Emperor penguin colony at Cape Washington, Antarctica

Kooyman, Gerald L.; Croll, Donald A.; Stone, Sheridan; Smith, Steven B.

doi:10.1017/s0032247400011141

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…The average departure date of parenting birds is 20 December, which nearly coincides with the peak time of departure of juveniles from the colony (Kooyman et al 1990). It would seem that the parents continue to return to the colony as long as they can find their chick, or when it gets too close to the time that their moult will begin.…”

Section: Moult Locationmentioning

confidence: 86%

Moult of the emperor penguin: travel, location, and habitat selection

Kooyman¹,

Hunke²,

Ackley³

et al. 2000

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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All penguins except emperors Aptenodytes forsteri and Adelies Pygoscelis adeliae moult on land, usually near the breeding colonies. These 2 Antarctic species typically moult somewhere in the pack-ice. Emperor penguins begin their moult in early summer when the pack-ice cover of the Antarctic Ocean is receding. The origin of the few moulting birds seen by observers on passing ships is unknown, and the locations are often far from any known colonies. We attached satellite transmitters to 12 breeding adult A. forsteri from western Ross Sea colonies before they departed the colony for the last time before moulting. In addition, we surveyed some remote areas of the Weddell Sea north and east of some large colonies that are located along the southern and western borders of this sea. The tracked birds moved at a rate of nearly 50 km d -1 for more than 1000 km over 30 d to reach areas of perennially consistent pack-ice. Almost all birds traveled to the eastern Ross Sea and western Amundsen Sea. Sea-ice conditions were observed directly in the Weddell Sea from ship and helicopter. Most floes selected for moulting were ridged, and usually >100 m 2 . From these observations we predict where the most likely moult refuges are for emperor penguins from other colonies around the Antarctic continent.

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Section: Moult Locationmentioning

confidence: 86%

Moult of the emperor penguin: travel, location, and habitat selection

Kooyman¹,

Hunke²,

Ackley³

et al. 2000

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Each trip away tends to get shorter, declining from a length of about 3 weeks in August to as short as 3 days in December (Kirkwood and Robertson 1997). Around summer solstice the chicks fledge by leaving the colony, and the parents depart about the same time to molt (Kooyman et al 1990). …”

Section: Antarctic Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary and ecological aspects of some Antarctic and sub-Antarctic penguin distributions

Kooyman

2002

Oecologia

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Penguins probably originated in the core of Gondwanaland when South America, Africa, and Antarctica were just beginning to separate. As the continents drifted apart, the division filled with what became the southern ocean. One of the remaining land masses moved south and was caught at the pole by the Earth's rotation. It became incrusted with ice and is now known as East Antarctica. Linking it to South America was a series of submerged mountain ranges that formed a necklace of islands. The northern portion of the necklace, called the Scotia Arc, is now the "fertile crescent" of the Southern Ocean. The greatest numbers and biomass of penguins are found here as well as that of krill, the primary prey species of most penguins, and many other marine predators. Today penguins are found throughout the sub-Antarctic islands and around the entire Antarctic continent. Using satellite transmitters and time-depth recorders, while taking advantage of the parental dedication of breeding birds, numerous investigators have described foraging habits of several species of penguins. The information obtained is labor intensive and costly so that studies are restricted to certain species, areas and seasons. Here I review the patterns evident among six of the most abundant and completely studied of the penguins. The variation in behavior is considerable from those species that seldom dive deeper than 20 m in search of prey to those that will dive to depths >500 m to catch mesopelagic fish and squid. Foraging trips from breeding colonies vary among species and with the season. Often the birds travel no more than 30 km and at other times the trips may exceed 600 km. Sub-Antarctic species often reach more productive waters near or within the Antarctic Polar Front zone, where the mixing of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters provide rich resources for their prey. Antarctic species usually remain close to shore, along the continental slope, or near the sea ice edge. Less is known about penguins during the pelagic phase between breeding cycles. What we do know is surprising in regard to their dispersal, which ranges from hundreds to thousands of kilometers from the breeding colonies.

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“…Penney & Lowry, 1967;Mu È ller-Schwarze & Mu È ller-Schwarze, 1975;Borsa, 1990;Kooyman et al, 1990;Rogers & Bryden, 1995;Court, 1996). Leopard seals are known to feed on other Antarctic seals (Siniff et al, 1979;Siniff & Stone, 1985;Borsa, 1990;Erb, 1993;Shaughnessy, Erb & Green, 1998;Walker et al, 1998), but there are few descriptions of leopard seals hunting pinniped prey due to the logistical dif®culty of observing animals in the pack ice (Siniff et al, 1979) and the rareness of opportunities to observe a predation event (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hunting and social behaviour of leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) at Seal Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

1999

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The hunting behaviour of leopard seals Hydrurga leptonyx was monitored opportunistically at Seal Island, South Shetland Islands, during the austral summers from 1986 / 87 to 1994 / 95. Leopard seals used several methods to catch Antarctic fur seal pups Arctocephalus gazella and chinstrap penguins Pygoscelis antarctica, and individuals showed different hunting styles and hunting success. One to two leopard seals per year were responsible for an average of 60% of observed captures of fur seal pups. Leopard seals preyed on penguins throughout the summer, but preyed on fur seal pups only between late December and mid-February. Hunting behaviour differed signi®cantly between different locations on the island; fur seals were hunted only at one colony, and penguins were hunted in several areas. The relative abundance of prey types, size of prey in relation to predator, and specialization of individual leopard seals to hunt fur seal prey probably in¯uence individual prey preferences among leopard seals. On ®ve occasions, two leopard seals were seen together on Seal Island. Possible interpretations of the relationship between the interacting leopard seals included a mother±offspring relationship, a consorting male±female pair, and an adult leopard seal followed by an unrelated juvenile. In two incidents at Seal Island, two leopard seals were observed interacting while hunting: one seal captured fur seal pups and appeared to release them to the other seal. Observations of leopard seals interacting during hunting sessions were dif®cult to con®rm as co-operative hunting, but they strongly implied that the two seals were not agonistic toward one another. The hunting success of individual leopard seals pursuing penguins or fur seals is probably high enough for co-operative hunting not to become a common hunting strategy; however, it may occur infrequently when it increases the hunting productivity of the seals.

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Emperor penguin colony at Cape Washington, Antarctica

Cited by 16 publications

References 5 publications

Moult of the emperor penguin: travel, location, and habitat selection

Moult of the emperor penguin: travel, location, and habitat selection

Evolutionary and ecological aspects of some Antarctic and sub-Antarctic penguin distributions

Hunting and social behaviour of leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) at Seal Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

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