Foraging strategies of male Ade'lie penguins during their first incubation trip in relation to environmental conditions

• Published in: Marine Biology
• Main Authors: Cottin, Manuelle, Raymond, Ben, Kato, Akiko, Amélineau, Françoise, Le Maho, Yvon, Raclot, Thierry, Galton-Fenzi, Ben, Meijers, Andrew, Ropert‐coudert, Yan
• Other Authors: Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE-IPHC), Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Energy, Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE-CRC), British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), IPEV (programme 137)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2012
• Subjects: [SDE]Environmental Sciences; [SDV.BID.EVO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE]; Antarctic; Dumont d'Urville; Dumont-d'Urville; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Pygoscelis adeliae
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00709203; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-1974-x

International audience Knowledge of habitat use by top marine predators in response to environmental conditions is crucial in the current context of global changes occurring in the Southern Ocean. We examined the at-sea locations of male Ade'lie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) breeding at Dumont d'Urville during their first, long incubation trip. Compared with the chick-rearing period, penguins performed longer trips, going to oceanic waters as far as 320 km from the colony. We observed 3 strategies: (1) five individuals covered large distances to the north, targeting open-ocean areas and following the currents of two persistent eddies; (2) five individuals foraged to the north-west, close to the Antarctic shelf slope at the limit of the pack ice; and (3) three individuals covered much shorter distances (northwards or eastwards). The foraging range also seemed to be limited by the body condition of the penguins before their departure to sea