Eudyptes robustus: Snares Penguin

Snares Penguin - Eudyptes robustus
( Oliver, 1953 )

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Subspecies:	Unknown
Est. World Population:	63000

CITES Status:	NOT LISTED
IUCN Status:	Vulnerable
U.S. ESA Status:	NOT LISTED

Body Length:
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Top Speed:
Jumping Ability:	(Horizontal)

Life Span:	in the Wild
Life Span:	in Captivity

Sexual Maturity:	(Females)
Sexual Maturity:	(Males)
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Habitat:

This species nests in dense colonies, of usually between 50 and 500 pairs (mean 198, range 1-1,246; Amey et al. 2001), mostly under the forest or dense scrub on North-East Island, but otherwise in the open (Mattern 2013). Chicks are fed on krill (60%), fish (30%) and squid (10%), though there are indications that fish and squid play a more important role in the diet of adults (Mattern et al. 2009). In the breeding season the species forages predominantly in the Subtropical Convergence Zone. During the incubation stage penguins range up to 200 km east, while during chick rearing the birds remain within an 80 km radius to the north of the Snares Islands (Mattern 2013). During winter migration the birds venture up to 3,500 km westwards into the Indian Ocean, principally remaining in subtropical waters north of 45°S (Thompson 2016). There is only one observation of a Snares Penguin interbreeding with another species of Eudyptes (E. sclateri), although interbreeding is more common amongst other eudyptids (Morrison and Sagar 2014).

Range:

Eudyptes robustus breeds on the Snares Islands (3 km²), 200 km south of New Zealand. The most recent survey in 2013, found 20,716 and 4,904 pairs on North-East Island and Broughton respectively (Hiscock and Chilvers 2016). There is also a small population (“fewer than 500 pairs”, Miskelly 1997) breeding on the Western Chain (c.5 km west of North East Island). It appears that penguins’ breeding phenology on the Western Chain is delayed by 6-weeks and that minor morphological differences to the main island exist (Miskelly 1997). At-sea dispersal is largely limited by the subtropical front (STF), a hydrographic feature that separates warmer subtropical from cooler subantarctic water, with penguins foraging predominantly in warmer regions of the Tasman Sea and the eastern Indian Ocean (Mattern 2013, Thompson 2016).

Conservation:

Conservation Actions Underway

The Snares Islands are a Nature Reserve and part of a World Heritage Site declared in 1998. Landing is by permit only (D. Houston in litt. 2008). Population surveys have been conducted at 5-year intervals since 2000.

Conservation Actions Proposed

Turn World Heritage Site territorial seas (out to 12 nautical miles) into a marine reserve and restrict all fishing (B. Weeber in litt. 2000). Recognize 100-km radius around Snares Islands as a Marine Important Bird Area Seaward Extension of breeding colonies (Forest and Bird 2014). Collect more information on diet composition and life history parameters.