The legend of King O’Malley

Review of The Legend of King O'Malley at La Mama's Carlton Courthouse

Winter foraging site fidelity of king penguins breeding at the Falkland Islands

Foraging site fidelity has profound consequences for individual fitness, population processes and the effectiveness of species conservation measures. Accordingly, quantifying site fidelity has become increasingly important in animal movement and habitat selection studies. To assess foraging site fidelity in king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) breeding at the Falkland Islands (51.48°S, 57.83°W), we measured overlap in time spent in foraging areas (at a 0.1° × 0.1° grid resolution) between successive foraging trips and foraging route consistency during the crèche period. In total, 30 complete foraging trips from seven king penguins were recorded between April and October 2010. King penguins predominantly foraged on the highly productive Patagonian slope, to the north of the Falkland Islands [median foraging trip distance 213 km (SD = 215 km) and duration 12.8 days (SD = 14.7 days)]. Overlap in time spent in an area on consecutive foraging trips ranged between 2 and 73 % (mean 27 %, SD = 22 %). Bearing during the outbound portion of foraging trips was typically highly repeatable for individual birds, but foraging trip duration and distance were not. Travel during the outbound phase of foraging trips was consistent with the direction of the northward-flowing Falkland Current that may act as a directional cue or facilitate rapid transit to foraging areas. Flexibility in foraging trip distances and durations may be a response to changes in resource availability and changes in the energetic requirements of adults and chicks over an extended breeding cycle.

Feeding ecology of King George whiting Sillaginodes punctatus (Perciformes) recruits in seagrass and unvegetated habitats. Does diet reflect habitat utilization?

This study investigated the feeding ecology of King George whiting Sillaginodes punctatus recruits to determine how diet composition varies between habitat types (seagrass and unvegetated habitats), and between sites separated by distance. Broad-scale sampling of seagrass and unvegetated habitats at nine sites in Port Phillip Bay (Australia) indicated the diet composition varied more by distance into the bay than by habitat. Near the entrance to the bay the diet was dominated by harpacticoids and gammarid amphipods, in the middle reaches of the bay the diet was completely dominated by harpacticoids, while at sites furthest into the bay, mysids and crab zoea were also important. Abundances of prey in guts was significantly higher between 1000 and 2200 hours compared with other times, indicating diurnal feeding. Laboratory determined gut evacuation rate (based on an exponential model) was estimated to be -0·54. Daily rations were highly variable among sites and habitat types. Sillaginodes punctatus recruits consumed much higher quantities of prey on unvegetated habitat than seagrass habitat at some middle reach sites; with prey consumption of harpacticoid copepods on unvegetated habitat approaching 3000 individuals per day at one site. The results of this study provide insight into why habitat associations of S. punctatus recruits within mosaics of seagrass and unvegetated habitat show high spatial variation.