Serendipitous observations from animal-borne video loggers reveal synchronous diving and equivalent simultaneous prey capture rates in chinstrap penguins

Abstract

AbstractSeabirds often engage in coordinated, cooperative foraging to improve detection and capture of prey. An extreme example of such coordinated behavior is synchronicity, whereby the movements of individuals are aligned temporally and spatially. Synchronous diving among penguins has been reported, but simultaneous observations of predation by synchronously diving individuals have not. We instrumented chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarcticus) during their incubation period in December 2019 from Cape Shirreff, Livingston Island, Antarctica (60.79°W, 62.46°S) with video and depth recorders to monitor predator foraging behavior and prey consumption rates. Serendipitously, two instrumented individuals, accompanied by a third, banded individual, engaged in synchronous foraging activities on Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) for 9.25 h. This group formed ashore, transited together to their foraging area, remained in close visual contact after dives, synchronously timed diving behavior, and foraged at similar depths. Prey capture rates were positively correlated across dives and total consumption estimates were equivalent for the two instrumented birds during the video observation period. Video loggers confirmed that synchronous diving and foraging behavior are among the behavioral repertoire of chinstrap penguins and demonstrated equivalent prey capture rates by synchronously foraging predators. The results further suggest that group formation while ashore and group cohesion during a foraging trip may facilitate shared foraging success among group members.