Conservation Issues and Threats: African Penguin (Part 2)

在Part 1, I focused on general facts and information on the life history of the African penguin, including predators and other dangers that it faces. Now I will focus on the conservation status, threats, and causes of the rapid decline in the African penguin population.

自20世纪初以来，非洲企鹅人口已经暴跌了90％，估计人口由约200万只鸟类组成。这将减少到1956年的约147,000对，并在2009年减少到26,000对，2010年估计剩余21,000对。目前在IUCN红色列表中被列为“濒临威胁”。

保护威胁

20世纪初，非洲企鹅人口的初步下降主要归因于鸡蛋收集和鸟粪收获。Penguin eggs – considered a delicacy – were harvested commercially in the early 1900s, a practice that only ceased in 1967. Nearly 600,000 penguin eggs were harvested in one year from Dassen Island alone – that’s 600,000 fewer penguins added to the global penguin population, from just one colony. The harvesting of guano – rich in minerals, nitrates and phosphates – for fertilizer also took its toll on breeding habitats. Penguins scraped burrows into the thick deposits of soft guano, which provided their chicks with protection from predators, heat and cold. However, these deposits were removed by commercial guano harvesters, leaving the islands bare, with sub-optimal breeding habitat for the penguins to nest on.

这严重影响了许多岛上殖民地的筑巢成功，揭露育种成人企鹅热压力，强迫他们放弃巢穴，让他们的鸡蛋或小鸡容易受到鸥的捕食，或者屈服于要素。虽然这两种做法现在都被禁止并停止了几十年前，但估计在西部开普省收集了2870万鸡蛋，而收获了180万吨的鸟类，非洲企鹅人口的损害已经完成，并面临进一步的逆境，他们只是未能恢复。

Food availability is increasingly affecting breeding success and survival of African penguins. Pilchards and anchovies, rich in protein and oil, form the bulk of the diet of African penguins. The breeding season has typically synchronized around migration patterns and seasonal abundance of these schooling fish. However, overfishing and environmental shifts in the availability of prey species is having dire consequences on breeding success of many marine seabirds, but particularly the African penguin, who are restricted by the availability of breeding habitat.

其他保护威胁包括：与海角海豹的竞争为近海岛屿养殖栖息地;疾病爆发，如新城疾病，曲霉病和禽疟疾;海洋污染的负面影响 - 特别是油溢出，丢弃钓鱼线中的缠结。2000年，从沉没的宝藏中溢油导致从罗宾岛和Dassen Island中删除了40,000个育种企鹅，其中20,000人在被释放之前被榨取，因此恢复了康复。如果这种幅度的溢油，它会摧毁当前严重受损的非洲企鹅人群过夜。

对于任何维持稳定人群的物种，最关键的问题是滋生成功 - 没有新的招聘人口，人口将稳步下降。如果成人存活也受到损害，这会恶化。为了成功地繁殖企鹅，并且对于鸡肉生存到繁殖年龄，必须满足两个基本要求：他们需要合适的育种栖息地;他们需要充分供应高质量的食物来成功提高他们的年轻人。后者也是成人存活的要求，特别是在蜕皮过程中潮汐过到土地相结合的情况下，在贫困状态下的鸟类可能无法在三周内存，他们不能上海饲料。

Conservation Efforts

目前非洲企鹅保护努力专注于育种栖息地和食品供应。通过改善人造巢箱和洞穴的繁殖地点来解决小鸡生存，从而脱掉鸡肉饲养Sanccob.when parents abandon nests, and closing fishing grounds surrounding breeding islands.

Why Conserve the African Penguin?

The African penguin is an iconic symbol of marine conservation in the region. It is an endearing creature that touches the hearts of many, and epitomizes what marine conservation is all about. It also plays an important part in eco-tourism, with revenue from eco-tours to many offshore breeding islands (Robben Island, Dyer Island), as well as mainland colonies (Boulders Beach, Stony Point) contributing both to the local economy and to marine conservation efforts. Management interventions put in place to conserve this species may also help protect other marine species from facing a similar plight.

前进......

As African penguins are constrained by both breeding habitat and food availability, their plight is unique in that they are tied to their breeding colonies on one hand, but restricted by food availability on the other. In order to successfully raise their young, and to ensure their own survival during the demands of molting and breeding stages, they need access to a readily available food supply situated within close proximity to the breeding colony.

If we wish to save the African penguin from extinction, it is imperative that conservation organizations work together to manage the species holistically, taking all factors into consideration in their management approach.

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