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Seasonal prey switching in non-breeding gentoo penguins related to a wintertime environmental anomaly around South Georgia

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Abstract

Information is needed on how anomalous environmental conditions affect important Antarctic ecological sentinels during the winter. Using a non-invasive method (scats), the diet of non-breeding gentoo penguins Pygoscelis papua at Bird Island, South Georgia, was examined during the winter of 2009 when local environmental conditions were abnormal (e.g. warmer sea surface waters). Scats were collected every 2 weeks from May until October 2009 (N = 168); the diet was dominated by the amphipod Themisto gaudichaudii by frequency of occurrence (77.5% of the samples) and by number (70.5% of the total individuals). By mass, different species of crustaceans (T. gaudichaudii and Antarctic krill Euphausia superba) and fish (Champsocephalus gunnari, Lepidonotothen larseni and Pseudochaenichthys georgianus) were the most important in different periods. Numerically, prey switching occurred at the end of winter, when E. superba became more abundant in the penguins’ diets in late September and early October (austral spring), when sea surface temperatures became colder. T. gaudichaudii is sub-optimal prey for gentoo penguins and its consumption most likely reflects a lack of E. superba in local waters. The consumption of T. gaudichaudii and fish, in place of E. superba, was probably insufficient for the penguins to maintain a body condition suitable for reproduction, contributing to the observed late commencement of breeding (i.e. 2–3 weeks) that year. Our results highlight the sensitivity of gentoo penguin populations to variations in environmental conditions, particularly in terms of how these conditions affect the availability of preferred dietary items and potential follow-on effects in the subsequent breeding season.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Marcella Libertelli (Instituto Antárctico Argentino) for aiding the identification of small otoliths, Peter Ward for identifying zooplankton, Karim Erzini and Ian Staniland for guidance and revision and to Derren Fox, Stacey Adler and Ewan Edwards for supporting collecting the samples. Thank you to the editor Dieter Piepenburg and referees for the excellent contributions in improving the manuscript. This study is a contribution to the programs SCAR AnT-ERA, SCAR EGBAMM, ICED Dynamics and to the PROPOLAR (Programa Polar Português). JS was supported by Do*MAR PhD FCT fellowship from Fundação para Ciência e Tecnologia (Portugal). JX was supported by the Investigator FCT program (IF/00616/2013). This study benefited from the strategic program of MARE, financed by FCT (MARE- UID/MAR/04292/2013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine and Environmental Sciences (MARE-UC), University of Coimbra, 3001-401, Coimbra, Portugal

    J. C. Xavier

  2. British Antarctic Survey, High Cross Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK

    J. C. Xavier, P. N. Trathan, N. Ratcliffe & G. A. Tarling

  3. Centro de Ciências do Mar (CCMAR), Gambelas, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal

    N. Velez & F. Cánovas

  4. Centre d´Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 du CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France

    Y. Cherel

  5. Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences, OD Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Rue Vautier 29, 1000, Brussels, Belgium

    C. De Broyer

  6. CESAM and Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    J. Seco

  7. Pelagic Ecology Research Group, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 8LB, UK

    J. Seco

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  1. J. C. Xavier
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Xavier, J.C., Velez, N., Trathan, P.N. et al. Seasonal prey switching in non-breeding gentoo penguins related to a wintertime environmental anomaly around South Georgia. Polar Biol 41, 2323–2335 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2372-8

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