Seasonal prey switching in non-breeding gentoo penguins related to a wintertime environmental anomaly around South Georgia
Information is needed on how anomalous environmental conditions affect important Antarctic ecological sentinels during the winter. Using a non-invasive method (scats), the diet of non-breeding gentoo penguins Pygoscelis papua at Bird Island, South Georgia, was examined during the winter of 2009 when...
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:520655 2023-05-15T13:49:35+02:00 Seasonal prey switching in non-breeding gentoo penguins related to a wintertime environmental anomaly around South Georgia Xavier, Jose C. Velez, N. Trathan, Phil N. Cherel, Y. De Broyer, C. Cánovas, F. Seco, J. Ratcliffe, Norman Tarling, Geraint A. 2018-11-16 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/520655/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/520655/1/Winter%20diet%20Penguins%20SG_CLEAN.docx https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-018-2372-8 en eng Springer https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/520655/1/Winter%20diet%20Penguins%20SG_CLEAN.docx Xavier, Jose C. orcid:0000-0002-9621-6660 Velez, N.; Trathan, Phil N. orcid:0000-0001-6673-9930 Cherel, Y.; De Broyer, C.; Cánovas, F.; Seco, J.; Ratcliffe, Norman orcid:0000-0002-3375-2431 Tarling, Geraint A. orcid:0000-0002-3753-5899 . 2018 Seasonal prey switching in non-breeding gentoo penguins related to a wintertime environmental anomaly around South Georgia. Polar Biology, 41 (11). 2323-2335. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2372-8 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2372-8> Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2018 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2372-8 2023-02-04T19:46:55Z Information is needed on how anomalous environmental conditions affect important Antarctic ecological sentinels during the winter. Using a non-invasive method (scats), the diet of non-breeding gentoo penguins Pygoscelis papua at Bird Island, South Georgia, was examined during the winter of 2009 when local environmental conditions were abnormal (e.g. warmer sea surface waters). Scats were collected every 2 weeks from May until October 2009 (N = 168); the diet was dominated by the amphipod Themisto gaudichaudii by frequency of occurrence (77.5% of the samples) and by number (70.5% of the total individuals). By mass, different species of crustaceans (T. gaudichaudii and Antarctic krill Euphausia superba) and fish (Champsocephalus gunnari, Lepidonotothen larseni and Pseudochaenichthys georgianus) were the most important in different periods. Numerically, prey switching occurred at the end of winter, when E. superba became more abundant in the penguins’ diets in late September and early October (austral spring), when sea surface temperatures became colder. T. gaudichaudii is sub-optimal prey for gentoo penguins and its consumption most likely reflects a lack of E. superba in local waters. The consumption of T. gaudichaudii and fish, in place of E. superba, was probably insufficient for the penguins to maintain a body condition suitable for reproduction, contributing to the observed late commencement of breeding (i.e. 2–3 weeks) that year. Our results highlight the sensitivity of gentoo penguin populations to variations in environmental conditions, particularly in terms of how these conditions affect the availability of preferred dietary items and potential follow-on effects in the subsequent breeding season. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Bird Island Euphausia superba Gentoo penguin Polar Biology Pygoscelis papua Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic Austral Bird Island ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) Polar Biology 41 11 2323 2335 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
description |
Information is needed on how anomalous environmental conditions affect important Antarctic ecological sentinels during the winter. Using a non-invasive method (scats), the diet of non-breeding gentoo penguins Pygoscelis papua at Bird Island, South Georgia, was examined during the winter of 2009 when local environmental conditions were abnormal (e.g. warmer sea surface waters). Scats were collected every 2 weeks from May until October 2009 (N = 168); the diet was dominated by the amphipod Themisto gaudichaudii by frequency of occurrence (77.5% of the samples) and by number (70.5% of the total individuals). By mass, different species of crustaceans (T. gaudichaudii and Antarctic krill Euphausia superba) and fish (Champsocephalus gunnari, Lepidonotothen larseni and Pseudochaenichthys georgianus) were the most important in different periods. Numerically, prey switching occurred at the end of winter, when E. superba became more abundant in the penguins’ diets in late September and early October (austral spring), when sea surface temperatures became colder. T. gaudichaudii is sub-optimal prey for gentoo penguins and its consumption most likely reflects a lack of E. superba in local waters. The consumption of T. gaudichaudii and fish, in place of E. superba, was probably insufficient for the penguins to maintain a body condition suitable for reproduction, contributing to the observed late commencement of breeding (i.e. 2–3 weeks) that year. Our results highlight the sensitivity of gentoo penguin populations to variations in environmental conditions, particularly in terms of how these conditions affect the availability of preferred dietary items and potential follow-on effects in the subsequent breeding season. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Xavier, Jose C. Velez, N. Trathan, Phil N. Cherel, Y. De Broyer, C. Cánovas, F. Seco, J. Ratcliffe, Norman Tarling, Geraint A. |
spellingShingle |
Xavier, Jose C. Velez, N. Trathan, Phil N. Cherel, Y. De Broyer, C. Cánovas, F. Seco, J. Ratcliffe, Norman Tarling, Geraint A. Seasonal prey switching in non-breeding gentoo penguins related to a wintertime environmental anomaly around South Georgia |
author_facet |
Xavier, Jose C. Velez, N. Trathan, Phil N. Cherel, Y. De Broyer, C. Cánovas, F. Seco, J. Ratcliffe, Norman Tarling, Geraint A. |
author_sort |
Xavier, Jose C. |
title |
Seasonal prey switching in non-breeding gentoo penguins related to a wintertime environmental anomaly around South Georgia |
title_short |
Seasonal prey switching in non-breeding gentoo penguins related to a wintertime environmental anomaly around South Georgia |
title_full |
Seasonal prey switching in non-breeding gentoo penguins related to a wintertime environmental anomaly around South Georgia |
title_fullStr |
Seasonal prey switching in non-breeding gentoo penguins related to a wintertime environmental anomaly around South Georgia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seasonal prey switching in non-breeding gentoo penguins related to a wintertime environmental anomaly around South Georgia |
title_sort |
seasonal prey switching in non-breeding gentoo penguins related to a wintertime environmental anomaly around south georgia |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/520655/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/520655/1/Winter%20diet%20Penguins%20SG_CLEAN.docx https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-018-2372-8 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) |
geographic |
Antarctic Austral Bird Island |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Austral Bird Island |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Bird Island Euphausia superba Gentoo penguin Polar Biology Pygoscelis papua |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Bird Island Euphausia superba Gentoo penguin Polar Biology Pygoscelis papua |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/520655/1/Winter%20diet%20Penguins%20SG_CLEAN.docx Xavier, Jose C. orcid:0000-0002-9621-6660 Velez, N.; Trathan, Phil N. orcid:0000-0001-6673-9930 Cherel, Y.; De Broyer, C.; Cánovas, F.; Seco, J.; Ratcliffe, Norman orcid:0000-0002-3375-2431 Tarling, Geraint A. orcid:0000-0002-3753-5899 . 2018 Seasonal prey switching in non-breeding gentoo penguins related to a wintertime environmental anomaly around South Georgia. Polar Biology, 41 (11). 2323-2335. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2372-8 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2372-8> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2372-8 |
container_title |
Polar Biology |
container_volume |
41 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
2323 |
op_container_end_page |
2335 |
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1766251799826661376 |