Informing Marine Conservation. Penguin Population Research

New research has shown that closing Robben Island to commercial fishing for three years directly benefited the African penguin population on the island and from an ecological perspective this could have policy implications.

This is according to research led by Dr Kate Campbell at the University of Cape Town who said: “Understanding how African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) forage to feed their chicks in their variable marine environment can help us identify conservation measures for these endangered populations”.

The findings of the study: Campbell KJ, Steinfurth A, Underhill LG, et al. Local forage fish abundance influences foraging effort and offspring condition in an endangered marine predator, J Appl Ecol. 2019;00:1–10, were published in the Journal of Applied Ecology this month.