New technologies aid understanding of the factors affecting Adélie penguin foraging

The Ross Sea (Figure 1) is home to 33% of the world’s Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae), as well as substantial numbers of Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri), Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii), and pelagic birds (Smith et al., 2014). Among these, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Resources (CCAMLR) has designated the Adélie penguin an “indicator species” for monitoring ecosystem structure and function in the newly designated Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area (RSR-MPA). This penguin, among the best-known seabirds, has been studied for decades at multiple locations with investigations that have delved into its population history (both recent and through thousands of years), survival strategies, responses to environmental changes, and feeding ecology (summarized in Ainley, 2002, with numerous papers published thereafter).