Abstract:
King Penguins are one of the four penguin species breeding at the Prince Edward Islands. At Marion Island, they number around 450,000 breeding pairs, which constitutes round 15% of the world population. They breed at 15 sheltered sites with gently sloping landing beaches where they import nutrients and act as a local agent of erosion. Due to their relatively high biomass in the Southern Ocean, King Penguins form an import constituent of this ecosystem. In this study we report on two years of tracking work (2008, 2013) on King Penguins at Marion Island. We used satellite transmitters to study the at sea foraging distribution of breeding animals. Further on this, the diet of King Penguins was monitored on an annual basis over the same study period. We here report on their diet which primarily comprises myctophid fish (E. carlsbergi, K. anderssoni and Protomyctophum spp.) and small squid (juvenile K. longimana).
