Reproductive performance and diving behaviour share a common sea-ice concentration optimum in Adélie penguins ( Pygoscelis adeliae )

• Published in: Global Change Biology
• Main Authors: Le Guen, Camille, Kato, Akiko, Raymond, Ben, Barbraud, Christophe, Beaulieu, Michaël, Bost, Charles-André, Delord, Karine, Macintosh, Andrew, Meyer, Xavier, Raclot, Thierry, Sumner, Michael, Takahashi, Akinori, Thiebot, Jean-Baptiste, Ropert‐coudert, Yan
• Other Authors: Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Energy, Zoological Institute & Museum GERMANY, Universität Greifswald - University of Greifswald, German Oceanographic Museum GERMANY, Kyoto University, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA))-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE-IPHC), Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA))-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA))-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), National Insitute of Polar Research Japan, National Institute of Polar Research Tokyo (NiPR)-National Insitute of Polar Research Japan
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2018
• Subjects: foraging strategies; diving activity; Pygoscelis adeliae; sea ice; Antarctic; breeding success; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01848687; https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14377

International audience The Southern Ocean is currently experiencing major environmental changes, including in sea‐ice cover. Such changes strongly influence ecosystem structure and functioningand affect the survival and reproduction of predators such as seabirds. These effects are likely mediated by reduced availability of food resources. As such, seabirds are reliable eco‐indicators of environmental conditions in the Antarctic region. Here, based on 9 years of sea‐ice data, we found that the breeding success of Adélie pen-guins (Pygoscelis adeliae) reaches a peak at intermediate sea‐ice cover (ca. 20%). We further examined the effects of sea‐ice conditions on the foraging activity of pen-guins, measured at multiple scales from individual dives to foraging trips. Analysis of temporal organisation of dives, including fractal and bout analyses, revealed an increasingly consistent behaviour during years with extensive sea‐ice cover. The rela-tionship between several dive parameters and sea‐ice cover in the foraging area appears to be quadratic. In years of low and high sea‐ice cover, individuals adjusted their diving effort by generally diving deeper, more frequently and by resting at the surface between dives for shorter periods of time than in years with intermediate sea‐ice cover. Our study therefore suggests that sea‐ice cover is likely to affect thereproductive performance of Adélie penguins through its effects on foraging beha-viour, as breeding success and most diving parameters share a common optimum. Some years, however, deviated from this general trend, suggesting that other factors (e.g. precipitation during the breeding season) might sometimes become preponderantover the sea‐ice effects on breeding and foraging performance. Our study highlights the value of monitoring fitness parameters and individual behaviour concomitantlyover the long‐term to better characterize optimal environmental conditions and potential resilience of wildlife. Such an approach is crucial if we want to anticipate the effects of ...