Diving depths and diet of Cassin's Auklet at Reef Island, British Columbia

Abstract

Diving depths of Cassin's Auklets (Ptychoramphus aleuticus) breeding at Reef Island, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, were measured with miniature gauges attached to the birds. Maximum diving depths of 22 birds averaged 28 m, with a mode of 40 m. A time-at-depth recorder showed that one auklet dived to 29 m, but spent 80% of its time underwater at 3–13 m. Food delivered in gular pouches to chicks contained mainly euphausiids (predominantly Thysanoessa spinifera) and juvenile fish (Ammodytes hexapterus), with lesser amounts of copepods, amphipods, small pandalid shrimps, Brachyura larvae, and ctenophores. Euphausiid meals were most common during spring tides. Auklets that delivered significant amounts of euphausiids appeared to have dived deeper than those that delivered fish.