Factors influencing fledgling production in little penguins (Eudyptula minor)

Abstract

An eight-year study was conducted on the breeding biology of the little penguin population at Lion Island. Forwards-selection Poisson regressions were used to determine whether variables such as year, date of lay, years since banding of each parent (indicator of age) and habitat influenced the fledgling numbers and average fledgling weight for adult pairs. 'Date of lay' provided the most significant model of fledgling numbers, while 'habitat' and 'year' as single-variable models also significantly influenced fledgling numbers. 'Date of lay' provided the most significant model of average fledgling weight. Future monitoring of the Lion Island colony therefore should focus on monitoring egg laying at the start of the breeding season, and maintaining high-quality nesting habitat.