Diving into the cold : individual variation in the winter foraging behaviour of the gentoo penguin ...

• Main Author: Dier-McComb, Sarah P.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2020
• Subjects: Gentoo penguin
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0388733; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0388733

Within any population, certain individuals outperform other members of their species. However, the precise basis for their advantage largely remains a mystery in ecology. In the last decade, research on the variability in foraging behaviour and diet between individuals has become a focus for ecologists as a potential mechanism for individual advantage. The numbers of breeding pairs of gentoo penguins in the Falkland Islands fluctuate annually, and while the precise cause of deferred breeding is unknown, carryover effects from the previous winter period are likely an important factor. Blood oxygen-carrying capacity and body mass are proposed to be critical carryover effects from winter influencing the reproductive trade-off of participating in breeding in the following spring, given their proposed influence on the diving ability and hence foraging capacity of penguins. In this thesis, I investigate (1) if interindividual variation in diving efficiency is associated with the condition of oxygen stores through ...