Do Inventory data indicate any population declines?
Yes. Peninsula blue-eyed shag populations are declining significantly at many Peninsula locations (Naveen, R., Forrest, S. C., Dagit, R., Blight, L. K., Trivelpiece, W. Z., and Trivelpiece, S. G.: Censuses of penguin, blue-eyed shag, and southern giant petrel populations in the Antarctic Peninsula region, 1994-2000, Polar Record 36 (199): 323-334 (2000)). Many of these colonies are either inaccessible to tourists or receive few tourist visits, so human disturbance appears to be an unlikely cause. The population declines suggest that blue-eyed shag numbers should be further monitored, and that they may indicate some underlying environmental change affecting shag nest success.
