Foraging conditions for breeding penguins improve with distance from colony and progression of the breeding season at the South Orkney Islands.

ABSTRACT:

Background

According to central place foraging theory, animals will only increase the distance of their foraging trips if more distant prey patches offer better foraging opportunities. Thus, theory predicts that breeding seabirds in large colonies could create a zone of food depletion around the colony, known as "Ashmole's halo". However, seabirds' decisions to forage at a particular distance are likely also complicated by their breeding stage. After chicks hatch, parents must return frequently to feed their offspring, so may be less likely to visit distant foraging patches, even if their quality is higher. However, the interaction between prey availability, intra-specific competition, and breeding stage on the foraging decisions of seabirds is not well understood. The aim of this

SUBMITTER: Phillips JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8094539 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature