The Adélie Penguin : : Bellwether of Climate Change / / David Ainley.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Columbia University Press eBook-Package Backlist 2000-2013
• VerfasserIn: Ainley, David,
• TeilnehmendeR: deLeiris, Lucia.
• Place / Publishing House: New York, NY : : Columbia University Press, , [2002]; ©2002
• Year of Publication: 2002
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (416 p.) :; 73 line drawings, 24 halftones

The Adélie penguin is one of the best-studied birds in the world and is the subject of research programs from a dozen nations interested in monitoring changes in the environment and the food webs of the Southern Ocean. This species' population has been changing dramatically over the past few decades coincident with a general warming of the maritime portion of Antarctica. When the sea-ice is seen to decline so does the population of Adélie penguins. Further south, however, the population is increasing. This book summarizes our present ecological knowledge of this polar seabird. In so doing, David Ainley describes the ecological factors important to its life history and details the mechanisms by which it is responding to climate change. The author also chronicles the history of research on Adélie penguins, beginning with the heroic expeditions at the beginning of the twentieth century. Weaving together history, ecology, natural history, and written accounts from the earliest Antarctic naturalists into a fascinating account of this charismatic bird, The Adélie Penguin provides a foundation upon which future ornithological research and environmental monitoring can be based. It is a model for investigations into the effect of climate change on a particular species. The book also contains many fine illustrations from the accomplished illustrator Lucia deLeiris and photographs by the author.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Outline of the Present Volume -- Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Marine Ecology -- Chapter 3. Breeding Populations -- Chapter 4. The Annual Cycle -- Chapter 5. The Occupation Period -- Chapter 6. The Reoccupation Period -- Chapter 7. Predation -- Chapter 8. Demography -- Chapter 9. The Bellwether of Climate Change -- Literature Cited -- Index