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Volume 51, No. 1

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Diet composition of Adelie Penguins Pygoscelis adeliae at Hope/Esperanza Bay during 2014-2019


Authors

A.M. SILVESTRO* & R. CASAUX

Citation

SILVESTRO, A.M. & CASAUX, R. 2023. Diet composition of Adelie Penguins Pygoscelis adeliae at Hope/Esperanza Bay during 2014-2019. Marine Ornithology 51: 137 - 140

Received 18 November 2022, accepted 17 December 2022

Date Published: 2023/04/15
Date Online: 2023/04/10
Key words: diet composition, Pygoscelis adeliae, Antarctic Peninsula, breeding periods, diet during chick rearing

Abstract

In this study, we obtained samples through stomach lavage to determine the diet of Adelie Penguins Pygoscelis adeliae during the guard and crèche periods at Hope/Esperanza Bay, Antarctica, during four breeding seasons (2014-2019, except 2016). Antarctic krill was the dominant prey, contributing > 99.6% of the diet by mass. The remainder of prey were fish, amphipods, and mollusks. Among fish, the nototheniid Pleuragramma antarcticum was the most frequent while the bathydraconid Parachaenichthys charcoti dominated by mass. Mollusks and fish increased their contribution during the crèche period in accord with seasonal patterns elsewhere.

References


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