Chronic oil pollution harms Magellanic penguins in the Southwest Atlantic.
Petroleum pollution is a problem for seabirds along the Southwest Atlantic coast. Twenty-five groups from Salvador, Brazil (12 degrees 58'S) to San Antonio Oeste, Argentina (40 degrees 43'S) survey or rehabilitate sick or oiled seabirds. Four groups, one each in Brazil and Uruguay, and two in Argentina, kept counts of birds found alive and in need of rehabilitation. An average of 63.7% of the seabirds found were Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus), with 3869 reported since 1987. Mainly adult penguins were found in Argentina (1605 of 2102 penguins of known age class) and Uruguay (158 of 197). Juveniles were most common in Brazil (234 of 325). Oil fouling was the most frequent cause of injury or sickness. The number of oiled penguins reported in their wintering range has greatly increased since the early 1990s and is strongly correlated with petroleum exports from Argentina. Our results show that chronic petroleum pollution is a problem for wildlife from Southern Brazil through Northern Argentina, and regulations and enforcement are failing to protect living resources.
García-Borboroglu
Pablo
P
Centro Nacional Patagónico (CONICET), Boulevard Brown 3600, (9120) Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina.
Boersma
P Dee
PD
Ruoppolo
Valeria
V
Reyes
Laura
L
Rebstock
Ginger A
GA
Griot
Karen
K
Rodrigues Heredia
Sergio
S
Adornes
Andrea Corrado
AC
da Silva
Rodolfo Pinho
RP
D000818:Animals; D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D010578:Petroleum / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015995:Prevalence; D013020:South America / Q000453:epidemiology; D046429:Spheniscidae / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000009:adverse effects*
D010578:Petroleum