Penguin Census Dashboard

Explore population data from the MAPPPD penguin census dataset — 5,400+ observations across Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic.

—Observations
—Sites
—Species
—Year span
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Population trends over time

Observations by species

Top sites by count

Observation sites

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This interactive globe shows every penguin census site in the MAPPPD dataset, plotted at its recorded coordinates. Each dot is sized by total penguins counted at that location across all years. The vast majority of sites cluster around the Antarctic Peninsula, the South Shetland Islands, and the South Orkney Islands — the most accessible regions for researchers. More remote colonies along the East Antarctic coast and on sub-Antarctic islands (South Georgia, Crozet, Kerguelen) appear as isolated dots. Drag to rotate the globe, scroll to zoom, and click any dot to see detailed site statistics including species present, observation count, and year range.

Nests vs Adults vs Chicks

Data quality

Evolution of counting methods

Trends by species

Average year-over-year change in penguin counts per species (5-year rolling window)

About this dataset

Source

Data from the Mapping Application for Penguin Populations and Projected Dynamics (MAPPPD) — a comprehensive, open-access database of penguin population counts across Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands. Version 4.4 of the global census.

What is measured

Each observation records a penguin count at a specific site, for a given species and year. Counts may represent breeding pairs (nests) or individual birds, as noted by the count_type field. An accuracy score (1–5) indicates the reliability of each estimate.

Species covered

Six species are tracked: Adelie, Chinstrap, Gentoo, Emperor, Macaroni, and King penguins — spanning from the Antarctic continent to sub-Antarctic archipelagos like South Georgia, the Falklands, and Crozet Islands.

Time span

Records date from the 1940s to 2025, with the densest coverage from the 1980s onward. This long time series enables researchers to track population trends, identify colony declines, and correlate changes with sea-ice extent and climate variability.