Penguin (Family Spheniscidae) strandings on the continental coast of Chile, between the years 2009 and 2016

Abstract

Mass mortality of animals has always been a warning that reflect there is or there has been ecosystem disturbance. The main source of information are corpses. For their unique characteristics seabirds are key species when studying ecosystem health of their habitat. This study summarized 852 stranding data of six penguin species collected on Chile´s continental coast between 2009 and 2016. The aim of this article is to make this problem known. The results indicate that genus Spheniscus is the group with most stranding records (97,1%). The Region of Valparaiso presents the largest number of events (n=174). With these records, it is possible to generate a database that will serve for future studies about spatiotemporal stranding patterns for this important avian group. This will help to optimize monitoring of these populations and to anticipate possible stranding events.