African penguin Spheniscus demersus foraging on juvenile fish in jellyfish tentacles

Abstract

Technological advances have enabled the observation of foraging behaviour in wild marine animals. We can observe where they go, how deep they dive, how much energy they expend, and with the use of animal-borne cameras we can capture specific foraging behaviours. Here we describe a newly observed foraging behaviour in African Penguins Spheniscus demersus in which they target fish located in jellyfish tentacles. As animal-borne cameras have only been deployed on African Penguins since 2015 it is unclear whether this behaviour is novel or previously unobserved. The behaviour appears to be opportunistic and beneficial to the African Penguins as it enables them to catch stationary prey. As the availability of the African Penguin’s traditional schooling fish prey changes in the southern Benguela Current ecosystem due to climate change and overfishing, opportunistic foraging strategies like this could enable African Penguins to supplement foraging success at a low energetic cost.