Spatial and temporal diet variability of Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) and Emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri) Penguin: a multi tissue stable isotope analysis
Abstract The Ross Sea, Antarctica, supports large populations of Emperor Penguin ( Aptenodytes forsteri ) and Adélie Penguin ( Pygoscelis adeliae ), two key meso-predators that occupy high trophic levels. Despite these species are largely studied, little is known about their diet outside the breedin...
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Springer Science and Business Media LLC
2021
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crspringernat:10.1007/s00300-021-02925-1 2023-05-15T14:08:41+02:00 Spatial and temporal diet variability of Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) and Emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri) Penguin: a multi tissue stable isotope analysis Jafari, Vahideh Maccapan, Deborah Careddu, Giulio Sporta Caputi, Simona Calizza, Edoardo Rossi, Loreto Costantini, Maria Letizia Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02925-1 https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00300-021-02925-1.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-021-02925-1/fulltext.html en eng Springer Science and Business Media LLC https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 CC-BY Polar Biology volume 44, issue 9, page 1869-1881 ISSN 0722-4060 1432-2056 General Agricultural and Biological Sciences journal-article 2021 crspringernat https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02925-1 2022-01-04T10:23:24Z Abstract The Ross Sea, Antarctica, supports large populations of Emperor Penguin ( Aptenodytes forsteri ) and Adélie Penguin ( Pygoscelis adeliae ), two key meso-predators that occupy high trophic levels. Despite these species are largely studied, little is known about their diet outside the breeding period. In the present study, we investigated the intra-annual diet of Adélie and Emperor Penguins belonging to five colonies in the Ross Sea through the stable isotope analysis of different tissues (feathers and shell membranes), synthetized in different seasons, and guano that indicates recent diet. Penguin samples and prey (krill and fish) were collected during the Antarctic spring–summer. δ 13 C and δ 15 N of tissues and guano indicate spatio-temporal variation in the penguin diet. The krill consumption by Adélie Penguins was lowest in winter except in the northernmost colony, where it was always very high. It peaked in spring and remained prevalent in summer. The greatest krill contribution to Emperor Penguin’s diet occurred in summer. The relative krill and fish consumption by both species changed in relation to the prey availability, which is influenced by seasonal sea ice dynamics, and according to the penguin life cycle phases. The results highlight a strong trophic plasticity in the Adélie Penguin, whose dietary variability has been already recognized, and in the Emperor Penguin, which had not previously reported. Our findings can help understand how these species might react to resource variation due to climate change or anthropogenic overexploitation. Furthermore, data provides useful basis for future comparisons in the Ross Sea MPA and for planning conservation actions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Aptenodytes forsteri Emperor penguins Polar Biology Pygoscelis adeliae Ross Sea Sea ice Springer Nature (via Crossref) Antarctic The Antarctic Ross Sea Guano ENVELOPE(141.604,141.604,-66.775,-66.775) Polar Biology 44 9 1869 1881 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Springer Nature (via Crossref) |
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crspringernat |
language |
English |
topic |
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences |
spellingShingle |
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences Jafari, Vahideh Maccapan, Deborah Careddu, Giulio Sporta Caputi, Simona Calizza, Edoardo Rossi, Loreto Costantini, Maria Letizia Spatial and temporal diet variability of Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) and Emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri) Penguin: a multi tissue stable isotope analysis |
topic_facet |
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences |
description |
Abstract The Ross Sea, Antarctica, supports large populations of Emperor Penguin ( Aptenodytes forsteri ) and Adélie Penguin ( Pygoscelis adeliae ), two key meso-predators that occupy high trophic levels. Despite these species are largely studied, little is known about their diet outside the breeding period. In the present study, we investigated the intra-annual diet of Adélie and Emperor Penguins belonging to five colonies in the Ross Sea through the stable isotope analysis of different tissues (feathers and shell membranes), synthetized in different seasons, and guano that indicates recent diet. Penguin samples and prey (krill and fish) were collected during the Antarctic spring–summer. δ 13 C and δ 15 N of tissues and guano indicate spatio-temporal variation in the penguin diet. The krill consumption by Adélie Penguins was lowest in winter except in the northernmost colony, where it was always very high. It peaked in spring and remained prevalent in summer. The greatest krill contribution to Emperor Penguin’s diet occurred in summer. The relative krill and fish consumption by both species changed in relation to the prey availability, which is influenced by seasonal sea ice dynamics, and according to the penguin life cycle phases. The results highlight a strong trophic plasticity in the Adélie Penguin, whose dietary variability has been already recognized, and in the Emperor Penguin, which had not previously reported. Our findings can help understand how these species might react to resource variation due to climate change or anthropogenic overexploitation. Furthermore, data provides useful basis for future comparisons in the Ross Sea MPA and for planning conservation actions. |
author2 |
Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jafari, Vahideh Maccapan, Deborah Careddu, Giulio Sporta Caputi, Simona Calizza, Edoardo Rossi, Loreto Costantini, Maria Letizia |
author_facet |
Jafari, Vahideh Maccapan, Deborah Careddu, Giulio Sporta Caputi, Simona Calizza, Edoardo Rossi, Loreto Costantini, Maria Letizia |
author_sort |
Jafari, Vahideh |
title |
Spatial and temporal diet variability of Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) and Emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri) Penguin: a multi tissue stable isotope analysis |
title_short |
Spatial and temporal diet variability of Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) and Emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri) Penguin: a multi tissue stable isotope analysis |
title_full |
Spatial and temporal diet variability of Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) and Emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri) Penguin: a multi tissue stable isotope analysis |
title_fullStr |
Spatial and temporal diet variability of Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) and Emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri) Penguin: a multi tissue stable isotope analysis |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatial and temporal diet variability of Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) and Emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri) Penguin: a multi tissue stable isotope analysis |
title_sort |
spatial and temporal diet variability of adélie (pygoscelis adeliae) and emperor (aptenodytes forsteri) penguin: a multi tissue stable isotope analysis |
publisher |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02925-1 https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00300-021-02925-1.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-021-02925-1/fulltext.html |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(141.604,141.604,-66.775,-66.775) |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic Ross Sea Guano |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic Ross Sea Guano |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Aptenodytes forsteri Emperor penguins Polar Biology Pygoscelis adeliae Ross Sea Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Aptenodytes forsteri Emperor penguins Polar Biology Pygoscelis adeliae Ross Sea Sea ice |
op_source |
Polar Biology volume 44, issue 9, page 1869-1881 ISSN 0722-4060 1432-2056 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02925-1 |
container_title |
Polar Biology |
container_volume |
44 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
1869 |
op_container_end_page |
1881 |
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1766280700822028288 |