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Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Anthropogenic influence on an urban colony of the little penguin Eudyptula minor

Darren Giling A , Richard D. Reina A C and Zoe Hogg B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia.

B Earthcare St Kilda, PO Box 287, Elwood, Vic. 3184, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: richard.reina@sci.monash.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 59(7) 647-651 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF08003
Submitted: 4 January 2008  Accepted: 18 May 2008   Published: 24 July 2008

Abstract

Native animals exploit resources in cities and inhabit anthropogenic structures worldwide. One example of this is the little penguin, Eudyptula minor, population nesting between boulders on the St Kilda breakwater in Melbourne. This population is attracted by safe hiding places, a lack of predators and the presence of prey. However, living close to urbanisation poses many threats to the colony, including boating, lighting, noise and human visitation. We investigated the effects of human disturbance by comparing the number of penguins and breeding sites in the publicly accessible region with those in the restricted region of the breakwater. Penguins and nest sites were not equally distributed along the breakwater, with the mean number of birds and nest sites present per 20-m section in the restricted region significantly greater (typically double) than the number in the publicly accessible region. Although the penguins show a clear preference to nest in the restricted region of the breakwater, their continued presence in the publicly accessible region when nest sites are not limiting indicates that human disturbance is not incompatible with some nesting activity. In a global context these results illustrate some of the benefits and costs to animals that use anthropogenically altered habitats and urban environments.


Acknowledgements

We thank Earthcare St Kilda for access to data, and Tiana Preston, and all the volunteers for help with the surveys over many years. We thank Professor Hugh Ford and an anonymous referee for their helpful comments on an earlier draft. Parks Victoria assisted with access to the St Kilda Breakwater. This work was conducted with Monash University animal ethics approval and wildlife permits from the Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria.


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