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Stable isotopes in southern rockhopper penguins: foraging areas and sexual differences in the non-breeding period

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Abstract

Southern rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome chrysocome) have experienced severe population declines across their distribution area, potentially in response to bottom-up effects following elevated sea surface temperatures, changes in the food web and prey availability. We conducted stable isotope analysis to compare trophic levels and distribution patterns in the non-breeding period over three consecutive years, and between males and females, using egg membranes, blood cells and feathers of parent birds. Tissues representing the non-breeding season had lower δ13C values than prey sampled around the Falklands and red blood cells from breeding rockhopper penguins. In contrast, δ15N values were higher in red blood cells from the end of winter compared to those from the breeding season and compared to feathers. This indicated that rockhopper penguins left the Falkland Island area in the non-breeding season and foraged either around Burdwood Bank further south, or over the Patagonian Shelf. In winter, only males took more prey of higher trophic level than females. Inter-annual differences in isotopic values partly correlated with sea surface temperatures. However, as prey isotope samples were collected only in 1 year, inter-annual differences in penguin isotopic values may result from different foraging sites, different prey choice or different isotopic baseline values. Our study highlights the potential for stable isotope analyses to detect seasonal and gender-specific differences in foraging areas and trophic levels, while stressing the need for more sampling of isotopic baseline data.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the New Island Conservation Trust for permission to work on the island. We thank Ian, Maria and Georgina Strange, and Dan Birch for their support during the field season. Thanks also to Helen Otley, Falkland Islands Government and British Antarctic Survey for their logistic help. Prey samples were provided by Dr. Paul Brickle, Falkland Islands Government Fisheries Department, fat extracted by Felix Weiss and analysed at SURC, UK, by Dr. Rona McGill, as part of a previous project. We thank Karin Sörgel and Anja Luckner from the IZW for isotope analysis of penguin samples. Dr. Katrin Ludynia helped to create a map of the study area. We would like to thank three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on this manuscript. Our study was funded by a grant provided by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG (Qu 148/1-ff) and an Environmental Studies Budget grant from the Falkland Islands Government. All work was approved by the Falkland Islands Government (Environmental Planning Office).

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  1. Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Schlossallee 2, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany

    Nina Dehnhard, Maud Poisbleau, Laurent Demongin & Petra Quillfeldt

  2. Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany

    Christian C. Voigt

  3. Department Biology—Ethology, Campus Drie Eiken, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp (Wilrijk), Belgium

    Maud Poisbleau & Laurent Demongin

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  1. Nina Dehnhard
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  2. Christian C. Voigt
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  3. Maud Poisbleau
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  4. Laurent Demongin
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  5. Petra Quillfeldt
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Correspondence to Nina Dehnhard.

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Dehnhard, N., Voigt, C.C., Poisbleau, M. et al. Stable isotopes in southern rockhopper penguins: foraging areas and sexual differences in the non-breeding period. Polar Biol 34, 1763–1773 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-1026-x

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