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Heat loss and site-dependent fecundity in chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica)

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Abstract

We study the effects of heat loss and nest site quality on fecundity in a chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) colony on Deception Island, Antarctica. During the austral summers of 1990–1991, 1993–1994, and 1995–1996, 441 randomly selected nests were analyzed. Penguins breeding in the center of subcolonies hatched significantly earlier and had larger broods and than those nesting near or at the edge of the subcolonies. These differences, however, were significantly affected by interaction between year and nest location, being highly significant in colder years, when peripheral nests produce fewer young. Analysis of the rate of heat loss showed that penguins breeding at the edge of subcolonies lost heat twice as rapidly as those breeding in the interior of the subcolony. In a re-occupation experiment, evacuated center nests were re-occupied almost ten times as rapidly as edge nests. An analysis of mean fecundity in the period 1991–1996 and mean wind chill suggested that most of the variability in fecundity among years was related to differences in the rate of heat loss. Subcolonies tend to be as circular as possible, thereby decreasing the proportion of edge nests as the size of subcolony increases. Our results support the site-dependent fecundity hypothesis.

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Acknowledgments

The present study was supported by grant ANT91-1264 from the Spanish C.I.C.Y.T. (Plan Nacional Antártico). We gratefully acknowledge the Spanish Navy vessel “Hesperides” for transport to and from Deception Island, the Spanish Army Base “Gabriel de Castilla” and the personnel at Argentine Base for their hospitality and logistic support. Three anonymous referees greatly improved the firsts versions of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Avd. Americo Vespucio, 41092, Sevilla, Isla de la Cartuja, Spain

    Miguel Ferrer

  2. Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Alcalá, Campus Universitario, 28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain

    Josabel Belliure

  3. Parque Natural Serra Gelada y Entorno Litoral, Paseo de la Carretera 34, 03501, Benidorm, Alicante, Spain

    Eduardo Minguez

  4. Fundación Migres, Inca Garcilaso, 1. Edificio REE, 41092, Sevilla, Isla de la Cartuja, Spain

    Eva Casado

  5. Acopian Center for Conservation Learning, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, 410 Summer Valley Road, Orwigsburg, PA, 17961, USA

    Keith Bildstein

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  1. Miguel Ferrer
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  2. Josabel Belliure
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  3. Eduardo Minguez
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  4. Eva Casado
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  5. Keith Bildstein
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Correspondence to Miguel Ferrer.

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Ferrer, M., Belliure, J., Minguez, E. et al. Heat loss and site-dependent fecundity in chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica). Polar Biol 37, 1031–1039 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-014-1498-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-014-1498-6

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