Seabird responses to freshwater-driven environmental variability: evidence from a little penguin (Eudyptula minor) colony in an urban estuarine embayment

This thesis examines how rivers influence the ecology of little penguins living in a highly urban coastal environment. By combining global research, long-term monitoring, and chemical analyses of penguin tissues, it shows that river inputs move through the food web over time and can affect penguin diet and breeding success. The study also found that reproductive outcomes depend on both environmental conditions and individual physiological state. Finally, it developed improved methods to monitor penguin populations using thermal imaging and trained volunteers, enabling faster and more reliable detection of population trends in dynamic coastal systems influenced by human activity.