We have been deploying, since 2013, time-lapse cameras to overlook two Rockhopper penguin colonies on Isla de los Estados, in the Southern tip of Argentina, specifically in Franklin Bay and San Juan de Salvamento Bay. Southern rockhopper penguins are classified as Vulnerable under the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This list is managed by researchers and tells us how likely a species is to disappear from the planet or if it has already. With our rockhopper project, we aim to study the breeding behaviours of Southern rockhopper penguins in the context of climate change to better inform conservation management strategies.

 

We need you to help us count adult penguins, chicks, and eggs to understand when they are at the colony, how many are there and how successful they are at raising their chicks. We also need you to help us identify other individuals (like predator birds) in the images to learn more about their behaviour and interactions with the penguins. 

 

Antarctica is the world’s highest, driest, coldest and windiest continent (with the least number of traffic wardens) and is home to a range of exceptional species. However, there is growing concern over this unique ecosystem, and the risks it faces from climate change, fisheries and direct human disturbance. Penguins are used by scientists as indicators of change within their ecosystem because, as easy to monitor species, any change in their breeding performance, or population size and distribution are likely to reflect changes to species lower down the food chain, or in the Antarctic environment as a whole. Therefore, monitoring these species will provide valuable insight into the large-scale changes occurring.