As bio-indicators, seabirds across the globe help us understand how our environment is changing, and how this is affecting our wildlife. Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) in Australia are a key species in understanding the changes to the Australian environment. However, studies generally focus on the effects of oceanic changes without always accounting for the potential interactions with the environmental conditions experienced on land during breeding. This study examined the relationships between both marine and terrestrial environmental variables and breeding success in South Australian Little Penguins, observing 10 colonies over a nonconsecutive 28-yr time period. Our results showed that South Australian Little Penguins had a lower breeding success (fewer fledglings produced per pair) when sea surface temperatures were higher in the 3 mo before breeding and when high winds occurred during the breeding season. We also observed local variation between the colonies: breeding success was only influenced by environmental variables for colonies located near open waters and not for colonies located in enclosed bays. These results confirm the idea that future oceanographic warming is expected to reduce the breeding success (and population size) of some Australian seabirds, including Little Penguins.
LAY SUMMARY
We showed that increased marine temperatures and high winds have negative effects on the reproductivity of South Australian Little Penguins.
Seabirds are good indicators of changes in their environment because their demographic processes are often affected (either positively or negatively) by environmental variability.
Here, we investigated the relationship between the breeding success of South Australian Little Penguins and environmental variables at 10 colonies over a nonconsecutive 28-year time period.
Climate change is of increasing concern, and our study supports the idea that future environmental warming will have negative impacts on some seabird species, including Little Penguins.
