Abstract
Abstract Since the 1950s, flipper bands have been used widely to mark penguins (Spheniscidae), but not without concerns regarding possible negative effects on survival and fitness. As part of a demographic study of Adelie Penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) in the western Ross Sea, Antarctica, we investigated effects of flipper bands on foraging-trip duration and food loads, as well as apparent survival, during four breeding seasons (2000-2003), using mark-recapture and radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology. Foraging-trip durations were ∼8% (3.5 h) longer, on average, for banded compared with unbanded birds, but the effect varied among years. Food loads did not differ between banded and unbanded birds, but males carried heavier food loads than females. Flipper bands decreased apparent annual survival by 11–13% during 2000-2003, but over a longer time period (1996-2003) we observed high annual variability, including years of high survival for banded birds. Males had slightly higher survival than femal...
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