Can Thermoclines Be a Cue to Prey Distribution for Marine Top Predators? A Case Study with Little Penguins

被引：39

作者：

Pelletier, Laure ^{[1
,2
]}

Kato, Akiko ^{[1
,2
]}

Chiaradia, Andre ^{[3
]}

Ropert-Coudert, Yan ^{[1
,2
]}

机构：

[1] Univ Strasbourg, IPHC, Strasbourg, France

[2] CNRS, UMR7178, Strasbourg, France

[3] Phillip Isl Nat Pk, Cowes, Vic, Australia

来源：

PLOS ONE | 2012年 / 7卷 / 04期

关键词：

THICK-BILLED MURRES; EUDYPTULA-MINOR; CLIMATE; TEMPERATURE; ECOSYSTEMS; BEHAVIOR; ISLAND; CYCLE;

D O I：

10.1371/journal.pone.0031768

中图分类号：

O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];

学科分类号：

07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;

摘要：

The use of top predators as bio-platforms is a modern approach to understanding how physical changes in the environment may influence their foraging success. This study examined if the presence of thermoclines could be a reliable signal of resource availability for a marine top predator, the little penguin (Eudyptula minor). We studied weekly foraging activity of 43 breeding individual penguins equipped with accelerometers. These loggers also recorded water temperature, which we used to detect changes in thermal characteristics of their foraging zone over 5 weeks during the penguin's guard phase. Data showed the thermocline was detected in the first 3 weeks of the study, which coincided with higher foraging efficiency. When a thermocline was not detected in the last two weeks, foraging efficiency decreased as well. We suggest that thermoclines can represent temporary markers of enhanced food availability for this top-predator to which they must optimally adjust their breeding cycle.

引用

页数：5

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