Temporal variation in trophic relationships among three congeneric penguin species breeding in sympatry
Penguins are a monophyletic group in which many species are found breeding sympatrically, raising questions regarding how these species coexist successfully. Here, the isotopic niche of three sympatric pygoscelid penguin species was investigated at Powell Island, South Orkney Islands, during two bre...
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2493250 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3937 |
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ftninstnf:oai:brage.nina.no:11250/2493250 2023-05-15T13:49:50+02:00 Temporal variation in trophic relationships among three congeneric penguin species breeding in sympatry Tarroux, Arnaud Lydersen, Christian Trathan, Philip N. Kovacs, Kit M. Powell Island, South Orkney Islands 2018 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2493250 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3937 eng eng Norges forskningsråd: 222798 urn:issn:2045-7758 http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2493250 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3937 cristin:1577878 Navngivelse 4.0 Internasjonal http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.no CC-BY Ecology and Evolution Antarctic krill Euphausia superba interspecific competition isotopic niche pygoscelid penguin stable isotopes VDP::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 VDP::Zoology and botany: 480 Journal article Peer reviewed 2018 ftninstnf https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3937 2021-12-23T07:16:52Z Penguins are a monophyletic group in which many species are found breeding sympatrically, raising questions regarding how these species coexist successfully. Here, the isotopic niche of three sympatric pygoscelid penguin species was investigated at Powell Island, South Orkney Islands, during two breeding seasons (austral summers 2013–2014 and 2015–2016). Measurements of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope ratios were obtained from blood (adults) or feather (chicks) samples collected from Adélie Pygoscelis adeliae, chinstrap P. antarctica, and gentoo P. papua penguins. Isotopic niche regions (a proxy for the realized trophic niches) were computed to provide estimates of the trophic niche width of the studied species during the breeding season. The isotopic niche regions of adults of all three species were similar, but gentoo chicks had noticeably wider isotopic niches than the chicks of the other two species. Moderate to strong overlap in isotopic niche among species was found during each breeding season and for both age groups, suggesting that the potential for competition for shared food sources was similar during the two study years, although the actual level of competition could not be determined owing to the lack of data on resource abundance. Clear interannual shifts in isotopic niche were seen in all three species, though of lower amplitude for adult chinstrap penguins. These shifts were due to variation in carbon, but not nitrogen, isotopic ratios, which could indicate either a change in isotopic signature of their prey or a switch to an alternative food web. The main conclusions of this study are that (1) there is a partial overlap in the isotopic niches of these three congeneric species and that (2) they responded similarly to changes that likely occurred at the base of their food chain between the 2 years of the study. publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Antarctica Euphausia superba Powell Island Pygoscelis adeliae South Orkney Islands Norwegian Institute for Nature Research: Brage NINA Antarctic Austral Powell Island ENVELOPE(-45.050,-45.050,-60.700,-60.700) South Orkney Islands ENVELOPE(-45.500,-45.500,-60.583,-60.583) Ecology and Evolution 8 7 3660 3674 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Norwegian Institute for Nature Research: Brage NINA |
op_collection_id |
ftninstnf |
language |
English |
topic |
Antarctic krill Euphausia superba interspecific competition isotopic niche pygoscelid penguin stable isotopes VDP::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 VDP::Zoology and botany: 480 |
spellingShingle |
Antarctic krill Euphausia superba interspecific competition isotopic niche pygoscelid penguin stable isotopes VDP::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 VDP::Zoology and botany: 480 Tarroux, Arnaud Lydersen, Christian Trathan, Philip N. Kovacs, Kit M. Temporal variation in trophic relationships among three congeneric penguin species breeding in sympatry |
topic_facet |
Antarctic krill Euphausia superba interspecific competition isotopic niche pygoscelid penguin stable isotopes VDP::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 VDP::Zoology and botany: 480 |
description |
Penguins are a monophyletic group in which many species are found breeding sympatrically, raising questions regarding how these species coexist successfully. Here, the isotopic niche of three sympatric pygoscelid penguin species was investigated at Powell Island, South Orkney Islands, during two breeding seasons (austral summers 2013–2014 and 2015–2016). Measurements of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope ratios were obtained from blood (adults) or feather (chicks) samples collected from Adélie Pygoscelis adeliae, chinstrap P. antarctica, and gentoo P. papua penguins. Isotopic niche regions (a proxy for the realized trophic niches) were computed to provide estimates of the trophic niche width of the studied species during the breeding season. The isotopic niche regions of adults of all three species were similar, but gentoo chicks had noticeably wider isotopic niches than the chicks of the other two species. Moderate to strong overlap in isotopic niche among species was found during each breeding season and for both age groups, suggesting that the potential for competition for shared food sources was similar during the two study years, although the actual level of competition could not be determined owing to the lack of data on resource abundance. Clear interannual shifts in isotopic niche were seen in all three species, though of lower amplitude for adult chinstrap penguins. These shifts were due to variation in carbon, but not nitrogen, isotopic ratios, which could indicate either a change in isotopic signature of their prey or a switch to an alternative food web. The main conclusions of this study are that (1) there is a partial overlap in the isotopic niches of these three congeneric species and that (2) they responded similarly to changes that likely occurred at the base of their food chain between the 2 years of the study. publishedVersion |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Tarroux, Arnaud Lydersen, Christian Trathan, Philip N. Kovacs, Kit M. |
author_facet |
Tarroux, Arnaud Lydersen, Christian Trathan, Philip N. Kovacs, Kit M. |
author_sort |
Tarroux, Arnaud |
title |
Temporal variation in trophic relationships among three congeneric penguin species breeding in sympatry |
title_short |
Temporal variation in trophic relationships among three congeneric penguin species breeding in sympatry |
title_full |
Temporal variation in trophic relationships among three congeneric penguin species breeding in sympatry |
title_fullStr |
Temporal variation in trophic relationships among three congeneric penguin species breeding in sympatry |
title_full_unstemmed |
Temporal variation in trophic relationships among three congeneric penguin species breeding in sympatry |
title_sort |
temporal variation in trophic relationships among three congeneric penguin species breeding in sympatry |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2493250 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3937 |
op_coverage |
Powell Island, South Orkney Islands |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-45.050,-45.050,-60.700,-60.700) ENVELOPE(-45.500,-45.500,-60.583,-60.583) |
geographic |
Antarctic Austral Powell Island South Orkney Islands |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Austral Powell Island South Orkney Islands |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Antarctica Euphausia superba Powell Island Pygoscelis adeliae South Orkney Islands |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill Antarctica Euphausia superba Powell Island Pygoscelis adeliae South Orkney Islands |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution |
op_relation |
Norges forskningsråd: 222798 urn:issn:2045-7758 http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2493250 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3937 cristin:1577878 |
op_rights |
Navngivelse 4.0 Internasjonal http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.no |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3937 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
3660 |
op_container_end_page |
3674 |
_version_ |
1766252355478618112 |