Can thermoclines be a cue to prey distribution for marine top predators? A case study with little penguins

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	PloS one 2012-04, Vol.7 (4), p.e31768-e31768
Main Authors:	Pelletier, Laure, Kato, Akiko, Chiaradia, André, Ropert-Coudert, Yan
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Accelerometers Animal behavior Animals Australia Biodiversity Biology Birds Breeding Case reports Case studies Change detection Climate change Earth Sciences Environmental Sciences Eudyptula minor Fish Food availability Forage Forages Foraging behavior Life Sciences Populations and Evolution Predators Predatory Behavior Prey Resource availability Seawater Spheniscidae Temperature Thermocline Thermoclines Thermoclines (Oceanography) Thunnus orientalis Thunnus thynnus Water temperature
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Summary:	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.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203