The post-moult diet of Emperor Penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) in the eastern Weddell Sea, Antarctica

The diet of emperor penguins Aptenodytes forsteri was studied during late austral summer at Drescher Inlet, eastern Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Antarctic krill Euphausia superba was a major component of the food, accounting for 75% of all prey items. Emperor penguins appear to feed on krill during shal...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Biology
Main Author: Pütz, Klernens
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer 1995
Subjects:
Online Access:https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/37986/
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/37986/1/2726.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00237459
Description
Summary:The diet of emperor penguins Aptenodytes forsteri was studied during late austral summer at Drescher Inlet, eastern Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Antarctic krill Euphausia superba was a major component of the food, accounting for 75% of all prey items. Emperor penguins appear to feed on krill during shallow dives under the fast sea ice. Fish, mainly nototheniids, accounted for less than 20% by number of all prey. An evaluation of the main prey types in terms of mass indicated, however, that fish represented up to 75% approximately of prey mass. Feeding experiments were performed on captive penguins and showed that squid beaks can accumulate for up to 3 weeks within the stomach without any clear signs of erosion. The lack of cephalopod soft parts in the samples makes it likely that all squid beaks were derived from animals captured some time previously. Squid seems to be a very minor dietary component of emperor penguins at the Drescher Inlet.