Journal
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
Volume 636, Issue -, Pages 189-205Publisher
INTER-RESEARCH
DOI: 10.3354/meps13208
Keywords
Ross Sea; Breeding performance; Satellite telemetry; Foraging locations; Diving behavior; Age variation; Breeding experience; Seabirds
Categories
Funding
- New Zealand's Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment grants [C09X0510, C01X1001, C01X1710]
- NSF [OPP 9526865, 9814882, 0125608, 0440643, 0944411, 1543498]
- Directorate For Geosciences
- Office of Polar Programs (OPP) [0125608] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Directorate For Geosciences
- Office of Polar Programs (OPP) [9814882, 1543498] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) [C01X1001, C01X1710] Funding Source: New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE)
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Inter-individual differences in demographic traits of iteroparous species can arise through learning and maturation, as well as from permanent differences in individual 'quality' and sex-specific constraints. As the ability to acquire energy determines the resources an individual can allocate to reproduction and self-maintenance, foraging behavior is a key trait to study to better understand the mechanisms underlying these differences. So far, most seabird studies have focused on the effect of maturation and learning processes on foraging performance, while only a few have included measures of individual quality. Here, we investigated the effects of age, breeding experience, sex, and individual breeding quality on the foraging behavior and location of 83 known-age Adelie penguins at Cape Bird, Ross Sea, Antarctica. Over a 2 yr period, we showed that (1) high-quality birds dived deeper than lower quality ones, apparently catching a higher number of prey per dive and targeting different foraging locations; (2) females performed longer foraging trips and a higher number of dives compared to males; (3) there were no significant agerelated differences in foraging behavior; and (4) breeding experience had a weak influence on foraging behavior. We suggest that high-quality individuals have higher physiological ability, enabling them to dive deeper and forage more effectively. Further inquiry should focus on determining the physiological differences among penguins of different quality.
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