The Diet of the Royal PenguinEudyptes schlegeliat Macquarie Island

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Abstract
The diet of Royal Penguins Eudytyptes schledgeli at Macquarie Island was studied in the 1984/85 and 1985/86 breeding seasons. The major food was euphausiid crustaceans (51% by weight), comprising Euphausia valentini (32% by weight) and Thysanoessa gregaria (10% by weight), together with the myctophid fish Kreffichthys anderssoni (24%). Other myctophid species such as Electrona carlsbergi, nototheniids and cephalopods were taken only in small amounts (25% by weight of the total diet). Most of the euphausiids eaten were adults, while the first tended to be juveniles. Composition of the diet varied throughout the breeding season, E. valentini was prevalent during incubation and moluting but the diet became more varied during chick feeding. It also varied between the east and west coasts of the island, penguins on the latter eating fewer E. valentini and more T. gregaria than those on the east coast.