Abstract
Information on diving patterns was obtained for full-grown and juvenile Rock Shags (Phalacrocorax magellanicus) feeding in Port Stanley Harbour, Falkland Islands. Birds dived mainly in, or just outside, beds of giant kelp within 50 m of the shore where the water depth varied from 1-6 m. Mean dive and recovery times were 28 sec and 10 sec respectively, diving rate was 1.8 dives/min and birds spent 75% of the time underwater. Full-grown and juvenile birds both showed a highly significant positive relationship between dive time and water depth. Full-grown individuals also showed a significant increase in recovery time with increasing dive time, but for juveniles recovery time was independent of dive time. This resulted in full grown birds attaining a rate of diving that was 30-50% higher than that of juveniles in shallow water.
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