SOUTHERN ROCKHOPPER PENGUIN EUDYPTES-CHRYSOCOME CHRYSOCOME FORAGING AT POSSESSION ISLAND

The foraging ecology of rockhopper penguins was studied at Possession Island, southern Indian Ocean, by counting the number of birds departi ng from and arriving at colonies over the course of the day and by equ ipping three birds with time/depth loggers, one of which was recovered having recorded a total of 12 days foraging activity. Both the counts and the results from the diving behaviour showed that the birds forag ed exclusively diurnally. Maximum dive depth was 66 m although most ti me was spent between 10 and 25 m, depths that did not accord with the published distribution of their principal prey as detected by nets and acoustics.