MONITORING ANTARCTIC ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES USING PENGUINS

Water temperature and krill abundance in Maxwell Bay, Antarctica, were examined using Pygoscelid penguins carrying appropriate sensors linke d to position-determining devices. Fifty-three foraging trips from 49 penguins indicated that during December 1991 and January 1992 the temp erature in the top 100 m of the water column was highest in the wester n section of the Bay which concurred with higher krill abundance as de termined by a catch per unit effort index. This work demonstrates that abiotic and biotic features of the environment can be studied using a nimals to transport probes to the study site, provided information is given on the position of the animals when measurements are made.