title: Past penguin colony responses to explosive volcanism on the Antarctic Peninsula.
abstract: Changes in penguin populations on the Antarctic Peninsula have been linked to several environmental factors, but the potentially devastating impact of volcanic activity has not been considered. Here we use detailed biogeochemical analyses to track past penguin colony change over the last 8,500 years on Ardley Island, home to one of the Antarctic Peninsula's largest breeding populations of gentoo penguins. The first sustained penguin colony was established on Ardley Island c. 6,700 years ago, pre-dating sub-fossil evidence of Peninsula-wide occupation by c. 1,000 years. The colony experienced five population maxima during the Holocene. Overall, we find no consistent relationships with local-regional atmospheric and ocean temperatures or sea-ice conditions, although the colony population maximum, c. 4,000-3,000 years ago, corresponds with regionally elevated temperatures. Instead, at least three of the five phases of penguin colony expansion were abruptly ended by large eruptions from the Deception Island volcano, resulting in near-complete local extinction of the colony, with, on average, 400-800 years required for sustainable recovery.
authors.affiliation: British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC), High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9-11, 26133 Oldenburg, Germany.|Department of Geosciences, Bremen University, Klagenfurter Str. 2-4, 28359 Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Monien
authors.affiliation: British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC), High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.|School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.
authors.forename: Louise C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.affiliation: Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9-11, 26133 Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Loftfield
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, Northumbria University, Ellison Building, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 8ST, UK.
authors.forename: Emma P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Hocking
authors.affiliation: Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9-11, 26133 Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schnetger
authors.affiliation: School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.
authors.forename: Emma J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.affiliation: School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Juggins
authors.affiliation: British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC), High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fretwell
authors.affiliation: British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC), High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ireland
authors.affiliation: Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Lubicz 46, 31-512 Kraków, Poland.
authors.forename: Ryszard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ochyra
authors.affiliation: British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC), High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.|School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK.
authors.forename: Anna R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Haworth
authors.affiliation: British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC), High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.
authors.forename: Claire S
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0938-0551
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.affiliation: NERC Radiocarbon Facility (Environment), Scottish Enterprise Technology Park, Rankine Avenue, East Kilbride, Scotland G75 OQF, UK.
authors.forename: Steven G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Moreton
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth SY23 3DB, UK.
authors.forename: Sarah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.affiliation: Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9-11, 26133 Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Hans-Jürgen
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Brumsack
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, Science Laboratories, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bentley
authors.affiliation: British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC), High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.|Department of Geography, Science Laboratories, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK.
authors.forename: Dominic A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Hodgson
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D000864:Antarctic Regions; D005580:Fossils; D005843:Geography; D046448:Ice Cover; D062312:Islands; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011157:Population Dynamics; D046429:Spheniscidae / Q000502:physiology*; D013696:Temperature; D018707:Volcanic Eruptions