Posted on 03/27/2006 12:42:14 AM PST by Lorianne
tiny inhabitant of Phillip Island, south-west of Melbourne, has taken diving to a new depth.
Phillip Island Nature Parks researchers have recorded the deepest ocean dive made by a little penguin at 67 metres, breaking the previous record of 57m, set in 2002.
Researcher Dr Andre Chiaradia said little penguins, also known as fairy penguins, can dive a certain distance depending on their weight.
Dr Chiaradia said the female penguin, which weighed 1,020g, would usually dive to a maximum of 66m.
But she managed to dive 67m, and was submerged for 90 seconds, which Dr Chiaradia also said was beyond her aerobic dive limit.
Using sophisticated computers, known as bio loggers, Dr Chiardia, Dr Yan Robert-Coudert and Dr Akiko Kato recorded every dive the penguin made on one day.
They believe that when she broke the record it may have been because she detected prey and chased it to a deeper depth than normal.
"We have been recording how deep (little) penguins dive as part of a project which combines new technologies to study where penguins find food, what they eat and how this relates to breeding success," Dr Chiaradia said.
"We don't know if she was successful or not but we can say she was very tired after this amazing dive," he said.
"Our aim is to find out at which depth penguins are searching and finding food."
Dr Chiaradia said the research would be used to identify threats to the penguins at Phillip Island.
"To understand the behaviour of penguins at sea is the first step to identify threats and provide solutions to marine-based problems," Dr Chiaradia said.
Dr Chiaradia said the money for the research was funded through visitor revenue from the Penguin Parade tourist attraction.
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