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Breeding ecology of the gentoo penguin Pygoscelis papua at Kerguelen Archipelago

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Abstract

The gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) is one of the most widespread penguin species and has been proven to be highly plastic in many aspects of its ecology. However, data from their sub-Antarctic range suggest an unexplained decline of their populations over the last 10–20 years, stressing the need for additional knowledge on their breeding ecology and demography. The present study provides insights into the breeding ecology of the gentoo penguin at a major breeding site, Kerguelen Archipelago, over three breeding seasons (1987, 2002 and 2003). Similarly to other northern populations, gentoo penguins breeding at Kerguelen exhibited winter laying, slow provisioning rate, slow growth rate associated with an extended rearing period and relatively low breeding success compared to southern populations. Our study also revealed interannual differences in the timing of laying and growth parameters as well as unusual sex differences in parental investment. Despite their high plasticity, there are indications that gentoo penguins at the northern edge of their range might work at the upper limit of their capacities. Sub-Antarctic populations would, therefore, be more sensitive to environmental changes than more southerly ones and need to be closely monitored.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Institut Polaire Paul Emile Victor (IPEV, Programme No. 394, resp. C.A. Bost), the Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. We would like to thank Alain Lamalle and the members of the 37th, 39th, 52nd, 53rd and 54th missions at Kerguelen, and especially F. Genevois, V. Chartendrault, E. Pettex, J.-L. Chil, C. Marteau and F. Le Bouard for their help in the field. Finally, we are especially indebted to Pierre Jouventin for his thoughtful comments and inspiration over the whole study.

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  1. Catherine Bajzak

    Present address: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, P.O. Box 1000, Mont-Joli, QC, G5H 3Z4, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UPR 1934, CNRS, 79360, Villiers en Bois, France

    Amélie Lescroël & Charles-André Bost

  2. Groupe Ecologie Comportementale, Département Biologie des Populations, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Catherine Bajzak

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  1. Amélie Lescroël
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Correspondence to Amélie Lescroël.

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Lescroël, A., Bajzak, C. & Bost, CA. Breeding ecology of the gentoo penguin Pygoscelis papua at Kerguelen Archipelago. Polar Biol 32, 1495–1505 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0647-9

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