Abstract: Determining the year-round distribution and behaviour of birds is necessary for a better understanding of their ecology and foraging strategies. Petrels form an important component of the high-latitude seabird assemblages in terms of species and individuals. The distribution and foraging ecology of three sympatric fulmarine petrels (Southern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialoides, Cape Petrel Daption capense and Snow Petrel Pagodroma nivea) were studied at Adélie Land, East Antarctica, by combining information from miniaturized saltwater immersion geolocators and stable isotopes from feathers. During the breeding season at a large spatial scale (c. 200 km), the three species overlapped in their foraging areas located in the vicinity of the colonies but were segregated by their diet and trophic level, as indicated by the different chick δ15N values that increased in the order Cape Petrel < Southern Fulmar < Snow Petrel. During the non-breeding season, the three fulmarines showed species-specific migration strategies along a wide latitudinal gradient. Snow Petrels largely remained in ice-associated Antarctic waters, Southern Fulmars targeted primarily the sub-Antarctic zone and Cape Petrels migrated further north. Overall, birds spent less time in flight during the non-breeding period than during the breeding season, with the highest percentage of time spent sitting on the water occurring during the breeding season and at the beginning of the non-breeding period before migration. This activity pattern, together with the δ13C values of most feathers, strongly suggests that moult of the three fulmarine petrels occurred at that time in the very productive high Antarctic waters, where birds fed on a combination of crustaceans and fish. The study highlights different segregating mechanisms that allow the coexistence of closely related species, specifically, prey partitioning during the breeding season and spatial segregation at sea during the non-breeding season.

Abstract: Penguins have been recently identified as useful bioindicators of mercury (Hg) transfer to food webs in the Southern Ocean over different spatial and temporal scales. Here, feather Hg concentrations were measured in adults and chicks of all the seven penguin species breeding in the southern Indian Ocean, over a large latitudinal gradient spanning Antarctic, subantarctic and subtropical sites. Hg was also measured in feathers of museum specimens of penguins collected at the same sites in the 1950s and 1970s. Our aim was to evaluate geographical and historical variations in Hg transfer to penguins, while accounting for feeding habits by using the stable isotope technique (δ13C, habitat; δ15N, diet/trophic level). Adult feather Hg concentrations in contemporary individuals ranged from 0.7 ± 0.2 to 5.9 ± 1.9 μg g−1 dw in Adélie and gentoo penguins, respectively. Inter-specific differences in Hg accumulation were strong among both adults and chicks, and mainly linked to feeding habits. Overall, penguin species that feed in Antarctic waters had lower feather Hg concentrations than those that feed in subantarctic and subtropical waters, irrespective of age class and dietary group, suggesting different Hg incorporation into food webs depending on the water mass. While accounting for feeding habits, we detected different temporal variations in feather Hg concentrations depending on species. Notably, the subantarctic gentoo and macaroni penguins had higher Hg burdens in the contemporary rather than in the historical sample, despite similar or lower trophic levels, respectively. Whereas increases in Hg deposition have been recently documented in the Southern Hemisphere, future monitoring is highly needed to confirm or not this temporal trend in penguins, especially in the context of actual changing Hg emission patterns and global warming.

Abstract: Micronekton constitutes the largest unexploited marine biomass worldwide. It is one of the most conspicuous and ecologically important components of the still poorly known mesopelagic ecosystem. Acoustic data were collected from both fishing and research vessels along 18 transects for a total of 47 682 linear kilometers to investigate large-scale distribution of micronekton over a long latitudinal gradient (20–50°S) and two contrasted seasons (summer and winter) in the South-Western Indian Ocean. Acoustic backscatter at 38 kHz was used as a proxy of mid-water organisms' abundance (0–800 m depth). Two consistent features were diel vertical migration of backscatters and vertical distribution of micronekton in three distinct layers, namely the surface (SL), intermediate (IL) and deep (DL) layers. Satellite remote sensing data was used to position oceanic fronts, and hence define water masses, from the tropical to low Antarctic zones. A key finding of this study was the significant correlation observed between abundance and distribution of acoustic backscatter and position relative to these front and water masses. Total backscatter peaked in the subtropical zone, with low abundances in the colder Polar Frontal Zone. The high overall abundances in subtropical waters resulted mainly from high backscatters in the IL and DL that contrasted with low SL values, especially during the day (2–11%). The warmer the waters, the higher SL backscatter was, with the highest absolute and relative (38–51% of the total abundance) values observed at night in the Tropical Zone and the lowest abundance in the Antarctic Zone. No significant seasonal pattern was found, but SL backscatters were very low in winter compared to summer in the Polar Frontal Zone. Moreover, the Northern winter shift of the fronts induced a Northern latitudinal shift of the peak in abundance from summer to winter. The present study highlights the value of building large acoustic databases collected from both research and fishing vessels. The method provides unique opportunities to gather basic information on micronekton and is an essential step to describe oceanic zones of relevant biological interest in terms of trophic ecology.

Abstract: The variability in individual fitness within a population is likely to be mediated through individual foraging ability and tactics, themselves linked to age- or experience-related processes, but also to differences in individual quality. Not only age, experience, and quality but also sex-related foraging strategies should particularly play an important role in long-lived central-place foragers that have to cope with strong environmental constraints. We monitored the foraging effort (foraging trip durations and number of trips) of 262 known-age micro-tagged king penguins, Aptenodytes patagonicus, at different breeding stages during one of their breeding cycles. We investigated how their age (4–11 years old), sex, past breeding experience (the number of successful breeding attempts), and breeding quality (the expected breeding success, corresponding to the residual of the linear relationship between the age and on the number of past breeding success divided by the number of breeding attempts) affected foraging over a whole breeding season. During the incubation, younger birds (4 years old) undertook longer foraging trips compared with older ones. During the brooding phase and the second period of the crèching phase, more experienced birds performed shorter foraging trip than those with a low breeding experience, whereas, during the first period of the crèching phase, individuals with better breeding quality performed shorter foraging trips at sea than low breeding quality individuals. Sex-specific foraging patterns were also observed depending on the period of the breeding cycle. Our study shows, for the first time, how foraging effort can be driven by a complex interplay of several individual parameters according to breeding stage and resource availability and abundance.