Cormorants dive through the Polar night
- 26 July 2005
- journal article
- Published by The Royal Society in Biology Letters
- Vol. 1 (4), 469-471
- https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2005.0356
Abstract
Most seabirds are visual hunters and are thus strongly affected by light levels. Dependence on vision should be problematic for species wintering at high latitudes, as they face very low light levels for extended periods during the Polar night. We examined the foraging rhythms of male great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) wintering north of the Polar circle in West Greenland, conducting the first year-round recordings of the diving activity in a seabird wintering at high latitudes. Dive depth data revealed that birds dived every day during the Arctic winter and did not adjust their foraging rhythms to varying day length. Therefore, a significant proportion of the dive bouts were conducted in the dark (less than 1 lux) during the Polar night. Our study underlines the stunning adaptability of great cormorants and raises questions about the capacity of diving birds to use non-visual cues to target fish.This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit:
- Unusual feather structure allows partial plumage wettability in diving great cormorants Phalacrocorax carboJournal of Avian Biology, 2004
- Foraging energetics of arctic cormorants and the evolution of diving birdsEcology Letters, 2001
- Foraging strategies of Great CormorantsPhalacrocorax carbo carbowintering north of the Arctic CircleBird Study, 2001
- Coping with darkness and low temperatures: foraging strategies in Steller's eiders, Polysticta stelleri, wintering at high latitudesCanadian Journal of Zoology, 2001
- Eye structure and foraging in King Penguins Aptenodytes patagonicusIbis, 1999
- Effect of the diel light cycle on the diving behaviour of two bottom feeding marine birds:the blue-eyed shag Phalacrocorax atricepsand the European shag P. aristotelisMarine Ecology Progress Series, 1999
- Feeding Behavior of Free‐Ranging King Penguins (Aptenodytes Patagonicus)Ecology, 1994
- Diel dive depth in penguins in relation to diel Vertical migration of prey: whose dinner by candlelight?Marine Ecology Progress Series, 1993
- Diving Behavior and Energetics During Foraging Cycles in King PenguinsEcological Monographs, 1992
- The eye of the humboldt penguin, Spheniscus humboldti : visual fields and schematic opticsProceedings of the Royal Society of London. B. Biological Sciences, 1984