• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	A2abce; B2ab(iii,v); C2a(ii)	A2abce+3bce+4abce; B1ab(iii,v)+2ab(iii,v); C1+2a(ii); D2

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2020	Endangered	A2abce; B2ab(iii,v); C2a(ii)
2018	Endangered	A2bde; B2ab(iii,v)c(iv); C2a(ii)b
2016	Endangered	A2bde; B2ab(iii,v)c(iv); C2a(ii)b
2012	Endangered	A2bde;B1ab(v)c(iv)+2ab(v)c(iv);C2a(ii)b
2010	Endangered	A2b,d,e; B1a+b(v)+c(iv); B2a+b(v)+c(iv); C2a(ii); C2b
2008	Endangered	A2b,d,e; B1a+b(v)+c(iv); B2a+b(v)+c(iv); C2a(ii); C2b
2007	Endangered
2005	Endangered
2004	Endangered
2000	Endangered
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Near Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	15,500 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	19,600 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	90 km2	medium
Number of locations	4	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	1200 mature individuals	good	estimated	2007
Population trend	decreasing	medium	estimated	2004-2035
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	50-79%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-39%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	30-49%	-	-	-
Generation length	10.4 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification:

Although the population is small, the exact size is unknown: it could have been as low as 700 individuals in 1983 or as high as 10,000 in 1971. The population in 2009 was likely between 1,800 and 4,700 individuals (Boersma et al. 2013, 2015). The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events in 1971-1972, 1982-1983 and 1997-1998 reduced the number of penguins to half of the number seen in the early 1970s (Boersma 1977; Mills and Vargas 1997; Boersma 1998; Ellis et al. 1998; Vargas et al. 2005, 2006, 2007; Boersma et al. 2013, 2015). A head count of 1,009 Galápagos Penguins in 2007 was half the number counted in 1970 (2,020) and 1971 (2,099) (Boersma et al. 2013, 2015).

Trend justification: The species declined by 60% between 1970 and 2004. Assuming that declines are continuing at this rate to the present day, this would equate to a reduction of 57% over the past three generations (31.2 years). A population reduction of more than 80% is predicted in the next 100 years, if the frequency of strong El Niño events is doubled from the current rate of 5% to 10% under future climate change scenarios (Vargas et al. 2007). This equates to a reduction of up to 39% over the next three generations. Under the ‘‘Current El Niño"-scenario, based on the frequency of El Niño events recorded in the Galápagos between 1965 and 2004, a probability of extinction of approximately 30% within the next 100 years is estimated (Vargas et al. 2007).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Ecuador	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Ecuador	Áreas costeras de Fernandina y del occidente de Isabela
Ecuador	Humedales del Sur de Isabela
Ecuador	Isla Floreana

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Marine Intertidal	Mud Flats and Salt Flats	major	resident
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	major	resident
Marine Intertidal	Sandy Shoreline and/or Beaches, Sand Bars, Spits, Etc	major	resident
Marine Intertidal	Shingle and/or Pebble Shoreline and/or Beaches	major	resident
Marine Intertidal	Tidepools	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	suitable	resident
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	suitable	resident
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	suitable	resident
Marine Oceanic	Epipelagic (0-200m)	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 40 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Storms & flooding	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Climate change & severe weather	Temperature extremes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Human intrusions & disturbance	Recreational activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species disturbance
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Canis familiaris	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Felis catus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Plasmodium relictum	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Rattus rattus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Pollution	Domestic & urban waste water - Sewage	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Pollution	Industrial & military effluents - Oil spills	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Transportation & service corridors	Shipping lanes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national, international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Galapagos Penguin Spheniscus mendiculus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/galapagos-penguin-spheniscus-mendiculus on 22/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/11/2024.