Publications

2022

  • Arsenault, E.R., Thorp, J.H, Polito, M.J., Minder, M., Dodds, W.K., Tromboni, F., Maasri, A., Pyron, M., Mendsaikhan, B., Otgonganbat, A., Altangerel, S., Chandra, S., Shields, R., Artz, C., & Bennadji, H. (2022). Intercontinental analysis of temperate steppe stream food webs reveals consistent autochthonous support of fishes. Ecology Letters 10:e13904

  • Polito, M. J., Robinson, B., Warzybok, P., & Bradley, R. W. (2022). Population Dynamics and Resource Availability Drive Seasonal Shifts in the Consumptive and Competitive Impacts of Introduced House Mice (Mus musculus) on an Island Ecosystem. PeerJ 10:e13904

  • Lois, N.A., Balza, U., Brasso, R., Dodino, S., Pütz, K., Polito, M.J., Riccialdelli, L., Ciancio, J., Quillfeldt, P., Mahler, B. and Rey, A.R., (2022). Mercury and stable isotopes portray colony-specific foraging grounds in southern rockhopper penguins over the Patagonian Shelf. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 184:114137

  • Kristan, A. K., Maiti, K., McMahon, K. W., Dance, M. A., & Polito, M. J. (2022). Biological and geochemical proxies in sediment cores reveal shifts in marine predator population dynamics relative to historic anthropogenic exploitation and recent climate change at South Georgia Island sub-Antarctica. Polar Biology, 45(8), 1379-1389.

  • Dodino, S., Riccialdelli, L., Polito, M. J., Pütz, K., & Rey, A. R. (2022). Intraspecific trophic variation during the early chick-rearing period in Magellanic penguins Spheniscus magellanicus: influence of age and colony location. Marine Biology, 169(9), 1-12.

  • Hoenig, B.D., Snider, A.M., Forsman, A.M., Hobson, K.A., Latta, S.C., Miller, E.T., Polito, M.J., Powell, L.L., Rogers, S.L., Sherry, T.W., Toews, D.P. (2022) Current methods and future directions in avian diet analysis. The Auk, 139(1):p.ukab077

2021

  • Aslan, H., †Polito, M. J. (2021). Trophic ecology of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus as an invasive non-native species in the Aegean Sea. Biological Invasions, 23: 2289-2304.

  • Dodino, S., Lois, N. A., Riccialdelli, L., Polito, M. J., Pütz, K., Raya Rey, A. (2021). Sex-specific spatial use of the winter foraging areas by Magellanic penguins and assessment of potential conflicts with fisheries during winter dispersal. PloS one, 16(8), e0256339.

  • Hernandez, K. M., Puryear, W. B., Runstadler, J. A., Polito, M. J. (2021). Little interannual variability in gray seal (Halichoerus grypus) trophic niches during pregnancy despite variable environmental conditions. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 667, 207-217.

  • Hernandez, M. F., Midway, S. R., West, L., Tillya, H., Polito, M. J. (2021). Stable isotopes track the ontogenetic movement of three commercially important fishes along a coastal Tanzanian seascape. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 670: 139-154.

  • Keppeler, F. W., Olin, J. A., López‐Duarte, P. C., Polito, M. J., Hooper‐Bùi, L. M., Taylor, S. S., ... Jensen, O. P. (2021). Body size, trophic position, and the coupling of different energy pathways across a saltmarsh landscape. Limnology and Oceanography Letters.

  • Moyo, S., Bennadji, H., Laguaite, D., Pérez-Umphrey, A. A., Snider, A. M., Bonisoli-Alquati, A., ... Polito, M. J. (2021). Stable isotope analyses identify trophic niche partitioning between sympatric terrestrial vertebrates in coastal saltmarshes with differing oiling histories. PeerJ, 9, e11392.

  • Pensinger, L. G., Polito, M. J., Midway, S. R. (2021). Ontogenetic stability in the trophic niche of a common Gulf of Mexico fish, Ariopsis felis. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 104(5), 569-579.

2020

  • Dodino, S., Riccialdelli, L., Polito, M. J., Pütz, K., Raya Rey, A (2020). Inter-annual variation in the trophic niche of Magellanic penguins Spheniscus magellanicus during the pre-molt period in the Beagle Channel. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 655, 215-225.

  • Balza, U., Lois, N. A., Polito, M. J., Pütz, K., Salom, A., Raya Rey, A. (2020). The dynamic trophic niche of an island bird of prey. Ecology and evolution, 10(21), 12264-12276.

  • Rosciano, N. G., Polito, M. J., Rey, A. R. (2020). Seasonally persistent foraging niche segregation between sympatric Southern Rockhopper and Magellanic penguins breeding at Isla de los Estados, Argentina. Journal of Ornithology, 161(4), 1093-1104.

  • Kalvakaalva, R., Clucas, G., Herman, R.W., Polito, M.J., 2020. Late Holocene variation in the Hard prey remains and stable isotope values of penguin and seal tissues from the Danger Islands, Antarctica. Polar Biology, 43, 1571–1582.

  • Lois, N.A., Campagna, L., Balza, U., Polito, M.J., Pütz, K., Vianna, J.A., Morgenthaler, A., Frere, E., Sáenz‐Samaniego, R., Raya Rey, A. Mahler, B., 2020. Metapopulation dynamics and foraging plasticity in a highly vagile seabird, the southern rockhopper penguin. Ecology and Evolution, 10(7), 3346-3355.

  • Levy, H., Fiddaman, S.R., Vianna, J.A., Noll, D., Clucas, G.V., Sidhu, J.K., Polito, M.J., Bost, C.A., Phillips, R.A., Crofts, S., Miller, G.D. (2020). Evidence of pathogen-induced immunogenetic selection across the large geographic range of a wild seabird. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 37(6), 1708-1726.

2019

  • McMahon, K. W., *Michelson, C. I., Hart, T., McCarthy, M. D., Patterson, W. P., ‡Polito, M. J. (2019). Divergent trophic responses of sympatric penguin species to historic anthropogenic exploitation and recent climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(51), 25721-25727.

  • *Johnson, J. J., Olin, J. A., Polito, M. J., (2019). A multi‐biomarker approach supports the use of compound‐specific stable isotope analysis of amino acids to quantify basal carbon source use in a salt marsh consumer. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 33(23), 1781-1797.

  • Cole, T. L., Dutoit, L., Dussex, N., Hart, T., Alexander, A., Younger, J. L., Clucas, G.V., Frugone, M.J., Cherel, Y., Cuthbert, R., Ellenberg, U., Fiddaman, S.R., Hiscock, J., Houston D., Jouventin, P., Mattern, T., Miller, G., Miskelly, C., Nolan, P., Polito, M.J., Quillfeldt, P., Ryan, P.G., Smith, A., Tennyson, A.J.D., Thompson, D., Wienecke, B., Vianna, JA., and Ellenberg, U., (2019). Receding ice drove parallel expansions in Southern Ocean penguins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(52), 26690-26696.

  • *Hernandez, K. M., Bogomolni, A. L., Moxley, J. H., Waring, G. T., DiGiovanni Jr, R. A., Hammill, M. O., Johnston, D.W., Sette, L., Polito, M. J. (2019). Seasonal variability and individual consistency in gray seal (Halichoerus grypus) isotopic niches. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 97(11), 1071-1077.

  • Polito, M. J., Trivelpiece, W. Z., Reiss, C. S., Trivelpiece, S. G., Hinke, J. T., Patterson, W. P., and Emslie, S. D. (2019). Intraspecific variation in a dominant prey species can bias marine predator dietary estimates derived from stable isotope analysis. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods, 17(4), 292-303.

  • Rohli, R.V., S.A. Ates, V.H. Rivera-Monroy, M.J. Polito, S.R. Midway, E. Castañeda-Moya, A.J. Gold, E. Uchida, M.M. Mangora, S. Makoto, (2019). Inter-annual hydroclimatic variability in coastal Tanzania. International Journal of Climatology 39(12), 4736–4750.

  • Rosciano, N. G., Polito, M. J., Rey, A. R. (2019). What’s for dinner mom? Selective provisioning in southern rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome). Polar Biology, 42(8), 1529-1535.

  • Uchida, E., Rivera-Monroy, V.H., Ates, S., Castañeda-Moya, E., Gold, A.J., Guilfoos T., *Hernandez, M.F., Lokina, R., Mangora, M.M., Midway S.R., McNally, C., Polito, M.J., Robertson, M., Rohli R.V., Uchida, H., West, L., Zhao, X., (2019). Collaborative research: Mangrove ecosystem services and poverty traps as a coupled natural-human system. Stephen Perz, Ed. Collaboration Across Boundaries for Interdisciplinary Environmental Systems Science. (pp. 115-152) Palgrave Macmillan

2018

  • Clucas, G.V., Younger, J.L, Kao, D., Emmerson, L., Southwell, C., Wienecke, B., Rogers, A.D., Bost, C.A., Miller, G.D., Polito, M.J., Lelliot, P., Handley, J., Crofts, S., Phillips, R.A., Dunn, M.J., Miller K.J., Hart, T., (2018). Comparative population genomics reveals key barriers to dispersal in Southern Ocean penguins. Molecular Ecology, 27(23), 4680-4697.

  • *Rosciano, N. G., Pütz, K., Polito, M. J., Raya Rey, A. (2018). Foraging behaviour of Magellanic Penguins during the early chick-rearing period at Isla de los Estados, Argentina. Ibis, 60(2), 327-341.

  • Borowicz, A., McDowall, P., Youngflesh, C., Sayre-McCord, T., Clucas, G., *Herman, R., Forrest, S., Rider, M., Schwaller, M., Hart, T. Jenouvrier, S., Polito, M.J., Singh, H., and Lynch,H.J. (2018). Multi-modal survey of Adélie penguin mega-colonies reveals the Danger Islands as a seabird hotspot. Scientific Reports, 8(1), p.3926.

  • *Lerner, J.E., Ono, K., *Hernandez, K.M., Runstadler, J.R. Puryear, W.B., Polito, M. J. (2018). Evaluating the use of stable isotope analysis to infer the feeding ecology of a growing US gray seal (Halichoerus grypus) population. PLOS ONE, 13(2), e0192241.

2017

  • Polito, M. J., Hinke, J. T., Hart, T., Santos, M., Houghton, L. A., Thorrold, S. R. (2017). Stable isotope analyses of feather amino acids identify penguin migration strategies at ocean basin scales. Biology Letters, 13(8), 20170241.

  • *Herman, R. W., *Valls, C. F., Hart, T., Petry, M. V., Trivelpiece, W. Z., Polito, M. J. (2017). Seasonal consistency and individual variation in foraging strategies differ among and within Pygoscelis penguin populations in the Antarctic Peninsula region. Marine Biology, 164(5), 115.

  • Moxley, J. H., Bogomolni, A., Hammil, M., Moore, K., Polito, M. J., Sette, L., Sharp, S., Waring, G., Gilbert, J., Halpin, P., Johnston, D. W. (2017). Google Haul Out: earth observation imagery and digital aerial surveys in coastal wildlife management and abundance estimation. Bioscience, 97(8), 760-768. DOI: 10.1093/biosci/bix059.

2016

  • Levy, H., Clucas, G. V., Rogers, A. D., Leaché, A. D., Ciborowski, K. L., Polito, M. J., Lynch, H. J., Dunn, M. J., Hart, T. (2016). Population structure and phylogeography of the Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua) across the Scotia Arc. Ecology and evolution, 6(6), 1834-1853.

  • Fournier, A. M., #Welsh, K. J., Polito, M. J., Emslie, S. D., Brasso, R. (2016). Levels of Mercury in Feathers of Clapper Rails (Rallus crepitans) over 45 Years in Coastal Salt Marshes of New Hanover County, North Carolina. Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology, 97(4), 469–473.

  • McCann, M. J., Able, K. W., Christian, R. R., Fodrie, F. *J., Jenson, O. P., Johnson, J. J., Lopez-Duarte, P. C., Martin, C. W., Olin, J. A., Polito, M. J., Roberts, B. J., Zeigler, S. L. (2016). Key taxa in food web responses to stressors: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 15(3), 142-149.

  • *Rosciano, N., Polito, M. J., Rey, A. R. (2016). Do penguins share? Evidence of foraging niche segregation between but not within two sympatric, central-place foragers. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 548, 249–262.

  • Polito, M. J., Brasso, R. L., Trivelpiece, W. Z., Karnovsky, N., Patterson, W. P., Emslie, S. D. (2016). Differing foraging strategies influence mercury (Hg) exposure in an Antarctic penguin community. Environmental Pollution, 218, 196–206.

2015

  • Hinke, J. T., Polito, M. J., Goebel, M. E., Jarvis, S., Reiss, C. S., Thorrold, S. R., Trivelpiece, W. Z., Watters, G. M. (2015). Spatial and isotopic niche partitioning during winter in chinstrap and Adélie penguins from the South Shetland Islands. Ecosphere, 6(7), 1–32.

  • Polito, M. J. (2015). Reviews and Brief Notices Zoology - Penguins: Natural History and Conservation. Edited by Pablo Garcia Borboroglu and P. Dee Boersma. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 90(1).

  • Beaulieu, M., González-Acuna, D., Thierry, A.-M., Polito, M. J. (2015). Relationships between isotopic values and oxidative status: insights from populations of gentoo penguins. Oecologia, 177(4), 1211–1220.

  • Freer, J. J., Mable, B. K., Clucas, G., Rogers, A. D., Polito, M. J., Dunn, M., Naveen, R., Levy, H., Hart, T. (2015). Limited genetic differentiation among chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) colonies in the Scotia Arc and Western Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biology, 38(9), 1493–1502.

  • Polito, M. J., Trivelpiece, W. Z., Patterson, W. P., Karnovsky, N. J., Reiss, C. S., Emslie, S. D. (2015). Contrasting specialist and generalist patterns facilitate foraging niche partitioning in sympatric populations of Pygoscelis penguins. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 519, 221–237.

  • †McMahon, K. W., †Polito, M. J., Abel, S., McCarthy, M. D., Thorrold, S. R. (2015). Carbon and nitrogen isotope fractionation of amino acids in an avian marine predator, the gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua). Ecology and evolution, 5(6), 1278–1290.

  • Brasso, R. L., Chiaradia, A., Polito, M. J., Rey, A. R., Emslie, S. D. (2015). A comprehensive assessment of mercury exposure in penguin populations throughout the Southern Hemisphere: Using trophic calculations to identify sources of population-level variation. Marine pollution bulletin, 97(1), 408–418.

2014

  • McLean, B. S., Ward, J. K., Polito, M. J., Emslie, S. D. (2014). Responses of high-elevation herbaceous plant assemblages to low glacial CO2 concentrations revealed by fossil marmot (Marmota) teeth. Oecologia, 175(4), 1117–1127.

  • Emslie, S. D., Polito, M. J., Brasso, R., Patterson, W., Sun, L. (2014). Ornithogenic soils and the paleoecology of pygoscelid penguins in Antarctica. Quaternary International, 352, 4–15.

  • Brasso, R. L., #Lang, J., Jones, C. D., Polito, M. J. (2014). Ontogenetic niche expansion influences mercury exposure in the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 504, 253–263.

  • Brasso, R. L., Polito, M. J., Emslie, S. D. (2014). Multi-tissue analyses reveal limited inter-annual and seasonal variation in mercury exposure in an Antarctic penguin community. Ecotoxicology, 23(8), 1494–1504.

  • Clucas, G. V., Dunn, M. J., Dyke, G., Emslie, S. D., Levy, H., Naveen, R., Polito, M. J., Pybus, O. G., Rogers, A. D., Hart, T. (2014). A reversal of fortunes: climate change ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ in Antarctic Peninsula penguins. Scientific reports, 4.

2013

  • Brasso, R. L., #Drummond, B. E., Borrett, S. R., Chiaradia, A., Polito, M. J., Rey, A. R. (2013). Unique pattern of molt leads to low intraindividual variation in feather mercury concentrations in penguins. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 32(10), 2331–2334.

  • Brasso, R. L., Polito, M. J. (2013). Trophic calculations reveal the mechanism of population-level variation in mercury concentrations between marine ecosystems: case studies of two polar seabirds. Marine pollution bulletin, 75(1), 244–249.

  • Polito, M. J., Reiss, C. S., Trivelpiece, W. Z., Patterson, W. P., Emslie, S. D. (2013). Stable isotopes identify an ontogenetic niche expansion in Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) from the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Marine biology, 160(6), 1311–1323.

  • Emslie, S. D., Polito, M. J., Patterson, W. P. (2013). Stable isotope analysis of ancient and modern gentoo penguin egg membrane and the krill surplus hypothesis in Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 25(02), 213–218.

  • Beaulieu, M., Thierry, A.-M., González-Acuna, D., Polito, M. J. (2013). Integrating oxidative ecology into conservation physiology. Conservation Physiology, 1(1), cot004.

2012

  • #Vasil, C. A., Polito, M. J., Patterson, W. P., Emslie, S. D. (2012). Wanted: dead or alive? Isotopic analysis (δ13C and δ15N) of Pygoscelis penguin chick tissues supports opportunistic sampling. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 26(5), 487–493.

  • Rey, A. R., Polito, M. J., Archuby, D., Coria, N. (2012). Stable isotopes identify age-and sex-specific dietary partitioning and foraging habitat segregation in southern giant petrels breeding in Antarctica and southern Patagonia. Marine biology, 159(6), 1317–1326.

  • Polito, M. J., Koopman, H. N., Able, S., Walsh, J., Goebel, M. E. (2012). Physiological constraints and the influence of diet on fatty acids in the yolk of gentoo penguins, Pygoscelis papua. Journal of Comparative Physiology B, 182(5), 703–713.

  • Brasso, R. L., Polito, M. J., Lynch, H. J., Naveen, R., Emslie, S. D. (2012). Penguin eggshell membranes reflect homogeneity of mercury in the marine food web surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula. Science of the total environment, 439, 165–171.

  • Brasso, R. L., Abel, S., Polito, M. J. (2012). Pattern of mercury allocation into egg components is independent of dietary exposure in Gentoo penguins. Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology, 62(3), 494–501.

  • Hinke, J. T., Polito, M. J., Reiss, C. S., Trivelpiece, S. G., Trivelpiece, W. Z. (2012). Flexible reproductive timing can buffer reproductive success of Pygoscelis spp. penguins in the Antarctic Peninsula region. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 454, 91–104.

  • Naveen, R., Lynch, H. J., Forrest, S., Mueller, T., Polito, M. J. (2012). First direct, site-wide penguin survey at Deception Island, Antarctica, suggests significant declines in breeding chinstrap penguins. Polar Biology, 35(12), 1879–1888.

  • Polito, M. J., Clucas, G. V., Hart, T., Trivelpiece, W. Z. (2012). A simplified method of determining the sex of Pygoscelis penguins using bill measurements. Mar Ornithol, 40, 89–94.

2011

  • Polito, M. J., Lynch, H. J., Naveen, R., Emslie, S. D. (2011). Stable isotopes reveal regional heterogeneity in the pre-breeding distribution and diets of sympatrically breeding Pygoscelis spp. penguins. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 421, 265–277.

  • Polito, M. J., Trivelpiece, W. Z., Karnovsky, N. J., Ng, E., Patterson, W. P., Emslie, S. D. (2011). Integrating stomach content and stable isotope analyses to quantify the diets of pygoscelid penguins. PloS one, 6(10), e26642.

  • Polito, M. J., Abel, S., Tobias, C. R., Emslie, S. D. (2011). Dietary isotopic discrimination in gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) feathers. Polar biology, 34(7), 1057–1063.

2010

  • Polito, M. J., Miller, A. K., Trivelpiece, S. G., Trivelpiece, W. Z. (2010). Maturation increases early reproductive investment in Adélie Penguins Pygoscelis adeliae. Ibis, 152(1), 38–47.

  • Polito, M. J., Goebel, M. E. (2010). Investigating the use of stable isotope analysis of milk to infer seasonal trends in the diets and foraging habitats of female Antarctic fur seals. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 395(1), 1–9.

  • Sanders, M. S., Garcia, S., Carneiro, A., Cristofoli, S., Polito, M. J. (2010). Band recoveries and juvenile dispersal of Southern Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus marked as chicks in Antarctica by the Brazilian Antarctic Program (1984–1993). Marine Ornithology, 38, 119–124.

  • Carneiro, A. P. B., Polito, M. J., Sander, M., Trivelpiece, W. Z. (2010). Abundance and spatial distribution of sympatrically breeding Catharacta spp.(skuas) in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica. Polar biology, 33(5), 673–682.

2009

  • Polito, M. J., Fisher, S., Tobias, C. R., Emslie, S. D. (2009). Tissue-specific isotopic discrimination factors in gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) egg components: implications for dietary reconstruction using stable isotopes. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 372(1), 106–112.

2008

  • Polito, M. J., Trivelpiece, W. Z. (2008). Transition to independence and evidence of extended parental care in the gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua). Marine Biology, 154(2), 231–240.

  • #Strickland, M. E., Polito, M. J., Emslie, S. D. S. (2008). Spatial and seasonal variation in Adlie penguin diets as inferred from stable isotope analysis of eggshell. North Carolina Academy of Science.

2007

  • Sander, M., Balbao, T. C., Polito, M. J., Costa, E. S., Carneiro, A. P. B. (2007). Recent decrease in chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) populations at two of Admiralty Bay’s islets on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Polar Biology, 30(5), 659–661.

2003

  • Emslie, S. D., Berkman, P. A., Ainley, D. G., Coats, L., Polito, M. J. (2003). Late-Holocene initiation of ice-free ecosystems in the southern Ross Sea, Antarctica. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 262, 19–25.

2002

  • Polito, M. J., Emslie, S. D., Walker, W. (2002). A 1000-year record of Adélie penguin diets in the southern Ross Sea. Antarctic Science, 14(04), 327–332.


The Polito Lab strives to create an inclusive, respectful, intellectually challenging climate that embraces individual difference in race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, spirituality, socioeconomic status, disability, family status, experiences, opinions and ideas.