Processed tracking data of Southern Giant Petrels during breeding activity in Harmony Point, Nelson Island, between 2021 and 2023

Processed GPS data for 36 Southern Giant Petrels (Macronectes giganteus) in December and January of 2021/22 and 2022/23 breeding season in Harmony Point (62°17′60″ S, 59°10′60″ W), Nelson Island, Maritime Antarctic Peninusula. All individuals had active nests. Bill size and tarsus length for 50 southern giant petrels ringed in the area. Between 2021 and 2023 50 breeding individuals were captured on the nest, following methods and protocols previously approved (https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10640094). For capture, one researcher approached the colony, while the others remained at a distance, preferentially out of sight of the birds. Response behavior to the approaching researcher was used as a proxy for capture selection, for instance, animals that regurgitate or stand on the nest exposing the eggs when the researcher approaches are more likely to leave the nest or might take longer to return to the nest after releasing, increasing the risk of breeding failure (Krüger et al. in prep). Therefore, animals displaying those behaviors were not captured. Before capture, the egg was gently removed from below the bird, covered in thermal tissue and put inside a box, for protection from cold and predation. Then the bird was captured by hand and taken to the site where other two researchers were waiting. Animals had their eyes covered with a head hood. All captured animals were ringed with stainless steel bands (rings), preferentially both animals from the same nest each season. All captured animals had bill and tarsus measured with calipers. Bill was used to determine sex, since males have larger bills with no overlap of measures with females. After release back to the nest, behavioral status of the animal was observed, and after the animal remained sat at the nest, the egg was placed back. GPSs were deployed on the back of the birds using 3M Extreme Hold Duct Tape 2835-B (1.88 inches) and Loctite glue. In 2021/22 and 2022/2023 seasons 30 and 20 birds were tagged with GPSs, respectively. In 2021/22, 4 females lost the GPS, and in 2022/23 one male and one female lost the GPS. Therefore there was tracking data for 26 and 18 animals, respectively. Eight animals were repeated in both seasons, totalizing 36 animals tracked in the two seasons. CatLog-P Gen 2 epoxy cased GPSs loggers (Perthold Technology, 50g) and Sputnik XAIS GPSs (Sextant technology, 70g) were used. Southern Giant Petrel weight varies between 4 kg and 6 kg, therefore the heavier instrumentation on the lighter birds would represent less than 2% of body weight, percentage which is accepted to have no significant effect on large procellariforms . Loggers were configurated to record one geographical fix each 5 minutes, and were recovered from the birds after 2 to 4 weeks. See https://github.com/drlucaskruger/SouthernGiantPetrel_Movements_and_Individual_Size for codes. This study was funded by INACH (Programa Áreas Marinas Protegidas 24 03 052) and ANID – Programa Iniciativa Milenio – ICN2021_002 (BASE).本数据集包含2021/22与2022/23繁殖季的12月至次年1月期间，在南极半岛海域纳尔逊岛哈莫尼点（Harmony Point，62°17′60″ S, 59°10′60″ W）采集的36只南方巨海燕（Macronectes giganteus）的处理后GPS追踪数据。所有受试个体均拥有活跃繁殖巢穴。 同时附带该区域环志的50只南方巨海燕的喙部尺寸与跗跖长度测量数据。2021至2023年间，研究人员按照此前获批的研究方法与操作规程（https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10640094），在巢穴中捕获了50只繁殖个体。 捕获流程如下：一名研究人员靠近繁殖种群聚集地，其余人员保持安全距离，优先避免被鸟类察觉。以研究人员靠近时的鸟类应答行为作为捕获选择的替代指标：例如，当研究人员接近时出现反刍或站在巢穴上暴露鸟卵的个体，更有可能弃巢，或在被释放后更长时间才返回巢穴，进而增加繁殖失败风险（Krüger等，待刊），因此此类个体未被纳入捕获范围。 捕获前，需小心将鸟卵从亲鸟身下取出，用保温材料包裹后放入专用箱中，以避免鸟卵受冻或被捕食。随后徒手捕获目标鸟类，并转移至另外两名研究人员等候的操作地点。使用头罩遮盖鸟类眼部以减少应激。 所有捕获个体均佩戴不锈钢脚环，优先为同巢穴的两只繁殖个体在同一繁殖季完成环志。使用游标卡尺测量所有个体的喙部与跗跖长度。由于雄性南方巨海燕的喙部尺寸显著大于雌性且无测量值重叠，因此通过喙部尺寸判断个体性别。 将鸟类放回巢穴前，需观察其行为状态，待亲鸟重新蹲坐至巢穴后，再将鸟卵放回原处。 使用3M Extreme Hold Duct Tape 2835-B（1.88英寸）胶带与乐泰（Loctite）胶水，将GPS追踪装置粘贴于鸟类背部。2021/22繁殖季与2022/23繁殖季分别为30只与20只鸟类佩戴了GPS装置。2021/22季有4只雌性个体的GPS装置脱落，2022/23季则有1只雄性与1只雌性个体的GPS装置脱落，因此最终分别获得26只与18只个体的有效追踪数据。其中8只个体在两个繁殖季均被追踪，两个繁殖季共计完成36只个体的追踪工作。 本次使用的GPS记录器包括两种型号：CatLog-P Gen 2环氧封装型（Perthold Technology，50g）与Sputnik XAIS型（Sextant Technology，70g）。南方巨海燕的体重介于4kg至6kg之间，因此较轻个体搭载的较重设备占其体重比例不足2%，该载荷比例被认为对大型管鼻类鸟类无显著负面影响。 记录器设置为每5分钟记录一次地理定位数据，并在佩戴2至4周后从鸟类身上回收。相关数据处理代码可参见https://github.com/drlucaskruger/SouthernGiantPetrel_Movements_and_Individual_Size。 本研究由INACH（Programa Áreas Marinas Protegidas 24 03 052）与ANID–千禧创新计划–ICN2021_002（BASE）资助。