Investigations of bacterial, viral and parasitic infections in Antarctic penguins, and the development of a standardised monitoring scheme

This dataset contains data revealing the incidence of bacterial, viral and parasitic disease causing agents in Antarctic bird populations. Samples for disease analysis have been collected from various species of Antarctic birds during the course of ASAC project 953 and are stored at the Department of Microbiology, University of Western Australia and CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratories (AAHL). All analysis is being performed at the Department of Microbiology, University of Western Australia. A summary of samples collected and stored for each species is listed below.

Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae): Serum (blood) and faecal (cloacal) swabs were collected from chicks and adults in the Mawson station area, the Vestfold Hills and Terra Nova Bay. Samples from approximately 1200 birds have been stored. Tissue samples have been collected from chick carcasses found in the Vestfold Hills area. Carcasses were collected on an opportunistic basis.

Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri): Serum (blood) and faecal (cloacal) swabs were collected from chicks at Amanda Bay, Auster and Cape Washington. Tissue samples have been obtained from 20 chick carcasses collected from Auster Rookery.

South polar skua (Catharacta maccormicki): Serum (blood) and faecal (cloacal) swabs were collected from 125 adult birds in the Vestfold Hills area.

This project has close ties with ASAC project 1336 (ASAC_1336 - South polar skuas as vectors of disease). See that metadata record for related datasets.

The fields in this dataset are:

Infectious bursal disease virus Avian influenzae Avian adenovirus Sample Species Age Year Region Colony Location Stage of Breeding Season Blood Sample Cloacal Swab Serum