arnould-foragingbehaviour-2008.pdf (505.43 kB)
Foraging behaviour and habitat selection of the little penguin Eudyptula minor during early chick rearing in Bass Strait, Australia
journal contribution
posted on 2008-01-01, 00:00 authored by Andrew Hoskins, P Dann, Y Ropert-Coudert, A Kato, A Chiaradia, D Costa, John ArnouldJohn ArnouldKnowledge of the foraging areas of top marine predators and the factors influencing them is central to understanding how their populations respond to environmental variability. While there is a large body of literature documenting the association of air-breathing marine vertebrates with areas of high marine productivity, there is relatively little information for species restricted to near-shore or continental-shelf areas. Differences in foraging range and diving behaviour of the little penguin Eudyptula minor were examined from 3 breeding colonies (Rabbit Island, Kanowna Island and Phillip Island) in central northern Bass Strait, southeast Australia, during the chick-guard stage using electronic tags (platform terminal transmitters, PTTs, and time-depth recorders, TDRs). Although there were large overall differences between individuals, the mean maximum foraging range (16.9 to 19.8 km) and mean total distance travelled (41.8 to 48.0 km) were similar between the 3 colonies, despite different bathymetric environments. Individuals from all 3 colonies selected foraging habitats within a narrow sea surface temperature (SST) range (16.0 to 16.4°C). While there were significant differences in mean dive depths (5.4 to 10.9 m) and mean durations (13.2 to 28.6 s) between the different colonies, the mean diving effort (vertical distance travelled: 936.3 to 964.3 m h–1) was similar. These findings suggest little penguins from the 3 colonies employ relatively similar foraging efforts yet are plastic in their foraging behaviours.
History
Journal
Marine ecology - progress seriesVolume
366Pagination
293 - 303Publisher
Inter-ResearchLocation
Oldendorf, GermanyPublisher DOI
Link to full text
ISSN
0171-8630eISSN
1616-1599Language
engPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2008, Inter-ResearchUsage metrics
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Keywords
compositional analysisdivingcoastal ecosystemnearshore habitatssea surface temperatureseabirdScience & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicinePhysical SciencesEcologyMarine & Freshwater BiologyOceanographyEnvironmental Sciences & EcologySEA-SURFACE TEMPERATURESOUTH-EASTERN AUSTRALIAPHILLIP-ISLANDBREEDING SUCCESSDIVING BEHAVIORVICTORIAANCHOVYFOODENERGETICSZoologyOceanographyEcology
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