Abstract
Food transit rates in the Jackass Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), a piscivorous seabird, are slower (Duffy et al. 1985) than rates of birds with other diets (Warner 1981). However, digestive performance by the Jackass Penguin may not be typical of fish-eating seabirds. Food transit rates through the digestive tracts of volant seabirds might be faster than those of flightless species, since meals would represent a considerable addition to the body mass that would have to be lifted during flight. Rapid digestion and extraction of water from prey would reduce meal-mass (Ashmole 1971). We tested this hypothesis by comparing transit rates through the digestive tracts of Cape Gannets (Morus capensis) with existing data on Jackass Penguins and Cape Gannets (Davies 1956, Duffy et al. 1985).
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