Food and feeding ecology of emperor penguins in the eastern Weddell Sea

The diet of the emperor penguin Aptenodytes forsteri in the eastern Weddell Sea, Antarctica was studied during October and November 1986 by stomach content analysis. Emperor penguins fed mainly on Antarctic krill Euphausia superba, Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum and squid Psychroteuth...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Biology
Main Author: Klages, Norbert
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer 1989
Subjects:
Antarctic
Weddell
Weddell Sea
Antarc*
Antarctic Krill
Antarctic silverfish
Antarctica
Aptenodytes forsteri
Emperor penguins
Euphausia superba
Polar Biology
Sea ice
Online Access:https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/34713/
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/34713/1/1566.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00442529
Description
Summary:The diet of the emperor penguin Aptenodytes forsteri in the eastern Weddell Sea, Antarctica was studied during October and November 1986 by stomach content analysis. Emperor penguins fed mainly on Antarctic krill Euphausia superba, Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum and squid Psychroteuthis glacialis. Benthic prey was not found. The prey composition suggests two different feeding strategies, shallow dives exploring the rugged underside of sea ice where krill is taken, and deep dives when mesopelagic fish and squid are consumed. Chicks were fed on average every 1.44 days.

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