Are seabirds at ease? Assessing threats to seabirds in Islote Lobos National Park, Argentina, using Magellanic penguins as sentinel species

AOS Research Grant Seminar

Presenter: Natalia Rosciano, Assistant Researcher, CONICET; 2025 Latin American and Caribbean Conservation Research Grant winner

The San Matías Gulf, a biodiversity hotspot in northern Patagonia, faces growing pressure from hydrocarbon industrial developments. Using Magellanic Penguins as sentinel species, we combined GPS tracking during the breeding season with particle scattering simulations to assess how oil spills could overlap with critical foraging areas. Penguins foraged mainly northwest of Islote Lobos National Park, with core areas overlapping up to 76% with simulated spill zones under certain wind conditions. These results provide a baseline for understanding how industrial expansion may threaten penguin foraging grounds and inform conservation planning in one of Argentina’s most productive marine ecosystems.