Abstract
The movements of nine breeding adult emperor penguins Aptenodytes forsteri from two colonies, Auster (67° 23′S 64° 04′E) and Taylor Glacier (67° 28′S 60° 54′E), were determined by satellite telemetry on their pre-moult foraging trips. While preparing for their annual moult the penguins travelled for 22–38 days and reached distances of up to 618 km from the colony. Six of the nine tracked penguins were followed to three different moult locations all to the west of their breeding colonies and near other known emperor penguins colonies, such as Kloa Point (66°38′S, 59°23′E) and Fold Island (67°17′S, 59°23′E). Sea-ice conditions changed throughout the tracking period; as the birds travelled north the sea-ice contracted south.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Rhonda Pike and Christian Gallagher for their assistance in the field and the helicopter pilots for safe delivery to our field sites. We would also like to thank Drs. Judy Clarke, Knowles Kerry and Louise Emmerson for their comments on a previous draft of the manuscript. Our thanks also go to two anonymous referees whose constructive comments improved the manuscript.
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Wienecke, B., Kirkwood, R. & Robertson, G. Pre-moult foraging trips and moult locations of Emperor penguins at the Mawson Coast. Polar Biol 27, 83–91 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-003-0574-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-003-0574-0