[Press Release] Unsuccessful penguins use socially acquired information to decide where to forage
Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) walking on ice Adélie penguins travel from several to tens of kilometres from their colony to forage during the breeding season. (Credit: Toshitaka Imaki, License type: Original content, Restriction: News organizations may use or redistribute this image, with proper attribution, as part of news coverage of this paper only.)
Release Summary
How do animals benefit from living in colonies? By tracking over one-third of Adélie penguins in an Antarctic colony, we found that penguins often departed together and used information from conspecifics when searching for foraging sites. Individuals that had been unsuccessful on their previous trip were especially likely to reach new sites by using social information. These findings suggest that colonies can function as information hubs, helping animals make better decisions about where to forage.
