penguins of Chile - Magdalena Island penguin colony, Punta Arenas, Chile. One of Chile's largest penguins breeding sites.

The Penguins National Nature Reserve:
Magdalena Island, Punta Arenas, Chile

One of Chile's largest and most important Magellanic penguin breeding sites is situated on Magdalena Island in the Straits of Magellan. The island has been designated a national nature reserve because of its importance as a penguin breeding site, and the reserve is managed by the government agency Corporación Nacional Forestal.

The island is a popular tourist destination, so monitoring the effects of tourism is essential, in order to ensure sustainable use of the penguins as a tourist resource. Many years ago commercial fishing in the Straits of Magellan caused penguin populations to decline. However following designation of Magdalena Island as a nature reserve, the Chilean government established a no-fishing zone to protect the penguins.

The Penguin Research Unit, in partnership with the Chilean and British governments, has established a penguin monitoring programme on the island. The programme monitors the effects of tourism, and compares penguin populations on Magdalena, where commercial fishing is now banned, with those in the Falklands, where commercial fishing close to penguin breeding sites still occurs.

A population census of Magdalena Island during 2001/02 recorded a penguin population of over 60,000 breeding pairs, along with an assortment of other seabirds and wildlife. Click on the links below for survey maps and data in English and Spanish:

PENGUINS , GULLS , BIRDS , HABITAT

Comparison with data from the Falkland Islands, highlights the problems faced when food resources are diminished by commercial fishing boats, operating within 30km of Magellanic penguin breeding sites.

Fishing within 30km of Penguins: CHILE no / FALKLANDS yes

Population: CHILE increasing / FALKLANDS 82% decline in 15 yrs

Breeding Success (chicks per pair): CHILE 1.4 / FALKLANDS 0.5

Foraging Duration: CHILE 18 hours / FALKLANDS 34 hours

Fledging Weights: CHILE 3.5 kgs / FALKLANDS 2.7 kgs

Fledging Survival to Adulthood: CHILE ~ 20% / FALKLANDS ~ 1%

Since penguins on Magdalena Island were protected through a ban on commercial fishing around the island, penguin populations have increased. Comparison with the Falkland Islands shows how commercial fishing close to penguin breeding sites can lead to population decline.

Where commercial fishing is allowed within the 30km foraging range of breeding penguins, the abundance of fish and squid is obviously reduced. This means that adults seeking food for chicks take much longer finding food (34 hours in the Falklands, but only 18 hours on Magdalena). Chicks therefore receive much less food, so much fewer chicks survive (only 0.7 chicks per nest in the Falklands, but 1.4 chicks per nest on Magdalena). The main cause of chick mortality in the Falklands was starvation, and those chicks that do survive to the point of fledging were malnourished (average weight only 2.7 kgs in the Falklands, compared to 3.3 kgs on Magdalena). This lower body weight means that even successful chicks have a lower chance of surviving their first year, which is what we see.

You can support our work to protect penguins on Magdalena Island or the Falkland Islands, by adopting a penguin. Visit our Adopt-a-Penguin page for further details.

In addition to our research on Magdalena Island, the Penguin Research Unit is training Chilean government staff in seabird monitoring techniques, so that eventually the host country will be able to continue the seabird monitoring programme on a long-term basis. This work is being funded by the British government, through the Darwin Initiative Programme.