These systems are rich in prey species, such as the small pelagic fish that are an important food source for many top predators. And when prey supplies fluctuate, the predators’ populations respond.
The Benguela Upwelling System, adjacent to Angola, Namibia and South Africa, is one of these four systems and is home to many seabird species that play an integral role in such ecosystems. Among the Benguela seabirds are three endangered species: the African Penguin, Cape Gannet and Cape Cormorant, which feed on small pelagic fish, mostly anchovies and sardines. The status of the African Penguin population is cause for particular concern, due largely to the limits imposed on the birds’ ability to disperse and adapt to their prey’s movements.
During the breeding season the penguins are restricted to a small foraging range of 20–40 kilometres around their colonies. Within this zone, prevailing conditions play a crucial role in determining the success of the birds’ breeding effort. A key limitation is the availability of their prey, which is also targeted by the purse-seine fishery, the largest fishery in South Africa in terms of biomass extracted. This competition for resources, together with threats linked to emerging industries and maritime operations, means that there is a clear and urgent need to develop tools to monitor the penguins’ habitat at a scale appropriate for effective management. The African Penguin population has plummeted by more than 70 per cent since the turn of the century – and we need to be able to convince stakeholders to implement solutions that will reverse this downward trend.
Denne historien er fra January - February 2021-utgaven av African Birdlife.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra January - February 2021-utgaven av African Birdlife.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.
footloose IN FYNBOS
The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.
Living forwards
How photographing birds helps me face adversity
CAPE crusade
The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge
water & WINGS
WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.
winter wanderer
as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.
when perfect isn't enough
Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race
Southern SIGHTINGS
The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.
flood impact on wetland birds
One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.
a star is born
It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.
