MAPPPD ((Mapping Application for Penguin Populations and Projected Dynamics) is a project funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in partnership with Oceanites and the Lab of Dr. Heather Lynch at Stony Brook University. Penguins are some of the most charismatic animals in the world and have captured the imaginations of news-makers, scientists, film producers and the general public. Beyond their general intrinsic value, they are considered important ecosystem indicators. That is to say, monitoring these beautiful species can tell us a lot about the general health of the Antarctic. This is because penguins are top predators, and changes (natural or anthropogenic) which influence the oceanography of the region or prey abundance, will ultimately be detected through changes in distribution or population size. The Antarctic is currently governed by nations which make up the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). Management strategies designed by the ATS rely on accurate and citable penguin population data in order to mitigate any anthropogenic impacts in the region. However, data on penguin populations are limited primarily due to the fact that most monitored colonies are nearby permanent research stations. This means that any remote populations are essentially ignored during planning processes. Due to advances in remote sensing, modeling and aerial imagery, it is now possible to obtain population estimates for these hard-to-reach sites. MAPPPD aims to deliver population data from four species of penguin to any interested party with the goal of helping support conservation decisions in the Antarctic. We use a combination of highly advanced remote sensing technologies, aerial imagery and field counts to estimate penguin abundance across the entire continent. All of the data in MAPPPD are open access to the general public, and the process is well documented in our white paper report.
Humphries G R, Naveen R, Schwaller M, Che-Castaldo C, McDowall P, Schrimpf M, Lynch H J (2019). Mapping Application for Penguin Populations and Projected Dynamics (MAPPPD): Count data. Version 1.2. SCAR - AntOBIS. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/p1xkyb