![]() Most seabird species are central place foragers during the breeding season as they must return to their nest to incubate eggs and provision young, with a large proportion of species breeding colonially. For breeding birds, partitioning of food resources between self-feeding and provisioning reflects a compromise between inclusive fitness of the parent and its offspring and immediate energetic gain . This limitation placed on central place foragers means that individuals must determine the optimal foraging strategy to maximize patch time and prey selection . ![]() Many animals are restricted in their foraging range during breeding, as they must return to a central place such as a nest or den. Conversely, non-breeders were found to consume different prey groups to breeders, which may reflect less restricted foraging ranges, breeders actively selecting particular prey during breeding or reduced foraging experience of non-breeders. ![]() This may reflect the inability of penguins to selectively forage when provisioning, or resources were sufficient for all foraging needs. Although previous work shows changing foraging behaviour between chick provisioning and self-feeding, our results suggest no significant differences in the main prey groups consumed by chicks and breeders at either site or between breeding stages. We also investigated diet differences between breeders and non-breeders at one site. We used DNA dietary analysis to determine whether there was a difference in provisioning and self-feeding diet by identifying prey DNA in scat samples from breeding and chick Adélie penguins at two locations in East Antarctica. Non-breeding birds, however, are likely to be less restricted in foraging range and lack the high energy demands of provisioning, therefore may consume different prey to breeders. ![]() Furthermore, breeding birds must balance energetic gain from self-feeding with the costs of returning to provision young. As central place foragers, breeding penguins are restricted in foraging range by the need to return to the colony to feed chicks. ![]()
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