Abstract
Benthic divers are dependent on local resources and may therefore adopt different foraging strategies to cope with their energetic requirements in varying situations. We investigated the diet of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) at Kerguelen Islands, comparing its spatial and temporal variations with the general prey distribution. The study was conducted at four sites over 2 years. In total, 212 stomach contents were collected over the entire breeding season. The diet was composed mainly of neritic fish and crustaceans, with important spatial and seasonal variations. Fish dominated the diet at localities facing the open sea (from 38.0% to 94.6% by mass), whereas crustaceans dominated at the more protected site (84.3% by mass). Fish were more abundant in the winter diet and Euphausia vallentini, the major crustacean species, was more abundant in the summer diet. No inter-year variations were detected. These results are consistent with local prey availability, and highlight the large plasticity of the gentoo penguin diet and foraging behaviour.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises, the Institut Polaire Paul Emile Victor and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. We would like to express our thanks to the members of the 37th and 39th missions at Kerguelen, and especially to F. Genevois, for their assistance during the study. We are grateful to Dr. G. Duhamel and Dr. P. Koubbi for their help in data interpretation. D. Grémillet and two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments on previous versions of this manuscript.
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Lescroël, A., Ridoux, V. & Bost, C.A. Spatial and temporal variation in the diet of the gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) at Kerguelen Islands. Polar Biol 27, 206–216 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-003-0571-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-003-0571-3