Search Results (4)

The diet and feeding behavior of South Polar Skuas (Stercorarius maccormicki) are well studied within the species’ breeding range but are poorly understood on the Haswell Islands. The aim of this study was to determine how South Polar Skuas use available resources during the pre-breeding and breeding periods at the Haswell Archipelago (66°31′ S, 93°01′ E, Davis Sea, Southern Ocean) under conditions of prolonged human activity. I studied pellets, spontaneous regurgitation, and stomach contents of feathered birds to study the diet of skuas and used direct observations of their feeding behavior. South Polar Skuas at the Haswell Islands fed primarily on the Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) colony and on terrestrial resources in the Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) and fulmarine petrel colonies. The dominant prey of skuas were breeding Antarctic penguins. Emperor Penguins and Adélie Penguins make up the bulk of the skuas’ diet in the pre-breeding and breeding periods. Surface feeding at sea was observed in the post-breeding period. In recent decades, kitchen waste supported the skua population. Scavenging (placenta and feces of Weddell seals [Leptonychotes weddellii], frozen eggs, chicks and adults of breeding bird species, kitchen refuse) is the dominant strategy for obtaining food. Adélie Penguin eggs and chicks were the main food items of the South Polar Skuas in the Haswell Archipelago. Skua predation could potentially influence the breeding success of Adélie Penguins and fulmarine petrels, but the extent of the impact is unknown. The impact of the South Polar Skua on Emperor Penguins is negligible because skuas feed mainly on frozen chicks and eggs of the species. Full article

Soil cover of the Earth is faced with intensive polychemical contamination. The pathways of the key pollutants are not investigated enough. Thus, the occasional transportation of soils to remote regions could serve as an informative tool for the elaboration of threshold levels of hazardous materials concentration. One of the most striking examples of such transboundary impact was the transfer of soils and grounds to the Antarctic stations Russkaya and Leningradskaya (before the implementation of the Madrid Protocol in 1991). Thus, the complex investigation of qualitative and quantitative composition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils of various genesis (transported from Eurasia and pristine) of Antarctic have been conducted by the method of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in a gradient elution mode. The variability of PAHs content was evaluated across landscapes: pristine (the Hudson Mountains and the Haswell Archipelago), contaminated soils (stations Myrniy, Druzhnaya 4 and Bellinshausen) and unique samples of former agrosoils transported by fly in-fly of polar staff from St. Petersburg to Antarctic for local polar greenhouses in the Soviet times, when it was not strictly prohibited. The selected objects of study allow us to not only estimate the degree of contamination of Antarctic soils and grounds, but to also make it possible to assess the rate of PAH degradation in Antarctic conditions. Both high molecular and low molecular PAHs are accumulated following intense anthropogenic activity (fossil organic fuel combustion). The PAHs pool is dominated by low molecular weight representatives (naphthalene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene). In most cases, the highest concentrations of benz(a)pyrene does not exceed the Russian Threshold Standard rate, which is the strictest one in the world. The statistical analysis of raw data allowed us to conclude that the contamination of pristine soils of Antarctica across variable landscapes is at the very initial stage. However, we recorded extremely high levels of PAHs in the transported former agrosoils. We can assume that our data could be used as background levels for the elaboration of threshold concentrations of the PAHs for such an internationally managed region as Antarctica. Full article

Oil spills are rare in Antarctica. They threaten flying birds and penguins. This is the first report on the interactions of seabirds with oil in the area of the Mirny Station (East Antarctica). The purpose of the study is to determine the total number of seabird species interacting with oil in and around the Mirny Station, to assess the extent of pollution and to identify the most important sites of interactions. Oil pollution is found on the ground, on the continental ice and, on the seawater surface, both directly in the Mirny and beyond. Five species of seabirds were in contact with oil. Oil pollution threats have been identified for breeding and molting Adélie Penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) and vagrant Macaroni Penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus). Less affected by oil pollution during the breeding season were tube-nosed bird species and skuas. The most important places of interaction of seabirds with oil are at Cape Mabus, on the islands of Zykov, Tokarev, and Stroiteley. Evidence of long-term oil pollution of the environment is indicative of the chronic nature of the impacts on the coastal ecosystem. Full article

Plastic debris makes up the majority of marine debris around the world, and pollution is a serious threat to marine wildlife. Threats represent two types of biological interactions with plastic: entanglement and ingestion. This paper describes interactions of seabirds with plastic in Mirny and draw the attention of researchers to the existing problem. In 2012/2013 and 2015/2016, year-round observations of the author were carried out at Mirny station and Haswell Islands (area of about 12 km²), east Antarctica. One case of entanglement of a molting adult Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) in a fishing line was been identified; in addition to one case of an adult emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) mistakenly ingesting plastic braided rope and subsequently feeding it as part of a food lump to the chick, and two cases of macroplastics found in pellets of south polar skuas (Catharacta maccormicki). Registrations of entanglement and ingestion of macroplastic by seabirds in Mirny are rare. They signal to us about problem that needs to be included in the monitoring for the health of terrestrial biota of the Haswell archipelago. Full article