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Emperor penguins and the First German South Polar Expedition, 1901–1903: The elusive colony in Posadowsky Bay

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 April 2021

Barbara Wienecke Open the ORCID record for Barbara Wienecke [Opens in a new window]
Barbara Wienecke*
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Australian Antarctic Division, 203 Channel Highway, KingstonTAS7050, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Barbara Wienecke, Email: Barbara.Wienecke@aad.gov.au
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Abstract

Members of the First German South Polar Expedition (1901–1903) encountered emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) near their wintering station in the sea ice of Posadowsky Bay, East Antarctica. The penguins appeared to be generally less of scientific interest, but more of a useful resource. Despite the presence of chicks, the men were uncertain about the existence of a breeding colony, and did not record the position of the penguin aggregation they encountered. In later years, only a few sightings confirmed the existence of a colony, and the last ground visit took place in 1960. Based on satellite imagery, a colony appears to exist even now. This paper examines what impact the expedition may have had on this colony, and whether it still exists.

Keywords

First German South Polar ExpeditionEmperor penguinsAntarctic history
Type
Research Article
Information
Polar Record , Volume 57 , 2021 , e15
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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