Dynamic fine-scale sea icescape shapes adult emperor penguin foraging habitat in East Antarctica

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Labrousse, S, Fraser, AD, Sumner, M, Tamura, T, Pinaud, D, Wienecke, B, Kirkwood, R, Ropert-Coudert, Y, Reisinger, R, Jonsen, I, Porter-Smith, R, Barbraud, C, Bost, C-A, Ji, R, Jenouvrier, S
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Amer Geophysical Union 2019
• Subjects: Biological Sciences; Ecology; Behavioural Ecology; East Antarctica; Antarc*; Antarctica; Emperor penguins; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084347; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/137266

The emperor penguin, an iconic species threatened by projected sea ice loss in Antarctica, has long been considered to forage at the fast ice edge, presumably relying on large/yearly persistent polynyas as their main foraging habitat during the breeding season. Using newly developed fine-scale sea icescape data and historical penguin tracking data, this study for the first time suggests the importance of less recognized small openings, including cracks, flaw leads and ephemeral short-term polynyas, as foraging habitats for emperor penguins. The tracking data retrieved from 47 emperor penguins in two different colonies in East Antarctica suggest that those penguins spent 23% of their time in ephemeral polynyas and did not use the large/yearly persistent, well-studied polynyas, even if they occur much more regularly with predictable locations. These findings challenge our previous understanding of emperor penguin breeding habitats, highlighting the need for incorporating fine-scale seascape features when assessing the population persistence in a rapidly changing polar environment.