Comparison of New Zealand%26apos;s little blue penguins, Eudyptula minor, diving behaviour

作者：Chilvers B Louise

来源：Polar Biology, 2017, 40(10): 1965-1974.

DOI：10.1007/s00300-017-2112-5

• Foraging behaviour
• Diet
• Stable isotope analysis

The breeding success, foraging strategies and abundance of penguin species are thought to vary according to the quality of near-shore marine environments. Little blue penguins (LBP), Eudyptula minor, in particular, are considered a candidate species for assessing near-shore marine productivity and integrity due to their limited foraging ranges and reliance on local resources, particularly during breeding. However, to assess their ability to be near-shore ecosystem indicators an understanding of what their "normal" dive patterns and population parameters from across New Zealand are needed. This research investigates diving behaviours and feather stable isotope values (as indicators of diet) of LBPs from southern (Pearl Island, Stewart Island/Rakiura, Nov. 2011) and central (Adele Island, Abel Tasman, Nov. 2012) New Zealand (NZ), two areas not previously studied, and compares them with LBPs from other areas of NZ. The diving behaviours of LBPs across NZ, are highly variable, not obviously linked with local geography and bathometry. These results and the NZ wide comparison indicates that LBPs are environmentally adaptable, which may make them difficult to use as ecosystem indicators across sites. However, with increasing knowledge of diving behaviours and population parameters of LBPs within a region, they are likely to be indicators of local changing marine environment.

• 出版日期2017-10