Post-fast faeces – Southern Giant Petrels practice coprophagy in Antarctica

White-phase Southern Giant Petrel in Antarctica, photograph by Michael Dunn

Denyelle Corá (Universidade Comunitária da Região de Chapecó, Curso de Ciências Biológicas, Brazil) and colleagues have published in the journal Polar Biology on coprophagy by breeding Antarctic Southern Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Southern giant petrels (Macronectes giganteus) are opportunistic generalists whose feeding strategies include hunting, scavenging and fishing.  While seals are important for southern giant petrels as a source of carrion, we documented that live seals also provide feeding opportunities for southern giant petrels.  We tracked breeding southern giant petrels from Harmony Point, Antarctica, during incubation and chick rearing with solar-powered GPS-UHF devices.  Tracking results showed that animals often visited confirmed haul-out sites of seals, mainly Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii).  Feeding on seal faeces was confirmed by direct observation. Southern giant petrels were more likely to visit haul-out sites during incubation than during chick-rearing.  This behaviour suggests that the birds fed on seal faeces mainly when fasting, which could last as long as 15 days.  Seal faeces could be a resource consumed to quickly recover from the fast before leaving for a longer trip.”

Reference:

Corá, D.H., Finger, J.V.G. & Krüger, L. 2020.  Coprophagic behaviour of southern giant petrels (Macronectes giganteus) during breeding period. Polar Biology 43: 2111–2116.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 09 December 2020