One characteristic of seabirds during the breeding season is their need to transport and store food from the feeding ground back to the nesting colony on shore to feed their offspring. Food is carried in the bill, the crop or the stomach, depending on the seabird species, and the storage can be prol...
| Other Authors: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.601.8763 http://jeb.biologists.org/content/207/15/2715.full.pdf |
| Summary: | One characteristic of seabirds during the breeding season is their need to transport and store food from the feeding ground back to the nesting colony on shore to feed their offspring. Food is carried in the bill, the crop or the stomach, depending on the seabird species, and the storage can be prolonged for days or weeks (Croxall, 1987). It has recently been demonstrated, however, that long-term storage of food in the stomach can also take place during the incubation period (Gauthier-Clerc et al., 2000). Indeed, preservation of undigested food for up to several weeks has been found to occur in the stomach of male king penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus towards the end of the incubation fast (Gauthier-Clerc et al., 2000). Such an adaptation ensures hatchling survival if the female’s return is delayed. In king penguins, both mates take turns at incubating their egg, alternating |
|---|