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Stable isotope analysis of ancient and modern gentoo penguin egg membrane and the krill surplus hypothesis in Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2013

Steven D. Emslie ,
Michael J. Polito  and
William P. Patterson
Steven D. Emslie*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA
Michael J. Polito
Affiliation:
Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA
William P. Patterson
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 114 Science Place, Saskatoon SK S7N 5E2, Canada
*
emslies@uncw.edu
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Abstract

The ‘krill surplus’ hypothesis in Antarctica posits that the historic depletion of krill-eating whales and seals in the 18–20th centuries provided a surplus of krill in the Southern Ocean that benefited penguins. A previous study which examined stable isotopes in ancient and modern tissues of Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) provides support for this hypothesis. Specifically, a significant decrease in δ13C and δ15N values occurred in modern versus ancient tissues from an apparent dietary shift from fish to krill associated with the purported krill surplus. Here, we present new data on gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) tissues from active and abandoned colonies at three locations in the Antarctic Peninsula. We found an overall, but weak, decrease in modern versus fossil δ15N and δ13C values of gentoo penguin egg membrane with considerable variation across three breeding sites. Dietary mixing models suggest that shifts between fish and krill in gentoo penguins were likely not as strong as those previously observed in Adélie penguins. This weaker signal probably results from the greater reliance on fish in their diets, past and present, though we cannot rule out declines in primary productivity or other ecosystem shifts which also could account for declines in δ13C and δ15N values.

Keywords

abandoned colonies, δ13Cδ15N, dietary shifts, Pygoscelis papua, Suess effect
Type
Research Articles
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 25 , Issue 2: Byers Peninsula – A New Reference Site For The Maritime Antarctic , April 2013 , pp. 213 - 218
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2013

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