Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in little penguins and associations with urbanisation and health parameters.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are increasingly detected in wildlife and present concerning and unknown health risks. While there is a growing body of literature describing PFAS in seabird species, knowledge from temperate Southern Hemisphere regions is lacking. Little penguins (Eudyptula minor) can nest and forage within heavily urbanised coastal environments and hence may be at risk of exposure to pollutants.

Consistent sociality but flexible social associations across temporal and spatial foraging contexts in a colonial breeder.

When the consequences of sociality differ depending on the state of individual animals and the experienced environment, individuals may benefit from altering their social behaviours in a context-dependent manner. Thus, to fully address the hypotheses about the role of social associations it is imperative to consider the multidimensional nature of sociality by explicitly examining social associations across multiple scales and contexts. We simultaneously recorded > 8000 associations from 85% of breeding individuals from a colony of Australasian gannets (Morus serrator) over a 2-week period, and examined gregariousness across four foraging states using multilayer social network analysis.

Factors influencing prey capture success and profitability in Australasian gannets ().

Knowledge of the factors influencing foraging efficiency in top predators can provide insights into the effects of environmental variability on their populations. Seabirds are important marine predators foraging in a highly temporally and spatially variable environment. While numerous studies have focussed on search time and its effects on foraging energetics in seabirds, relatively little is known about the factors influencing capture success and prey profitability in these predators.

Evidence of sociality in the timing and location of foraging in a colonial seabird.

Social foraging behaviours, which range from cooperative hunting to local enhancement, can result in increased prey capture and access to information, which may significantly reduce time and energy costs of acquiring prey. In colonial species, it has been proposed that the colony itself may act as a site of social information transfer and group formation. However, conclusive evidence from empirical studies is lacking.

Habitat-specific foraging strategies in Australasian gannets.

Knowledge of top predator foraging adaptability is imperative for predicting their biological response to environmental variability. While seabirds have developed highly specialised techniques to locate prey, little is known about intraspecific variation in foraging strategies with many studies deriving information from uniform oceanic environments. Australasian gannets (Morus serrator) typically forage in continental shelf regions on small schooling prey.

Sexual Size Dimorphism and Body Condition in the Australasian Gannet.

Sexual size dimorphism is widespread throughout seabird taxa and several drivers leading to its evolution have been hypothesised. While the Australasian Gannet (Morus serrator) has previously been considered nominally monomorphic, recent studies have documented sexual segregation in diet and foraging areas, traits often associated with size dimorphism. The present study investigated the sex differences in body mass and structural size of this species at two colonies (Pope's Eye, PE; Point Danger, PD) in northern Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia.