MEPS prepress abstract   -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14759

ABSTRACT: The king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) is an important model-species of the Southern Ocean. While there is extensive knowledge on the foraging movement of this species during the summer in the early chick-provisioning period, little information is available for the winter period. To fill this gap, we tracked 13 individuals during the winter from two neighboring populations of the Southern Indian Ocean, the Kerguelen and the Crozet Archipelagos, and examined penguin locations with respect to remote sensing data. Tracked penguins from Kerguelen mostly headed west of the archipelago, while those from Crozet islands headed southeast. This resulted in contrasting latitudes used between the two wintering locations. The different directions taken possibly result from the distinct oceanic features around the two islands: at Kerguelen, extensive spring blooms transported east of the island might sustain prey well until the winter, offering favorable conditions for penguins. At Crozet, blooms are reduced in intensity and penguins might instead head south to benefit from the better foraging conditions near the sea ice. Such distinct foraging distribution relative to the two archipelagos are consistent with the at-sea distribution of other penguins species (g. Eudyptes) breeding in the same localities. We highlight two distinct winter foraging strategies in neighboring king penguin populations, shaped by the contrasting oceanographic conditions surrounding their breeding sites.