abandoned rookeries show similar patterns that can help identify old breeding sites and the species that occupied them. Radiocarbon dates completed on 13 chinstrap and Adélie penguin bones, feathers, and eggshell fragments from five abandoned rookeries suggest that occupation of these sites occurred only during warm intervals of the Little Ice Age (AD 1500–1850). These data also provide information on the paleoecology and paleobiogeography of penguins in the Antarctic Peninsula region, which help explain modern distribution patterns and demography

Archaeology · Biology · Foraging · Geography · Paleoecology · Peninsula · Pygoscelis · Radiocarbon dating · Rookery · Taphonomy · Avian ecology and behavior · Demography · Ecology · Geology · Marine animal studies overview · Paleontology · Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology

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