Dive depth and plumage air in wettable birds: the extraordinary case of the imperial cormorant
Cormorants are considered to be remarkably efficient divers and hunters. In part, this is due to their wettable plumage with little associated air, which allows them to dive with fewer energetic costs associated with buoyancy from air in the feathers. The literature attributes particularly exception...
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ftconicet:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/103481 2023-10-09T21:55:15+02:00 Dive depth and plumage air in wettable birds: the extraordinary case of the imperial cormorant Quintana, Flavio Roberto Wilson, Rory P. Yorio, Pablo Martin application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/11336/103481 eng eng Inter-Research info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://www.int-res.com/articles/meps2007/334/m334p299.pdf http://hdl.handle.net/11336/103481 Quintana, Flavio Roberto; Wilson, Rory P.; Yorio, Pablo Martin; Dive depth and plumage air in wettable birds: the extraordinary case of the imperial cormorant; Inter-Research; Marine Ecology Progress Series; 334; 12-2007; 299-310 0171-8630 1616-1599 CONICET Digital CONICET info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/ DIVING BEHAVIOR CORMORANTS PATAGONIA ARGENTINA BUOYANCY INSULATION https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion ftconicet 2023-09-24T20:11:51Z Cormorants are considered to be remarkably efficient divers and hunters. In part, this is due to their wettable plumage with little associated air, which allows them to dive with fewer energetic costs associated with buoyancy from air in the feathers. The literature attributes particularly exceptional diving capabilities to cormorants of the ‘blue-eyed’ taxon. We studied the diving behaviour of 14 male imperial cormorants Phalacrocorax atriceps (included in the blue-eyed taxon) in Patagonia, Argentina, and found that this species did indeed dive deeper, and for longer, than most other non-blue-eyed cormorant species. This species also exhibited longer dive durations for any depth as well as longer recovery periods at the surface for particular dive durations. We propose that this, coupled with atypically long foraging durations at sea in cold water, suggests that cormorants of the blue-eyed complex have a plumage with a substantial layer of insulating air. This is given credence by a simple model. High volumes of plumage air lead to unusually high power requirements during foraging in shallow, warmer waters, which are conditions that tend to favour wettable plumage. However, deep dives and/or cold water should favour the blue-eyed phenotype, which explains their essentially high latitude distribution. Fil: Quintana, Flavio Roberto. Wildlife Conservation Society; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos; Argentina Fil: Wilson, Rory P. University of Wales; Reino Unido Fil: Yorio, Pablo Martin. Wildlife Conservation Society; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina Article in Journal/Newspaper Phalacrocorax atriceps CONICET Digital (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas) Patagonia Argentina Pablo ENVELOPE(-63.717,-63.717,-64.283,-64.283) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
CONICET Digital (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas) |
op_collection_id |
ftconicet |
language |
English |
topic |
DIVING BEHAVIOR CORMORANTS PATAGONIA ARGENTINA BUOYANCY INSULATION https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1 |
spellingShingle |
DIVING BEHAVIOR CORMORANTS PATAGONIA ARGENTINA BUOYANCY INSULATION https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1 Quintana, Flavio Roberto Wilson, Rory P. Yorio, Pablo Martin Dive depth and plumage air in wettable birds: the extraordinary case of the imperial cormorant |
topic_facet |
DIVING BEHAVIOR CORMORANTS PATAGONIA ARGENTINA BUOYANCY INSULATION https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1 |
description |
Cormorants are considered to be remarkably efficient divers and hunters. In part, this is due to their wettable plumage with little associated air, which allows them to dive with fewer energetic costs associated with buoyancy from air in the feathers. The literature attributes particularly exceptional diving capabilities to cormorants of the ‘blue-eyed’ taxon. We studied the diving behaviour of 14 male imperial cormorants Phalacrocorax atriceps (included in the blue-eyed taxon) in Patagonia, Argentina, and found that this species did indeed dive deeper, and for longer, than most other non-blue-eyed cormorant species. This species also exhibited longer dive durations for any depth as well as longer recovery periods at the surface for particular dive durations. We propose that this, coupled with atypically long foraging durations at sea in cold water, suggests that cormorants of the blue-eyed complex have a plumage with a substantial layer of insulating air. This is given credence by a simple model. High volumes of plumage air lead to unusually high power requirements during foraging in shallow, warmer waters, which are conditions that tend to favour wettable plumage. However, deep dives and/or cold water should favour the blue-eyed phenotype, which explains their essentially high latitude distribution. Fil: Quintana, Flavio Roberto. Wildlife Conservation Society; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos; Argentina Fil: Wilson, Rory P. University of Wales; Reino Unido Fil: Yorio, Pablo Martin. Wildlife Conservation Society; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Quintana, Flavio Roberto Wilson, Rory P. Yorio, Pablo Martin |
author_facet |
Quintana, Flavio Roberto Wilson, Rory P. Yorio, Pablo Martin |
author_sort |
Quintana, Flavio Roberto |
title |
Dive depth and plumage air in wettable birds: the extraordinary case of the imperial cormorant |
title_short |
Dive depth and plumage air in wettable birds: the extraordinary case of the imperial cormorant |
title_full |
Dive depth and plumage air in wettable birds: the extraordinary case of the imperial cormorant |
title_fullStr |
Dive depth and plumage air in wettable birds: the extraordinary case of the imperial cormorant |
title_full_unstemmed |
Dive depth and plumage air in wettable birds: the extraordinary case of the imperial cormorant |
title_sort |
dive depth and plumage air in wettable birds: the extraordinary case of the imperial cormorant |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11336/103481 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-63.717,-63.717,-64.283,-64.283) |
geographic |
Patagonia Argentina Pablo |
geographic_facet |
Patagonia Argentina Pablo |
genre |
Phalacrocorax atriceps |
genre_facet |
Phalacrocorax atriceps |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://www.int-res.com/articles/meps2007/334/m334p299.pdf http://hdl.handle.net/11336/103481 Quintana, Flavio Roberto; Wilson, Rory P.; Yorio, Pablo Martin; Dive depth and plumage air in wettable birds: the extraordinary case of the imperial cormorant; Inter-Research; Marine Ecology Progress Series; 334; 12-2007; 299-310 0171-8630 1616-1599 CONICET Digital CONICET |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/ |
_version_ |
1779319107234037760 |