Cause of death in blue penguins ( Eudyptula m. minor ) in North Otago, New Zealand
Open accessAbstract
I necropsied 213 blue penguins ( Eudyptula m. minor ) collected during 1994 to 1998, mainly from Oamaru Harbour and urban areas, the remainder from sites south to Otago Peninsula. The dominant categories were malnutrition (16%), and cause of death (15%). Where malnutrition was involved, it was usually unclear whether it was the direct cause of death or the consequence of undiagnosed natural disease or infestation. Twenty five per cent of birds died from animal attacks. Aspergillosis was the commonest natural disease (3.3%). Endoparasitism was uncommon (1.3%). This study provides significant evidence of geographic variation in infestation of blue penguins.
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To prevent aspergillosis, contact with Aspergillus must be minimized in penguins and the health of each penguin should be maintained.
“Therefore, to prevent aspergillosis, contact with Aspergillus must be minimized in penguins, and the health of each penguin should be maintained [28,29,30,31].”
From Nationwide Survey about the Occurrence of Aspergillosis in Captive Penguins in Zoos and Aquariums in Japan (2023) · cites this paper as [30]
The Abstract reports that aspergillosis was the commonest natural disease among the blue penguins examined, but it does not discuss prevention. Searches for Aspergillus exposure and penguin health found no passage recommending either measure in the claim. (LLM, conf=0.72)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredVarious improvements in zoos and aquariums, such as reference to and adherence to penguin breeding manuals and preventive management, were thought to have reduced the number of deaths.
“Although the climate in Japan is hot and humid for penguins, various improvements in zoos and aquariums, such as reference to and adherence to penguin breeding manuals [33] and preventive management [28,29,30], were thought to have reduced the number of deaths.”
From Nationwide Survey about the Occurrence of Aspergillosis in Captive Penguins in Zoos and Aquariums in Japan (2023) · cites this paper as [30]
The Abstract (page not provided) reports causes of death among blue penguins collected in North Otago, not whether preventive management reduced deaths in zoos or aquariums. Searches for preventive management, predator control, and reduced mortality found no passage addressing that claim. The breeding-manual citation [33] is separate from the citations being assessed here. (LLM, conf=0.72)
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Research works printed but not linked: 9
- D'Amore, W. A. and Jessop, R. E. 1995. Causes of sickness and injury in little penguins (Eudyptula minor) rehabilitated at Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. Penguin Conservation, July: 6–12.
- Fiennes, R. N. T-W-. 1967. Penguin pathology. International Zoology Yearbook, 7: 11–14.
- Fitzgerald, B. M. 1990. “House cat”. In The handbook of New Zealand mammals, Edited by: C. M. King 330–348. Auckland: Oxford University Press.
- Gill, J. M. and Darby, J. T. 1993. Deaths in yellow-eyed penguins (Megadyptes antipodes) on the Otago Peninsula during the summer of 1990. New Zealand Veterinary Journal, 41: 39–42.
- Hocken, A.G. 1997. Plumage and bill morphology variations in a population of the Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor). Notornis, 44: 259–263.
- Lavers, R. B. and Clapperton, B. K. 1990. “Ferret”. In The handbook of New Zealand mammals, Edited by: C. M. King 320–330. Auckland: Oxford University Press.
- Morgan, I. R., Westbury, H. A. and Campbell, J. 1985. Viral infections of little blue penguins (Eudyptula minor) along the southern coast of Australia. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 21: 193–98.
- Obendorf, J. L. and McColl, K. 1980. Mortality in little penguins (Eudyptula minor) along the coast of Victoria, Australia. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 16: 251–259.
- Ratz, H., Moller, H. and Fletcher, D. 2000. Who done it? Predator identification from bite marks on penguin and albatross chicks. Marine Ornithology, (in press)
Cited by
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Itoh, M., Matsumoto, N., Hagino, K., Sawayama, N., Kuwayama, M., Yamada, K., & Toyotome, T. (2023) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani13121913 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hocken, A. G.
- Affiliations
- East Riding, Whiterocks Road, RD 6‐D Oamaru New Zealand
- Corresponding author
- Hocken, A. G.
- Venue
- New Zealand Journal of Zoology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2000-01
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 305-309
- ISSN
- 0301-4223 (ISSN-L)
- 1175-8821
- OpenAlex
- W1996585470
- Cited by
- 44
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 0.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- New Zealand Journal of Zoology (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Otago
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Parasitology › Bird parasitology and diseases
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Avian ecology and behavior
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Marine animal studies overview
- Keywords
- Eudyptula minor, causes of death, malnutrition, aspergillosis, endoparasitism, animal attacks, natural disease, seabird mortality, North Otago
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