The Magellan region, including the Falkland Islands, is one of the world´s most important areas for seabirds, and especially penguins. World-wide there are 17 species of penguin; 7 of these regularly breed around the coastal waters of South America, and 5 within the Magellan region. These are the King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus), Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua), Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes c. chrysocome), Macaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) and Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus). During the last five years, a review of the breeding populations of penguins within the Magellan region was conducted. This work included population censuses of all the surface breeding species throughout the Falkland Islands and southern South America. The results of this work are presented, along with other cited information, to provide a summary of the current knowledge of penguin populations within the Magellan region. |
