Surviving off junk: low-energy prey dominates the diet of African penguins Spheniscus demersus at Mercury Island Namibia between 1996 and 2009

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dc.contributor.authorLudynia, Katrin
dc.contributor.authorRoux, J-P
dc.contributor.authorJones, R
dc.contributor.authorKemper, J
dc.contributor.authorUnderhill, Leslie
dc.date.accessioned2018-04-06T08:02:20Z
dc.date.available2018-04-06T08:02:20Z
dc.date.issued2010
dc.date.updated2016-01-21T09:16:20Z
dc.description.abstractThe diet of African penguins Spheniscus demersus in Namibia consisted mainly of sardine Sardinops sagax in the 1950s. Since the collapse of pelagic fish stocks in the 1970s, birds fed mainly on bearded (pelagic) goby Sufflogobius bibarbatus, a low-energy prey species. We present diet data for African penguins breeding at Mercury Island, the largest colony for this species in Namibia, between 1996 and 2009. Bearded goby was the main prey item throughout the study period, both in terms of frequency of occurrence (67.8%; SD 31.2) and in terms of mass (59.2%; SD 31.5). Diet composition varied throughout the year as well as between years; birds occasionally fed on a variety of fish species other than bearded goby. In Namibia, poor prey abundance is considered as a major factor contributing to the decline of penguin numbers after the collapse of the sardine stocks. However, bearded goby appears to be relatively abundant along Namibia's southern coast and low prey quality rather than low abundance appears to be a key factor influencing population dynamics of African penguins and other marine top predators in southern Namibia.
dc.identifierhttp://dx.doi.org/10.2989/1814232X.2010.538151
dc.identifier.apacitationLudynia, K., Roux, J., Jones, R., Kemper, J., & Underhill, L. (2010). Surviving off junk: low-energy prey dominates the diet of African penguins Spheniscus demersus at Mercury Island Namibia between 1996 and 2009. <i>African Journal of Marine Science</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27763en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationLudynia, Katrin, J-P Roux, R Jones, J Kemper, and Leslie Underhill "Surviving off junk: low-energy prey dominates the diet of African penguins Spheniscus demersus at Mercury Island Namibia between 1996 and 2009." <i>African Journal of Marine Science</i> (2010) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27763en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationLudynia, K., Roux, J. P., Jones, R., Kemper, J., & Underhill, L. G. (2010). Surviving off junk: low-energy prey dominates the diet of African penguins Spheniscus demersus at Mercury Island, Namibia, between 1996 and 2009. African Journal of Marine Science, 32(3), 563-572.
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Ludynia, Katrin AU - Roux, J-P AU - Jones, R AU - Kemper, J AU - Underhill, Leslie AB - The diet of African penguins Spheniscus demersus in Namibia consisted mainly of sardine Sardinops sagax in the 1950s. Since the collapse of pelagic fish stocks in the 1970s, birds fed mainly on bearded (pelagic) goby Sufflogobius bibarbatus, a low-energy prey species. We present diet data for African penguins breeding at Mercury Island, the largest colony for this species in Namibia, between 1996 and 2009. Bearded goby was the main prey item throughout the study period, both in terms of frequency of occurrence (67.8%; SD 31.2) and in terms of mass (59.2%; SD 31.5). Diet composition varied throughout the year as well as between years; birds occasionally fed on a variety of fish species other than bearded goby. In Namibia, poor prey abundance is considered as a major factor contributing to the decline of penguin numbers after the collapse of the sardine stocks. However, bearded goby appears to be relatively abundant along Namibia's southern coast and low prey quality rather than low abundance appears to be a key factor influencing population dynamics of African penguins and other marine top predators in southern Namibia. DA - 2010 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town J1 - African Journal of Marine Science LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2010 T1 - Surviving off junk: low-energy prey dominates the diet of African penguins Spheniscus demersus at Mercury Island Namibia between 1996 and 2009 TI - Surviving off junk: low-energy prey dominates the diet of African penguins Spheniscus demersus at Mercury Island Namibia between 1996 and 2009 UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27763 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/27763
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationLudynia K, Roux J, Jones R, Kemper J, Underhill L. Surviving off junk: low-energy prey dominates the diet of African penguins Spheniscus demersus at Mercury Island Namibia between 1996 and 2009. African Journal of Marine Science. 2010; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27763.en_ZA
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.sourceAfrican Journal of Marine Science
dc.source.urihttps://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tams20
dc.subject.otherAfrican penguin
dc.subject.otherbearded (pelagic) goby
dc.subject.otherBenguela upwelling system
dc.subject.otherdiet
dc.subject.otherMercury Island
dc.subject.otherprey quality
dc.subject.otherSpheniscus demersus
dc.subject.otherSufflogobius bibarbatus
dc.titleSurviving off junk: low-energy prey dominates the diet of African penguins Spheniscus demersus at Mercury Island Namibia between 1996 and 2009
dc.typeJournal Article
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
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