A preliminary survey on breeding population of Adélie penguins at Cape Hallett in the Ross Sea region, Antarctica

To develop a long-term ecological research program at a breeding site of Adélie penguins, located in the Northern Victoria Land Coast, the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) carried out a preliminary survey on the population size and foraging trips of penguins at Cape Hallett. All sub-colonies were mapped using a portable DGPS and the data were complemented by comparing them with aerial images using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The Cape Hallett colony was composed of approximately 700 sub-colonies occupied by 53,450 pairs of Adélie penguins in 2016. The foraging area of the Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adelie) determined from our loggers was 218.8 ± 366.8 km² (mean ± SD).