Present Status of the Flightless Cormorant, Galapagos Penguin and Greater Flamingo Populations in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, after the 1982-83 El Niño

The 1982-83 El Niño/Southern Oscillation was the most severe recorded in the tropical Pacific Ocean. It was a period of low ocean productivity. Many seabirds in the Galapagos Islands, including the Galapagos Penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) and the Flightless Cormorant (Nannopterum harrisi), did not breed. The cormorant and penguin populations were reduced by 49 and 77%, respectively. The Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) population size remained unchanged. Between July 1983 and September 1984, the cormorant population recovered whereas the penguin population had not recovered.