Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00775:reg:18:p69
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00775
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 18 (pt 69/152)
Character Range: 230775–233773

breeding locations, including Heard Island. However, the species has since re-established. The main threat for this species in recent years is climate change with warming oceans resulting in a decline in breeding success and adult survival (Le Bohec et al 2008). The species may be affected by current human activities near occupied scientific winter bases (Marchant and Higgins 1990). Marine pollution (e.g. oil spills, and ingestion of plastics) kills some birds, but this has not been quantified (Ellis et al. 1998). Eggs and small chicks may be lost during storms or other natural events. Skuas and sheathbills (Chionis spp.) take eggs and small chicks. Older chicks may die from starvation or be killed by giant-petrels (Marchant and Higgins 1990). Potential developing threats include competition with commercial fisheries for food, ocean warming and introduced disease (Ellis et al. 1998).

Recommended Management Actions
           Quantify the breeding population on Heard Island

           Regularly monitor breeding populations at index locations

         Implement best practice quarantine measures at breeding colonies to reduce the risk of any invasive species (re)establishing on islands

Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds 101
Species profiles

Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua)

Life History and Distribution
The Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua) is unmistakable and cannot be confused with other species in its normal range. The species is a tall black and white penguin of subantarctic and Antarctic regions with a bright orange bill and feet. Gentoo Penguins are defined morphologically as a single species with a northern and southern subspecies. A recent phylogenetic tree based on mitochondrial DNA showed a deep division between populations in the Indian and Atlantic oceans, with at least three distinct clades, two in the respective sub-Antarctic and Antarctic zones of the Atlantic Ocean, and a deeply divergent and unnamed third clade in the subantarctic Indian Ocean (de Dinechin et al. 2012). Breeding colonies are present on Macquarie and Heard Islands (Woehler 1993, 2006). The species nests on flat beaches or among tussock grasses in South Georgia and the Falkland Islands and in grasses at Marion Island. Further south, on the Antarctic Peninsula, nests are typically on low lying gravel beaches and dry moraines. Colonies are typically much smaller than those of other Pygoscelis species, with the largest including only 6,000 breeding pairs (Lynch et al. 2008). It feeds opportunistically and preys predominantly on crustaceans, fish and squid. It preferably forages inshore, close to the breeding colony. Winter habitats are less well studied, but available data suggest that it prefers coastal areas, while movements are more local relative to its congeners (Tanton et al. 2004, Hinke et al. 2017). Gentoo Penguins remain close to colonies throughout the year, with colonies occupied year-round. In the non-breeding season, colonies are used