Diet of Adélie penguins (<i>Pygoscelis adeliae</i>) at Stranger Point (25 de Mayo/King George Island, Antarctica) over a 13-year period (2003–2015)
Knowledge of the feeding ecology of a species at local level is fundamental to determine the relationship between the fluctuations in local marine resources and population dynamics of predators. In this study, we examined the diet of Adélie penguins (<i>Pygoscelis adeliae</i>) during the...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2018 |
| País: | Argentina |
| Institución: | Universidad Nacional de La Plata |
| Repositorio: | SEDICI (UNLP) |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:sedici.unlp.edu.ar:10915/133294 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/133294 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Ciencias Naturales Pygoscelis adeliae Krill-dependent species Prey availability South Shetland Islands |
| Sumario: | Knowledge of the feeding ecology of a species at local level is fundamental to determine the relationship between the fluctuations in local marine resources and population dynamics of predators. In this study, we examined the diet of Adélie penguins (<i>Pygoscelis adeliae</i>) during the crèche stage at the Stranger Point colony, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, over a 13-year period (2002/2003–2014/2015). Antarctic krill (<i>Euphausia superba</i>) was the dominant prey for Adélie penguins during the crèche period (contribution: 100% of occurrence and >99.7% by mass). The fish component in the diet represented a small proportion of the total prey (contribution: from 4 to 24% of occurrence but <0.15% by mass). A marked inter-annual variability in the mass of stomach contents, the krill size consumed and the proportion of juvenile krill was observed. Moreover, a possible recruitment event of krill was recorded. A negative relationship between the size of krill in the diet and breeding success was found, suggesting that population dynamics of krill also reflected changes in the local availability of this crustacean. This work is the first long-term study of dietary parameters of Adélie penguins for the Stranger Point colony. |
|---|