(Tables 1,2) Site characteristics and phenotypic attributes of King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) on Possession Island

In colonial species, it is often assumed that locations in the center of the colony are of highest quality and provide highest breeding success. We tested this prediction, known as the "central-periphery model," in a King Penguin colony in the subantarctic Crozet Archipelago. Breeding acti...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Descamps, Sébastien, Le Bohec, Céline, Le Maho, Yvon, Gendner, Jean-Paul, Gauthier-Clerc, Michel
Format: Dataset
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA 2009
Subjects:
Aptenodytes patagonicus
beak length
flipper length
mass
standard deviation
Area/locality
Baie_du_Marin
BIO
Biology
Characteristic
Infestation
International Polar Year (2007-2008)
IPY
Possession Island
Crozet Archipelago
International Polar Year
King Penguins
Online Access:https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.808873
https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.808873
Description
Summary:In colonial species, it is often assumed that locations in the center of the colony are of highest quality and provide highest breeding success. We tested this prediction, known as the "central-periphery model," in a King Penguin colony in the subantarctic Crozet Archipelago. Breeding activity and survival of 150 penguins, fitted with transponder tags, were monitored over an entire breeding season. Among these 150 birds, 50 bred on the slope at the upper periphery of the colony, where the rates of predation and parasitism by ticks were high. Fifty birds bred in the center of the colony, where rates of predation and tick parasitism were low, and 50 bred at the lower end of the colony, where the rate of tick parasitism was low but predation and flooding were important risks. We predicted that the center of the colony should provide the safest breeding place and consequently be characterized by the highest breeding success and be used by the highest-quality individuals. Yet we found that penguins breeding in the center of the colony had the same breeding success as those at both peripheral locations. In addition, penguins breeding on the upper slope had a higher survival rate than penguins breeding at the center or bottom of the slope and were likely of higher quality. Our study does not support the central-periphery model and emphasizes the complexity behind the relationships among breeding site, breeding success, and individual quality.

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