The little penguin is the smallest and the only penguin species whose activity on land is strictly nocturnal. Thirteen years of attendance data were used to study the effects of sun, moon, and artificial light on the attendance pattern at Phillip Island, Australia. Automated monitoring systems recorded individually marked penguins every time they arrived (after sunset) at or departed (before sunrise) from 2 colonies under different lighting conditions: natural night skylight and artificial lights used to enhance penguin viewing for ecotourism around sunset. Sunlight had a strong effect on attendance as penguins arrived on average around 81 min after sunset and departed around 92 min before sunrise. The effect of moonlight was also strong, its effect was stronger on departure than arrival times. Moonlight could be overridden by artificial light at the artificially lit colony, but the similar attendance patterns between colonies suggest that artificial light did not mask the moonlight effect. informacion[at]ebd.csic.es Rodriguez et al (2016) Waddling on the dark side. Ambient light affects attendance behavior of little penguins. J Biol Rhythms doi: 10.1177/0748730415626010
http://jbr.sagepub.com/content/31/2/194Content with tag eudyptula minor .
Waddling on the dark side: ambient light affects attendance behavior of little penguins
The little penguin is the smallest and the only penguin species whose activity on land is strictly nocturnal. Thirteen years of attendance data were used to study the effects of sun, moon, and...
The role of ocean currents as a link between marine organisms and environmental variability
In this work, authors suggest that ocean currents may play a relevant role in determining the actual spatio-temporal scale under which reproductive timing in a marine predator, the Little penguin,...