List of Sphenisciformes by population

Last updated

This is a list of Sphenisciformes species by global population. While numbers are estimates, they have been made by the experts in their fields.

Contents

Sphenisciformes (from the Latin for "wedge-shaped") is the taxonomic order to which the penguins belong. BirdLife International has assessed 18 species. 16 (89% of total species) have had their population estimated: those missing are the king and little penguins, both of which have been assessed as being of least concern. [1] [2]

A variety of methods are used for counting penguins, and April 2012 saw their first census from space, when imagery from Ikonos, QuickBird-2, and WorldView-2 satellites were used to count Antarctican emperors. [3] This is a similar technique to that used by the UNHCR to count humans in Somalia. [4] Most maritime surveys use strip transect and distance sampling to measure density; this is then extrapolated over the animal's range. [5] The Galapagos has been counted annually since 1961 by the Galápagos National Park Service. By land and sea, they carry out a full census in ten areas and partial census in four. The 2012 observation of 721 birds showed that levels have remained the same over recent years, and the current full estimate need not be changed. [6] For more information on how these estimates were ascertained, see Wikipedia's articles on population biology and population ecology.

Species that can no longer be included in a list of this nature include the Waitaha penguin, the last of which is believed to have perished between 1300 and 1500 AD (soon after the Polynesian arrival to New Zealand), and the Chatham penguin, which is only known through subfossils but may have been kept in captivity sometime between 1867 and 1872. [7] [8] Adélies and emperors nest on Antarctica and feed on broken pack ice; global warming's effect on the latter may affect their numbers, and the chinstraps and gentoo, which both feed in open waters, have been making inroads into the Adélie and emperors' formerly ice-packed range. The gentoo have thus seen 7500% population growth since 1974, and the chinstraps 2700%. [9]

Species by global population

Common name Binomial name Population Status TrendNotesImage
Galapagos penguin Spheniscus mendiculus1800 [10] EN [10] Decrease2.svg [10] Galapagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) male.jpg
Humboldt penguin Spheniscus humboldti3300 – 12 000 [11] VU [11] Decrease2.svg [11] Schwimmender-Pinguin.jpg
Fiordland penguin Eudyptes pachyrhynchus5000 – 6000 [12] VU [12] Decrease2.svg [12] Only mature individuals were included in the count. [12] Fiordland Penguin.jpg
Yellow-eyed penguin Megadyptes antipodes5930 – 6970 [13] EN [13] Decrease2.svg [13] Estimate is dated (1988/89). [13] Yellow-eyed Penguin 3.jpg
African penguin Spheniscus demersus75 000 – 80 000 [14] EN [14] Decrease2.svg [14] 5000 breeding pairs in Namibia & 21 000 in South Africa. [14] African Penguin at Boulders Beach.jpg
Snares penguin Eudyptes robustus93 000 [15] VU [15] Steady2.svg [15] Diving Snares Penguin.jpg
Erect-crested penguin Eudyptes sclateri195 000 – 210 000 [16] EN [16] Decrease2.svg [16] Population breeds in two locations: the Bounty Islands (26 000 pairs), & the Antipodes Islands (41 000 pairs). [16] Antipodes Penguin.JPG
Northern rockhopper penguin Eudyptes moseleyi530 000 [17] EN [17] Decrease2.svg [17] Only mature individuals were included in the count (265 thousand pairs); population has declined 57% in the past 37 years. [17] Eudyptes moseleyi -Zoologischer Garten Berlin, Germany-8a.jpg
Emperor penguin Aptenodytes forsteri595 000 [18] NT [18] Steady2.svg [18] Emperor penguins.jpg
Gentoo penguin Pygoscelis papua774 000 [19] LC [19] Decrease2.svg [19] Only mature individuals were included in the count (387 thousand pairs). [19] Falkland Islands Penguins 69.jpg
Royal penguin Eudyptes schlegeli1 700 000 [20] NT [20] Steady2.svg [20] Only mature individuals were included in the count (850 000 pairs on Macquarie & over 1000 pairs on Bishop and Clerk). Estimate is from the 1980s, but population is stable. [20] RoyalPenguins5.JPG
Southern rockhopper penguin Eudyptes chrysocome2 460 000 [21] VU [21] Decrease2.svg [21] Only mature individuals were included in the count (1.23 million pairs); population has declined 34% in the past 37 years. [21] Falkland Islands Penguins 88.jpg
Magellanic penguin Spheniscus magellanicus2 600 000 [22] LC [22] Decrease2.svg [22] Only mature individuals were included in the count (1.3 million pairs). [22] Magellanic penguin.jpg
Adélie penguin Pygoscelis adeliae4 740 000 [23] LC [23] Increase2.svg [23] Only mature individuals were included in the count (2.37 million pairs). [23] Antarctic adelie penguins (js) 21.jpg
Chinstrap penguin Pygoscelis antarcticus8 000 000 [24] LC [24] Increase2.svg [24] Minimum estimate. [24] Pygoscelis antarcticus head.jpg
Macaroni penguin Eudyptes chrysolophus18 000 000 [25] VU [25] Decrease2.svg [25] Only mature individuals were included in the count (9 million pairs); main population centres at Île des Pingouins, Heard and McDonald (1 million pairs each), Kerguelen (1.8 million pairs), & South Georgia (2.5 million pairs). [25] Eudyptes chrysolophus -Antarctic-54.jpg

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penguin</span> Family of aquatic flightless birds

Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae of the order Sphenisciformes. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapted for life in the ocean water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage and flippers for swimming. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid and other forms of sea life which they catch with their bills and swallow whole while swimming. A penguin has a spiny tongue and powerful jaws to grip slippery prey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erect-crested penguin</span> Species of bird

The erect-crested penguin is a penguin endemic to the New Zealand region and only breeds on the Bounty and Antipodes Islands. It has black upper parts, white underparts and a yellow eye stripe and crest. It spends the winter at sea and little is known about its biology and breeding habits. Populations are believed to have declined during the last few decades of the twentieth century, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed it as being "endangered".

This article is a list of biological species, subspecies, and evolutionary significant units that are known to have become extinct during the Holocene, the current geologic epoch, ordered by their known or approximate date of disappearance from oldest to most recent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elliot's storm petrel</span> Species of bird

Elliot's storm petrel is a species of seabird in the storm petrel family Oceanitidae. The species is also known as the white-vented storm petrel. There are two subspecies, O. g. gracilis, which is found in the Humboldt Current off Peru and Chile, and O. g. galapagoensis, which is found in the waters around the Galápagos Islands. It is a sooty-black storm petrel with a white rump and a white band crossing the lower belly and extending up the midline of the belly. It has long legs which extend beyond the body in flight.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2020). "Aptenodytes patagonicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22697748A184637776. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697748A184637776.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ↑ BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptula minor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22697805A202126091. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697805A202126091.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  3. ↑ Dell'Amore, Christine (13 April 2012). "Emperor Penguins Counted From Space—A First". National Geographic News. National Geographic. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  4. ↑ Yusuf, Mohammed (29 June 2012). "UNHCR Tries to Count Somalia". Voice of America . Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  5. ↑ Southwell, C.; Low, M. (2009). "Black and white or shades of grey? Detectability of Adélie penguins during shipboard surveys in the Antarctic pack-ice". Journal of Applied Ecology. 46: 136–143. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01584.x.
  6. ↑ "Annual Galapagos Penguin and Cormorant Census". GNP News. Proceso de Relaciones Públicas – Parque Nacional Galápagos – Ecuador. 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  7. ↑ Fox, Rebecca (2008-11-20). "Ancient species of penguin found in DNA of bones". Otago Daily Times. Archived from the original on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  8. ↑ A.J.D. Tennyson and P.R. Millener (1994). Bird extinctions and fossil bones from Mangere Island, Chatham Islands [ permanent dead link ], Notornis (Supplement) 41, 165–178.
  9. ↑ Than, Ker (1 Dec 2008). "3/4 of Big Antarctic Penguin Colonies to Disappear?". National Geographic News. National Geographic. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  10. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2020). "Spheniscus mendiculus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22697825A182729677. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697825A182729677.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2020). "Spheniscus humboldti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22697817A182714418. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697817A182714418.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptes pachyrhynchus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22697776A182279725. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697776A182279725.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  13. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2020). "Megadyptes antipodes". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22697800A182703046. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697800A182703046.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2020). "Spheniscus demersus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22697810A157423361. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697810A157423361.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2018). "Eudyptes robustus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22697782A132602343. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22697782A132602343.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  16. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptes sclateri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22697789A131879000. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697789A131879000.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  17. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptes moseleyi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22734408A184698049. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22734408A184698049.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  18. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2020). "Aptenodytes forsteri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22697752A157658053. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697752A157658053.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  19. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2020). "Pygoscelis papua". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22697755A157664581. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697755A157664581.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  20. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2018). "Eudyptes schlegeli". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22697797A132603136. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22697797A132603136.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  21. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptes chrysocome". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22735250A182762377. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22735250A182762377.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  22. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2020). "Spheniscus magellanicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22697822A157428850. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697822A157428850.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  23. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2020). "Pygoscelis adeliae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22697758A157660553. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697758A157660553.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  24. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2020). "Pygoscelis antarcticus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22697761A184807209. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697761A184807209.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  25. 1 2 3 4 BirdLife International (2020). "Eudyptes chrysolophus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T22697793A184720991. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22697793A184720991.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.