Publications

plastic ingestion risk is related to the anthropogenic activity and breeding stage in an antarctic top predator seabird species.	during the last decades plastic pollution has become a common issue in marine environments. studies on seabirds have focused on species that ingest plastics mistaken for prey or indirectly through their preferred prey or, on how foraging strategy influences this behaviour. we evaluated plastic ingestion in relation to the proximity of nests to areas with different anthropogenic pressure, breeding status and breeding stage. we analyzed regurgitated pellets (n = 1001) from a seabird, the brown sku ...	2020	32658703
anthropogenic radionuclides in antarctic biota - dosimetrical considerations.	the article presents results of the research on artificial radionuclides (137cs, 90sr, 241am) in the antarctic environment. samples of 12 species from the marine environment: pygoscelis adeliae, pygoscelis papua, macronectes giganteus, pagodroma nivea, catharacta antarctica, leptonychotes weddellii, mirounga leonina, harpagifer antarcticus, chaenocephalus aceratus, nacella concinna, himantothallus grandifolius, iridaea cordata (bones, feathers, soft tissues, eggs' shells of birds, bones, skin, f ...	2020	31983449
protein deimination and extracellular vesicle profiles in antarctic seabirds.	pelagic seabirds are amongst the most threatened of all avian groups. they face a range of immunological challenges which seem destined to increase due to environmental changes in their breeding and foraging habitats, affecting prey resources and exposure to pollution and pathogens. therefore, the identification of biomarkers for the assessment of their health status is of considerable importance. peptidylarginine deiminases (pads) post-translationally convert arginine into citrulline in target ...	2020	31936359
cestodes of the genus tetrabothrius (tetrabothridea: tetrabothriidae) from antarctic flying seabirds	four species of the genus tetrabothrius were reported from three species of antarctic flying seabirds. there were: tetrabothrius (culmenamniculus) gracilis nybelin, 1916 and tetrabothrius (oriana) minutus szpotańska, 1917 from macronectes giganteus (gmelin, 1789); tetrabothrius (oriana) filiformis nybelin, 1916 from larus dominicanus lichtenstein, 1823 and tetrabothrius (culmenamniculus) cylindraceus rudolphi, 1849 from stercorarius antarcticus lonnbergi (mathews, 1912). m. giganteus is a new ho ...	2019	32191991
complete mitochondrial genome of the south polar skua stercorarius maccormicki (charadriiformes, stercorariidae) in antarctica.	the south polar skua, gull-like seabirds is the most fascinating antarctic seabirds that lay two eggs at sites free of snow and ice and predominantly hunt pelagic fish and penguins. blood samples of the south polar skua stercorarius maccormicki was collected during the summer activity near king sejong station in antarctica. the complete mitochondrial dna sequence of s. maccormicki was 16,669 bp, showing conserved genome structure and orientation found in other avian species. the control region o ...	2016	25268998
sex-specific arrival times on the breeding grounds: hybridizing migratory skuas provide empirical support for the role of sex ratios.	in migratory animals, protandry (earlier arrival of males on the breeding grounds) prevails over protogyny (females preceding males). in theory, sex differences in timing of arrival should be driven by the operational sex ratio, shifting toward protogyny in female-biased populations. however, empirical support for this hypothesis is, to date, lacking. to test this hypothesis, we analyzed arrival data from three populations of the long-distance migratory south polar skua (catharacta maccormicki). ...	2016	27028080
antarctic skuas recognize individual humans.	recent findings report that wild animals can recognize individual humans. to explain how the animals distinguish humans, two hypotheses are proposed. the high cognitive abilities hypothesis implies that pre-existing high intelligence enabled animals to acquire such abilities. the pre-exposure to stimuli hypothesis suggests that frequent encounters with humans promote the acquisition of discriminatory abilities in these species. here, we examine individual human recognition abilities in a wild an ...	2016	26939544
occurrence of legacy and new persistent organic pollutants in avian tissues from king george island, antarctica.	legacy and new persistent organic pollutants (pops), including polychlorinated naphthalenes (pcns), dechlorane plus (dps) and related compounds (dechloranes), hexabromocyclododecanes (hbcds), polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs), and organochlorine pesticides (ocps), were analyzed in avian tissue samples from king george island, antarctica. the avian species consisted of the gentoo penguin (pygoscelis papua), the adelie penguin (pygoscelis adeliae), the south polar skua (stercorarius maccormicki), a ...	2015	26502059
novel flame retardants (n-frs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (pbdes) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-pcbs) in fish, penguin, and skua from king george island, antarctica.	persistent organic pollutants (pops), including polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (pbdes), are frequently detected in biota from antarctica, whereas no data are available for their replacements, such as novel flame retardants (n-frs). this study presented the occurrence of several n-frs, pbdes, and pcbs in tissue samples of an antarctic rock cod (trematomus bernacchii), a young gentoo penguin (pygoscelis papua), and a brown skua (stercorarius antarcticus) collec ...	2015	25912262
intestinal spirochaetes (genus brachyspira) colonise wild birds in the southern atlantic region and antarctica.	the genus brachyspira contains well-known enteric pathogens of veterinary significance, suggested agents of colonic disease in humans, and one potentially zoonotic agent. there are recent studies showing that brachyspira are more widespread in the wildlife community than previously thought. there are no records of this genus in wildlife from the southern atlantic region and antarctica. our aim was therefore, to determine whether intestinal spirochaetes of genus brachyspira colonise marine and co ...	2015	26584828
phylogeography of the southern skua complex-rapid colonization of the southern hemisphere during a glacial period and reticulate evolution.	whilst we have now a good understanding how past glaciation influenced species at the northern hemisphere, our knowledge of patterns and modes of speciation is far more limited for the southern hemisphere. we provide mtdna based data on the phylogeography of a circumpolar distributed southern hemisphere seabird group-the southern skua complex (catharacta spp.). diversification of southern skuas dates between 210,000 ybp and 150,000 ybp and coincides with a glacial spanning 230,000-140,000 ybp. s ...	2008	18706509
skuas at penguin carcass: patch use and state-dependent leaving decisions in a top-predator.	foraging decisions depend not only on simple maximization of energy intake but also on parallel fitness-relevant activities that change the forager's 'state'. we characterized patch use and patch leaving rules of a top-predatory seabird, the brown skua (catharacta antarctica lonnbergi), which during its reproductive period in the antarctic establishes feeding territories in penguin colonies. in feeding trials, we observed how skuas foraged at penguin carcass patches and analysed patch leaving de ...	2005	16011919
thelebolus microsporus mycelial mats in the trachea of wild brown skua (catharacta antarctica lonnbergi) and south polar skua (c. maccormicki) carcasses.	sixteen brown skuas (catharacta antarctica lonnbergi) and seven south polar skuas (c. maccormicki) were found dead near boekella lake, hope bay, antarctica, in february 1997. postmortem examination revealed conspicuous caseous, deep yellow fungal/mycelial mats or cores in the trachea of nine of 19 carcasses that were examined. these mycelial cores, highly suggestive of aspergillomas, completely occluded the tracheal lumen in four of these nine carcasses. thelebolus microsporus, a psychrophilic a ...	2002	12038146
chlamydophila abortus in a brown skua (catharacta antarctica lonnbergi) from a subantarctic island.	on bird island, south georgia, a new strain of chlamydophila abortus was detected in one brown skua out of 37 specimens from six different seabird species. phylogenetic analysis of the rnpb and omp1 genes indicated the strain to be more closely related to c. abortus than to 6bc, the type strain of chlamydophila psittaci.	2000	10919838
predation as a cost of sexual communication in nocturnal seabirds: an experimental approach using acoustic signals.	conspicuous behaviour, such as sexual advertisement, exposes animals to predation; mate attraction thus often conflicts with antipredator behaviour. we investigated whether an avian predator, the brown skua, catharacta antarctica lönnbergi, uses the mate attraction calls of colonial seabirds, the petrels. the majority of petrels attract mates at night and vocalizations are their main way of communicating. at our study sites, skua predation on nocturnal petrels was heavy, and concentrated particu ...	2000	11082235