Surface Nesting by Little Penguins on Penguin Island, Western Australia

Klomp, Nicholas I.; Meathrel, Catherine E.; Wienecke, Bárbara; Wooller, R. D.

doi:10.1071/mu9910190

Cited by 30 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 10 publications

(9 reference statements)

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“…Although it accounted for only a small percentage of all nests on Motuara Island, breeding in open nests, as far as we know, has not been recorded for Little Penguins anywhere else. In Western Australia, most penguins nest on the surface under dense bushes, however no birds were breeding in the open or under trees without undergrowth (Klomp et al 1991). One reason for this unusual behaviour might be the absence of predators and human disturbance.…”

Section: Sc U Ss 1 0 Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival analysis of Little PenguinEudyptula minorchicks on Motuara Island, New Zealand

Renner

Davis

2001

Ibis

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Chick survival of Little Penguins Eudyptula minor was studied on predator‐free Motuara Island, Cook Strait, New Zealand (41d̀05'S, 174d̀15'E), in 1995 and 1996. We used the Kaplan‐Meier estimator and robust Cox regression to estimate chick survival rate (pL se) at 0.325 pL 0.044, leading to an estimated survival from laying to fledging of 0.13 or a reproductive output of 0.26 chicks per pair and breeding attempt. Starvation posed the greatest mortality risk, followed by unknown factors and rain. Risk of death due to rain was restricted to the guard stage, whereas starvation occurred throughout the nesting period, though with a peak in the early guard stage. Significant seasonal differences in survival rate were detected in both years, but with reversed trends, survival decreasing with the season in 1995 and increasing in 1996. Failure of adults to relieve their partner on the nest after chicks hatched accounted for 16% mortality or 34% of all chick deaths. Differences in chick survival rate between nest types were significant in 1995, a year with high rainfall, but not in 1996. Nests in the base of hollow trees had the highest chick survival rate. Of chicks in open nests ‐ a nest type that is unusual for this species ‐ 5.4% fledged. Our results suggest that on Motuara Island good breeding sites are scarce and that the food supply has been poor during the years of this study.

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Section: Sc U Ss 1 0 Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival analysis of Little PenguinEudyptula minorchicks on Motuara Island, New Zealand

Renner

Davis

2001

Ibis

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“…Little penguins Eudyptula minor novaehollandiae, also rearing small chicks, were captured in wooden nest-boxes (see Klomp et al 1991) where they normally breed at Penguin Island (32°16' S, 115°21' E), Rockingham, Western Australia, in August 2001 and The diving behaviour, body posture and swimming activity of birds were monitored using cylindrically shaped data loggers with domed heads (M190-D2GT, Little Leonardo, Tokyo) that weighed 16 g (15 × 52 mm) and had a 128 Mbit flash memory into which data were stored with 12 bit resolution. Depth was measured by a piezoresistive pressure sensor (FPBS-82A, Fujikura, Tokyo) up to 190 m, with a precision of ±1 m and a resolution of 0.05 m. Acceleration was measured along perpendicular axes by a capacitive accelerometer (ADXL202E, Analog Devices) between 0 and ± 30 m s -2 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Locomotion and foraging strategy in foot-propelled and wing-propelled shallow-diving seabirds

Kato¹,

Ropert‐Coudert²,

Grémillet³

et al. 2006

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Buoyancy is a major determinant of locomotory cost in diving animals. As seabirds have a large amount of air in their feathers and respiratory system, they should work hard against buoyancy to descend in the water column. Since buoyancy decreases with increasing hydrostatic pressure, shallow divers, especially, should work against buoyancy during both the descent and bottom phases of their dives. We deployed miniaturised depth and acceleration recorders on freeranging, foot-propelled divers (great cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo) and flipper-propelled divers (little penguins Eudyptula minor) foraging in shallow waters, where both are positively buoyant. We monitored the diving strategies of the birds to assess how they manage to counteract buoyancy using 2 alternative locomotory modes. Cormorants decreased the stroke frequency and surge amplitude during descent and maintained constant swim speed. In contrast, penguins did not change their stroke frequency or heave amplitude; as a result, their swim speed increased during the descent phase. During the bottom phase, cormorants had a low stroke frequency and tilted towards the bottom, while penguins actively stroked in a horizontal position. Furthermore, intensive acceleration periods during the bottom phase were often recorded for penguins, but rarely for cormorants. Great cormorants and little penguins used different strategies to feed underwater. Great cormorants, having lower specific buoyancy, were less active than little penguins, thus adopting an energysaving strategy. We conclude that both foot-and wing-propelled birds diving in shallow waters have developed efficient locomotory strategies to counteract buoyancy, these alternative characteristics being linked to different foraging niches.

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“…To our knowledge, the temperature inside nest boxes of little penguins has been reported only once. Klomp et al (1991) measured the temperature once a day at 1400 hours local time on 6 dates from 2 November 1986 to 5 January 1987. These authors also measured temperatures in caves, under bushes, and in 2 categories of nest boxes defined as lightly and heavily shaded.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temperature inside nest boxes of little penguins

Ropert‐Coudert

Cannell

Kato³

2004

Wildlife Society Bulletin

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In order to assess the potential impact that artificial nest boxes may have on the occupation rate or physical condition of adults and chicks of little penguins (Eudyptula minor), we recorded temperature continuously for 37 days simultaneously inside 7 nest boxes and in surrounding bush. Temperature inside the boxes was always higher than that in the bush, the difference being greatest around noon. Solar radiation caused temperature inside the boxes to increase. Temperature differences between box interiors and exteriors were smaller on windy and dry days. To prevent hyperthermic conditions, we suggest improvements in the ventilation of nest boxes.

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Surface Nesting by Little Penguins on Penguin Island, Western Australia

Cited by 30 publications

References 10 publications

Survival analysis of Little PenguinEudyptula minorchicks on Motuara Island, New Zealand

Survival analysis of Little PenguinEudyptula minorchicks on Motuara Island, New Zealand

Locomotion and foraging strategy in foot-propelled and wing-propelled shallow-diving seabirds

Temperature inside nest boxes of little penguins

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