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title: "Numbers of Southern Giant Petrels breeding on Laurie Island, South Orkneys show stability over time"
---

# Numbers of Southern Giant Petrels breeding on Laurie Island, South Orkneys show stability over time

Nestor Coria ([Instituto Antártico Argentino](http://www.dna.gov.ar/INGLES/INDEX.HTM), Buenos Aires, Argentina)and colleagues have published on the numbers of ACAP-listed Southern Giant Petrels *Macronectes giganteus* (and other birds) breeding on Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands in the 1990s in the latest issue of the journal *[Marine Ornithology](http://www.marineornithology.org)*.

 Relevant information extracted from their paper follows.

 "Censuses were made by direct counts of incubating or brooding birds for each breeding colony.  The two largest colonies were located on snow-free areas on the north coast.  At Watson Peninsula, the count of incubating of giant petrels in 1994/95 (235 active nests) was similar to that in 1993/94 (230 active nests), but the number of incubating birds decreased at Cape Geddes, where 184 active nests were counted compared with 228 in 1993/94.

 The colonies of Southern Giant Petrels at Laurie Island, with 419 breeding pairs in 1995, represent over 12% of the total breeding population in the South Orkney Islands (3400 pairs, Patterson *et al*. 2008).  A comparison of the giant petrel breeding populations at Cape Geddes, from this study and earlier counts (Coria *et al*. 1996), shows that from 1985/86 to 1993/94, the breeding population increased by about 43%, with a slight decrease between 1993/94 and 1994/95.  For the other colony (Watson Peninsula) studied, the available data show no clear trends."

 According to the ACAP Species Assessment for the Southern Giant Petrel ([click here](https://acap.aq/acap-species)) the Cape Geddes and Watson Peninsula colonies supported 187 and 280 breeding pairs, respectively, in 2006.  This suggests that the Laurie Island population is a stable one with  range of 419 to 467 breeding pairs over the period 1993 to 2006.

 ![](https://acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Petrels/S/Southern_Giant/southern_giant_petrel_king_george_island_markus_ritz.jpg "Southern Ginat ptrel breeing in Antarcticaa")  
Southern Giant Petrel breeding in Antarctica  
Photograph by Markus Ritz

 **References:**

 Coria, N.R., Blendinger, P. & Montalti, D. 1996.  The breeding birds of Cape Geddes, Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica.  [*Marine Ornithology*24: 43-44](http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/24/24_9.pdf).

 Coria, N.R., Montalti, D., Rombola, E.F., Santos, M.M., Garcia Betoño, M.I. & Juares, M.A. 2011.  Birds at Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica: breeding species and their distribution.  [*Marine Ornithology*39: 207-213](http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/39_2/39_2_207-213.pdf).

 Patterson, D.L., Woehler, E.J., Croxall, J.P., Cooper, J., Poncet, S., Peter, H.-U., Hunter, S. & Fraser, W.R. 2008.  Breeding distribution and population status of the Northern Giant Petrel *Macronectes halli*and Southern Giant Petrel *M. giganteus.  [Marine Ornithology](http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/36_2/36_2_115-124.pdf)*[36: 115-124](http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/36_2/36_2_115-124.pdf).

 *John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 17 January 2012*