Abstract:
The current distribution of Adelie penguin breeding colonies in the AAT is being mapped through a series of 'occupancy' surveys.
A GIS of potential Adelie penguin breeding habitat was developed by Angela Bender and David Smith from the AADC to structure the overall search effort. Potential Adelie penguin breeding habitat was defined as islands or ice-free land close to the ocean. The GIS spanned
... across longitudes 36.98 to 158.82 and included 4917 sites of potential breeding habitat (see file 'Sites'). Each site of potential breeding habitat has been given an identifying code and a centroid location with an associated latitude and longitude. More information on the GIS is given in Southwell et al. (2009).
The AAT coastline was broken into groups and subgroups which were surveyed when logistics allowed. All sites of potential habitat in each section were searched and a record of whether breeding penguins were present or absent was made. Most surveys were undertaken during the Adelie penguin breeding season when breeding penguins would have been present; any surveys outside the breeding season made observations of the presence or absence of guano. Most surveys have been undertaken from aircraft (both helicopters and fixed wing), but some have been done from the ground. Large and small scale maps of potential breeding habitat were produced from the GIS to use in the field surveys. The data recorded for each search campaign included the latitude and longitude of the centroid of each site that was searched, the data of search, the observer(s), and the state of occupancy (present or absent).
The download files consist of a series of pdf copies of maps of the sites that form the study, as well as an excel spreadsheet detailing the names of the sites and their locations. 
