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11 - Monitoring predator–prey interactions using multiple predator species: the South Georgia experience

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2009

C. J. Camphuysen
By
J. P. Croxall
Edited by
I. L. Boyd  and
S. Wanless
C. J. Camphuysen
Affiliation:
Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
J. P. Croxall
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
I. L. Boyd
Affiliation:
University of St Andrews, Scotland
S. Wanless
Affiliation:
NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, UK
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Summary

The inception (in 1976) and development of an annual programme monitoring selected variables to characterize diet, foraging and breeding performance of key krill-dependent top predators (Antarctic fur seal, gentoo and macaroni penguin, and black-browed albatross) at Bird Island, South Georgia is described. Criteria for choice of species and variables (the latter covering the range of spatio-temporal scales of predator–prey interactions) are provided, together with the current approaches to combining indices to improve characterization of key relationships with prey availability. The successes of the programme, particularly in relation to understanding predator responses to changes in prey availability, are summarized, together with its limitations – notably in respect of explaining or predicting changes in population size. The main challenges for the future include understanding the predator–prey interactions within the full environmental context, linking appropriately characterized functional relationships to population models and incorporating predator data more effectively into the management of the krill fishery.

Thirty years ago, in 1975, when the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) was planning a new programme of research on marine vertebrates (seals and seabirds) at Bird Island, South Georgia, long-term population studies (especially of marked individuals) were recognized as a vital tool for ecological investigations. Long-term studies of population activities and responses to ecological conditions, however, were often referred to as monitoring and were not regarded as serious science.

Type
Chapter
Information
Top Predators in Marine Ecosystems
Their Role in Monitoring and Management
 , pp. 157 - 176
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

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