Penguins exploit tidal currents for efficient navigation and opportunistic foraging.

ABSTRACT: Animals navigating in fluid environments often face forces from wind or water currents that challenge travel efficiency and route accuracy. We investigated how 27 Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) adapt their navigation strategies to return to their colony amid regional tidal ocean currents. Using GPS-enhanced dead-reckoning loggers and high-resolution ocean current data, we reconstructed penguin travel vectors during foraging trips to assess their responses to variable currents during their colony-bound movements. By integrating estimates of energy costs and prey pursuits, we found that birds balanced direct navigation with current-driven drift: in calm currents, they maintained precise line-of-sight headings to their colony. In stronger currents, they aligned their return wit

SUBMITTER: Gunner RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12327074 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature