Penguins exploit tidal currents for efficient navigation and opportunistic foraging.
Animals navigating in fluid environments often face forces from wind or water currents that challenge travel efficiency and route accuracy. We investigated how 27 Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) adapt their navigation strategies to return to their colony amid regional tidal ocean curre...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2025-07-01
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| Series: | PLoS Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002981 |
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| _version_ | 1850042472350089216 |
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| author | Richard M Gunner Flavio Quintana Mariano H Tonini Mark D Holton Ken Yoda Margaret C Crofoot Rory P Wilson |
| author_facet | Richard M Gunner Flavio Quintana Mariano H Tonini Mark D Holton Ken Yoda Margaret C Crofoot Rory P Wilson |
| author_sort | Richard M Gunner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Animals navigating in fluid environments often face forces from wind or water currents that challenge travel efficiency and route accuracy. We investigated how 27 Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) adapt their navigation strategies to return to their colony amid regional tidal ocean currents. Using GPS-enhanced dead-reckoning loggers and high-resolution ocean current data, we reconstructed penguin travel vectors during foraging trips to assess their responses to variable currents during their colony-bound movements. By integrating estimates of energy costs and prey pursuits, we found that birds balanced direct navigation with current-driven drift: in calm currents, they maintained precise line-of-sight headings to their colony. In stronger currents, they aligned their return with lateral flows, which increased travel distance, but at reduced energy costs, and provided them with increased foraging opportunities. Since the lateral tidal currents always reversed direction over the course of return paths, the penguins' return paths were consistently S-shaped but still resulted in the birds returning efficiently to their colonies. These findings suggest that Magellanic penguins can sense current drift and use it to enhance energy efficiency by maintaining overall directional accuracy while capitalizing on foraging opportunities. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2408f793c43a408e8bbfac2f8ee33db7 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1544-9173 1545-7885 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-2408f793c43a408e8bbfac2f8ee33db72025-08-20T02:55:32ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Biology1544-91731545-78852025-07-01237e300298110.1371/journal.pbio.3002981Penguins exploit tidal currents for efficient navigation and opportunistic foraging.Richard M GunnerFlavio QuintanaMariano H ToniniMark D HoltonKen YodaMargaret C CrofootRory P WilsonAnimals navigating in fluid environments often face forces from wind or water currents that challenge travel efficiency and route accuracy. We investigated how 27 Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) adapt their navigation strategies to return to their colony amid regional tidal ocean currents. Using GPS-enhanced dead-reckoning loggers and high-resolution ocean current data, we reconstructed penguin travel vectors during foraging trips to assess their responses to variable currents during their colony-bound movements. By integrating estimates of energy costs and prey pursuits, we found that birds balanced direct navigation with current-driven drift: in calm currents, they maintained precise line-of-sight headings to their colony. In stronger currents, they aligned their return with lateral flows, which increased travel distance, but at reduced energy costs, and provided them with increased foraging opportunities. Since the lateral tidal currents always reversed direction over the course of return paths, the penguins' return paths were consistently S-shaped but still resulted in the birds returning efficiently to their colonies. These findings suggest that Magellanic penguins can sense current drift and use it to enhance energy efficiency by maintaining overall directional accuracy while capitalizing on foraging opportunities.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002981 |
| spellingShingle | Richard M Gunner Flavio Quintana Mariano H Tonini Mark D Holton Ken Yoda Margaret C Crofoot Rory P Wilson Penguins exploit tidal currents for efficient navigation and opportunistic foraging. PLoS Biology |
| title | Penguins exploit tidal currents for efficient navigation and opportunistic foraging. |
| title_full | Penguins exploit tidal currents for efficient navigation and opportunistic foraging. |
| title_fullStr | Penguins exploit tidal currents for efficient navigation and opportunistic foraging. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Penguins exploit tidal currents for efficient navigation and opportunistic foraging. |
| title_short | Penguins exploit tidal currents for efficient navigation and opportunistic foraging. |
| title_sort | penguins exploit tidal currents for efficient navigation and opportunistic foraging |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002981 |
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