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Flexible foraging for finding fish: variable diving patterns in Magellanic penguins Spheniscus magellanicus from different colonies

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Abstract

Seabirds have to deal with environmental variability and are predicted to modulate foraging behavior to maximize fitness, with particularly strong selection pressure for optimal behavior during chick provisioning when energy demands are high. We reported data from 42 breeding birds equipped during the early chick-rearing period with depth recorders at four different colonies [Punta Norte (42°S), Bahía Bustamante (45°S), Puerto Deseado (47°S) and Puerto San Julián (49°S)] in patagonian Argentina. Although Magellanic penguins are purported to show little flexibility in foraging behavior, we discovered marked inter-colony differences in diving behavior. Even though the southern marine ecosystems, in general, and the area exploited by Magellanic penguins from the studied colonies, in particular, are usually characterized by their stability, we cannot entirely exclude that interannual differences may have also affected our results. The colonies located in the center of the breeding distribution, Bahía Bustamante and Puerto Deseado, showed the greatest diving and foraging effort with Bahía Bustamante penguins having the deepest and longest dives of all birds and requiring the longest post-dive recovery durations at the surface. Puerto Deseado had the birds with the highest values of diving effort parameters. Penguins from both colonies also had the highest descent and ascent rates during dives. We assume that the clear variation in diving behavior reflects the response of the birds to the varying prey types and availability around the different colonies, but note that, despite this, some colonies fare markedly better than others in breeding.

Zusammenfassung

Flexible Suche nach Fisch: unterschiedliche Tauchmuster von Magellan -Pinguinen Spheniscus magellanicus aus verschiedenen Kolonien

Seevögel müssen Umweltveränderungen bewältigen und können vermutlich ihre Nahrungssuche anpassen, um ihre Fitness zu maximieren, vor allem bei starkem Selektionsdruck für optimales Verhalten während der Jungenaufzucht, wenn der Energiebedarf besonders hoch ist. In vier verschiedenen Kolonien [Punta Norte (42°S), Bahía Bustamante (45°S), Puerto Deseado (47°S) and Puerto San Julián (49°S)] im argentinischen Teil Patagoniens wurden während der frühen Kükenaufzuchtsphase 42 Brutvögel mit Tiefenmessern ausgerüstet. Obwohl Magellan-Pinguine angeblich eine geringe Flexibilität im Nahrungssuchverhalten zeigen, konnten deutliche Unterschiede im Tauchverhalten zwischen den Kolonien festgestellt werden. Wenngleich die südlichen marinen Ökosysteme im Allgemeinen, und das von den untersuchten Magellan-Pinguinen genutzte Gebiet im Speziellen, normalerweise durch ihre Stabilität gekennzeichnet sind, kann nicht gänzlich ausgeschlossen werden, dass Unterschiede zwischen den Jahren die Ergebnisse beeinflusst haben könnten. Die Kolonien, die in der Mitte des Brutverbreitungsgebietes liegen, Bahía Bustamante und Puerto Deseado, zeigten den größten Aufwand für Tauchen und Nahrungssuche. Die Bahía Bustamante Pinguine tauchten von allen Vögeln am tiefsten und am längsten und benötigten die längsten Erholungsphasen an der Wasseroberfläche nach ihren Tauchgängen. Puerto Deseado Pinguine zeigten die höchsten Werte im Tauchaufwand. Vögel aus beiden Kolonien hatten die höchsten Ab- und Auftauchgeschwindigkeiten während der Tauchgänge. Wir nehmen an, dass die Unterschiede im Tauchverhalten die Antwort der Vögel auf variierende Beutetypen und deren Verfügbarkeit um die verschiedenen Kolonien reflektiert. Ungeachtet dessen ist aber darauf hinzuweisen, dass das Brutgeschäft in einigen Kolonien deutlich besser läuft als in anderen.

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Acknowledgments

Research was funded by grants from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de la República Argentina (CONICET), and Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica to F.Q. and by a Rolex Award for Enterprise awarded to R.P.W. We want to thank the POGO (Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans, http://www.ocean-partners.org/) for the award to Juan Emilio Sala to enable him to conduct a training period at Swansea University (2010). We want to especially thank A. Gómez Laich for her invaluable assistance in statistical analysis using R. We also thank the respective Conservation Agencies from the provinces of Chubut and Santa Cruz for the permits to work in the different protected areas, and the Centro Nacional Patagónico (CENPAT-CONICET) for institutional and logistical support. J.E. Sala is supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from CONICET. Finally, we particularly thank two anonymous reviewers who provided valuable comments and contributed to a significant improvement of this paper. This work is dedicated to the memory of Néstor C. Kirchner (1950–2010), former President of Argentina, who revitalized and promoted the scientific Argentinean system, and to his wife, the current President, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who continues his legacy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro Nacional Patagónico (CENPAT-CONICET), Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina

    Juan E. Sala & Flavio Quintana

  2. Swansea Laboratory for Animal Movement, Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales, UK

    Rory P. Wilson

  3. Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Esteban Frere & Flavio Quintana

  4. Centro de Investigaciones Puerto Deseado (UNPA-CONICET), Puerto Deseado, Santa Cruz, Argentina

    Esteban Frere

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  1. Juan E. Sala
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Correspondence to Juan E. Sala.

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J. E. Sala, R. P. Wilson, E. Frere and F. Quintana contributed equally to the work.

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Sala, J.E., Wilson, R.P., Frere, E. et al. Flexible foraging for finding fish: variable diving patterns in Magellanic penguins Spheniscus magellanicus from different colonies. J Ornithol 155, 801–817 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-014-1065-5

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