Oiled African Penguins Stage Bold Recovery
Last year, a shipwreck off the coast of South Africa resulted in an oil spill between Robben and Dassen Islands, where nearly half of all African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) were in the peak of their breeding season. Six teams of Earthwatch volunteers working here with Dr. Peter Barham (University of Bristol) helped observe the
impact of this environmental disaster on these threatened penguins, finding a dramatic increase in breeding pairs against all odds.
Approximately 20,000 adult penguins were "oiled" by the event, a potentially fatal condition in these marine birds that rely on their specialized feathers for streamlined insulation. A massive rescue effort managed to rehabilitate most of the oiled birds, and the evacuation of 20,000 more birds 800 kilometers up the coast saved them from the spreading oil, but thousands of chicks perished in the nest.
The oil spill was the second in the region in six years, threatening a penguin population already reduced by 90 percent in the last century from the impact of exploitation, habitat destruction, and competition with commercial fisheries. The species is classified as 'Vulnerable' according to the World Conservation Union's Red List. Barham and his colleagues from the University of Cape Town (leaders of Earthwatch's Penguins of South Africa project) expected the disaster to have a further negative impact on the breeding population.
Instead they found that the number of breeding penguin pairs at Robben Island has increased by 18 percent, while at Dassen the increase is up a staggering 25 percent. Negative factors were apparently offset by an abundance of food due to careful management of fish stocks, an increase in first-time breeders, and the successful return and survival of de-oiled and evacuated birds. Still, the threatened population will require continued monitoring in the future.
Charting the dramatic recovery of African penguins was made possible through Barham's research, which is testing the efficacy of a revolutionary new flipper band made of a polymer provided by Dow Chemical Co. Earthwatch volunteers are helping Barham and his colleagues compare the breeding success of penguins wearing the new plastic bands with unbanded penguins and those wearing the older steel tags.
In addition to Earthwatch support, Barham's research secured £153,000 (approximately US$216,000) as part of the ninth round of funding from the U.K. Government's Darwin Initiative for the Survival of the Species. This prestigious award will allow the University of Cape Town to purchase equipment and employ extra staff to ensure that the data collected by Earthwatch volunteers in the wake of this oil spill is integrated into a wider penguin conservation program. For the beleaguered African penguins on Robben and Dassen Islands, this Earthwatch-supported research could not have come at a more crucial time.
For information on volunteering on the South African Penguin project, click here
Earthwatch Institute is an international nonprofit organization which supports scientific field research worldwide by offering members of the public unique opportunities to work alongside leading field scientists and researchers. The Institute's mission is to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment.