Optimal descent angles for shallow-diving cormorants

Abstract

Air-breathing divers should attempt to maximize foraging efficiency under the constraint of limited oxygen availability. For diving water birds, high buoyancy (owing to the air in the plumage) and the associated change in buoyancy with diving depth impose further constraints on the adaptation to aquatic life. Diving birds are expected to descend as fast as possible to escape the higher buoyancy near the water surface, but in practice, shallow-diving cormorants (genus Phalacrocorax Brisson, 1760) are often observed descending the water column in relatively small angles with respect to the water surface. We derive a theoretical biomechanical model for the energetics of the descent phase of a dive of foot-propelled cormorants feeding on benthic prey at shallow depth. The model shows that visually guided benthic feeders benefit energetically from diving at small descent angles when optical conditions and bottom depth allow. The model also explains the high variation in descent angles observed in free-ranging birds, as well as the observed correlation between descent angle and bottom depth in cormorants.