2019 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Penguins as ocean sentinels: using video loggers attached on predators to understand the ecological niche of jellyfishes in Antarctica
| Project/Area Number |
18K18183
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| Research Institution | National Institute of Polar Research |
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Principal Investigator |
THIEBOT J.B. 国立極地研究所, 研究教育系, 特任研究員 (70723691)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2018-04-01 – 2020-03-31
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| Keywords | predator-prey / Southern Ocean / jellyfish / penguin / bio-logging / video |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
With this project I have built an international network of scientists working around Antarctica, from 9 locations and 7 countries.
Using video loggers and accelerometers on penguins to examine jellyfish ingestions, we have found that:
- penguins and other marine endotherms regularly consume jellyfishes (published paper);
- the consumption of jellyfish by penguins seems independent from the availability of the main prey (krill) and regional environmental trends (paper in preparation);
- energetic estimates argue against calorific purposes for such ingestions (paper close to submission); alternate hypotheses, including self-medication, appear plausible. The start of new collaborations to further examine which biochemical components may specifically be of interest to predators, seems promising.
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