Biodiversity expo: information and projects

There are many fascinating projects that the BirdLife South Africa Seabird Division, but the African Penguin is one that captures the imagination of all who have seen these highly visible and quirky birds. Unlike many other seabirds, the African Penguin is easy to find at two major Cape Town attractions, Boulders Beach and Robben Island, which are high on the list of attractions to visit when in Cape Town.

Many people do not realise that within their lifetime, this iconic species could become extinct! The African Penguin is officially listed as Endangered by the World Conservation Union (the IUCN).

Over the last 50 years the African Penguin population has declined by about 80% - from 141 000 pairs in the 1950s to less than 25 000 pairs in 2010! This is even more shocking considering that in the early 1900s it is thought that they numbered in the millions. It is vital the these declines are halted as the African Penguin is the only penguin species found in Africa and lives nowhere else but along the coast of South Africa and Namibia.

Scientists have suggested that the main reason for the decrease in recent times is a lack of food. Penguins eat mainly sardine and anchovy - fish which are targets of a large commercial fishery. Fishing effort has increased immensely in the last 50 years resulting in more fish being taken out of the sea. To make things worse, fish stocks have moved from the west coast, where most of the penguin colonies are, to the south coast.

There is some controversy surrounding the decrease in penguin numbers with the fishing industry denying that fishing has affected the penguins, while scientists argue that it has. The effects of fishing are worth investigating, as fishing is one of the largest impacts that humans have on the marine ecosystem. For this reason, BirdLife South Africa is involved in some exciting work to determine whether restricting fishing around penguin breeding islands will increase the abundance of fish in the area. Preliminary work by Dr Lorien Pichegru, a researcher at the University of Cape Town, has shown that there is some benefit, as penguins do not swim as far from the islands when there is no fishing around the breeding islands as when fishing is allowed.

The African Penguin has the support of many people and organisations working to prevent their extinction. The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) and other rehabilitation centres work tirelessly to take care of injured and oiled birds. Researchers at UCT are studying the penguins to establish causes of the dramatic decrease in penguin numbers.

BirdLife South Africa is a partner of BirdLife International's Preventing Extinctions Programme and has received funding from the Charl van der Merwe Trust for its work on African Penguins. The Trust is therefore the African Penguin Species Champion. Through their support, BirdLife South Africa is working with several partners on projects to assist in stopping the catastrophic decrease of African Penguin numbers.

For more info, visit www.biodiversityexpo.blogspot.com or email Augustine Morkel on az.gro.ibnas@opxeytisrevidoib

For further information on BirdLife South Africa, contact Christina Moseley, Tel. +27-21- 4197347 / 083-301-8765, az.gro.efildrib@yelesom.anitsirhc

Date: 05 May 2011 to 08 May 2011
Venue: Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, Cape Town
Cost: FREE