Population dynamics of Wilson's Storm Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus) at King George Island over forty years from 1978 to 2020

This data set describes the population dynamics of Wilson's Storm Petrels (Oceanites oceanicus) at King George Island (Isla 25 de Mayo, Antarctica) over a forty year period (1978 – 2020). It includes all available data on Wilson's Storm Petrels from two colonies: around the Argentinian Base Carlini (62°14′S, 58°40′W; CA, formerly called Base Jubany) and the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station (62°09′S, 58°27′W; HA). Data on population productivity (number of nests, eggs, chicks and fledglings) was collected by regular visits to the colonies and searching for nest burrows, or monitoring of the egg or chick if found. Data on adult abundance and estimated age categories (i.e., presence of foot spots; Quillfeldt et al. (2000, doi:10.1007/s003000000167) were collected at CA by using the same size mistnet every study year in the same location within the breeding colony. Chicks were measured regularly (varying intervals depending on the study) at both CA and HA. Chick tarsus was measured using callipers (vernier or digital depending on the study year) to the nearest 0.1 mm, chick wing length was measured using wing rulers to the nearest 1 mm, and chick body mass was measured using mechanical or digital scales depending on the study year to the nearest 0.1 g. Chick growth rates were calculated based on the linear growth period following Ausems et al. (2020, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138768). Chick food loads (g) were recorded at CA and determined based on changes in chick body mass on consecutive days (Gladbach et al. (2009, doi:10.1007/s00300-009-0628-z); Kuepper et al. (2018, doi:10.1016/j.cbpa.2018.06.018).