Diving behaviour of chick-rearing Adélie Penguins at Edmonson Point, Ross Sea

• Published in: Polar Biology
• Main Authors: Nesti, Irene, Ropert‐Coudert, Yan, Kato, Akiko, Beaulieu, Michaël, Focardi, Silvano, Olmastroni, Silvia
• Other Authors: Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali "G. Sarfatti", Università degli Studi di Siena = University of Siena (UNISI), Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE-IPHC), Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2010
• Subjects: Diving behaviour; Adelie penguin; Breeding stages; Sea-ice; Edmonson Point; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; [SDV.BID.EVO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE]; Ross Sea; Polar Biology; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00473178; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0775-2

International audience The diving behaviour of chick-rearing Ade´lie penguins of Edmonson Point, Ross Sea, was analysed over two summer seasons (1994–1995 and 1995–1996). In 1994–1995, the study area was characterized by fast-ice persistency throughout season and by higher pack ice concentration than the following year, when fast-ice retreated earlier. Both females' and males' behaviour were examined, and we then compared diving characteristic between years and between guard and cre`che stages of chick rearing. We found that changes in fast-ice extent influenced the transit times between colony and foraging grounds and that females conducted longer foraging trips, dived for longer periods and made more dives than males. The diving parameters were affected neither by the sex nor by the year, but differed between the breeding stages. Parents guarding chicks had longer dive and bottom phase durations than in cre`che (dive duration: guard = 48 s, cre`che = 42 s; bottom duration: guard = 34 s, cre`che = 26 s), whilst they had shorter recovery times (e.g. post dive duration) (guard = 29 s, cre`che = 32 s). Possible causes for the observed differences in diving behaviours are discussed.