New Zealand Journal of Zoology abstracts
Z99054Received 22 December 1999; accepted 29 May 2000
Prolonged foraging trips and egg desertion in little penguins (Eudyptula
minor)
MIHOKO NUMATA
LLOYD. S. DAVIS
MARTIN RENNER
Department of Zoology
University of Otago
P.O. Box 56
Dunedin, New Zealand
Abstract Penguins share incubation duties between the male
and female of a pair. The one left on the nest must fast while its partner is
foraging at sea. Nest attendance patterns during the incubation period reflect
the way time is allocated between the conflicting demands of incubation and
foraging. We conducted daily nest checks for little penguins (
Eudyptula
minor) at two localities in New Zealand (Motuara Island in the Marlborough
Sounds and Oamaru, Otago) in the 1998/99 breeding season and found significant
variation in nest attendance between the two areas. Penguins breeding at
Motuara Island made significantly longer foraging trips and were in poorer body
condition than those breeding at Oamaru. Foraging trip durations were
significantly correlated with the body condition of birds at both areas: the
poorer the condition, the longer the foraging trip durations. The increased
risk of egg desertion observed at Motuara Island is probably a consequence of
the prolonged foraging trips that limit the time available for incubation.
Keywords Eudyptula minor; E. m. variabilis;
E. m. minor; little penguin; incubation; nest attendance; foraging trip;
body condition; egg desertion
New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 2000, Vol. 27: 291-298
0301-4223/00/2704-0291 $7.00/0 (c) The Royal Society of New
Zealand 2000
PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (972K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)
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