PenguinERA: Ecology, Reproduction and Adaptation for a climate change sentinel. Italian PNRA project for monitoring mid Victoria Land, Ross Sea, Adélie penguin population

The Adélie penguin is highly sensitive to ecosystem changes and it is considered an important bio-indicator of ongoing changes in the Southern Ocean. As habitat quality is likely to induce effects on physiology and behavior, PenguinERA project (PNRA 2016 AZ1.11) aimed to integrate the existing long-term monitoring program on this species with the measurement of a series of genetic and physiological parameters. Main activities are carried out by: (i) continuing the long-term monitoring series of data on Adélie penguin in the study area; (ii) identifying a series of proxies of penguin’s health status by using non-invasive sampling techniques for measuring blood immune and genetic parameters; iii) integrating proxies with the bio-ecological responses and the genetic parameters, to establish a baseline against which ecosystem changes can be detected. The study area, which involves three Adélie penguin colonies nearby Terra Nova Bay and the Wood Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica), it is known for its extraordinary biodiversity. PenguinERA would contribute to the understanding of the ecological role of a marine mesopredator such as the Adélie penguin, through the study of its distribution and behavior in relation to the quality of habitat, colony size, evolution and adaptation at the scales of the ecological and climatic processes. Monitoring and conservation studies will allow assessing the additional role of this species as a sentinel of climate changes.