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===Diet=== | ===Diet=== | ||
[[File:Adélie Penguin feeding krill.jpg|thumb|right|Adélie penguin regurgitating krill for a chick.]] | |||
The Adélie penguin is known to feed mainly on Antarctic krill, ice krill, [[Antarctic silverfish]], sea krill, and glacial squid (diet varies depending on geographic location) during the chick-rearing season. The stable isotope record of fossil eggshell accumulated in colonies over the last 38,000 years reveals a sudden change from a fish-based diet to [[krill]] that started 200 years ago. This is most likely due to the decline of the [[Antarctic fur seal]] since the late 18th century and baleen whales in the 20th century. The reduction of competition from these predators has resulted in a surplus of krill, which the penguins now exploit as an easier source of food. | The Adélie penguin is known to feed mainly on Antarctic krill, ice krill, [[Antarctic silverfish]], sea krill, and glacial squid (diet varies depending on geographic location) during the chick-rearing season. The stable isotope record of fossil eggshell accumulated in colonies over the last 38,000 years reveals a sudden change from a fish-based diet to [[krill]] that started 200 years ago. This is most likely due to the decline of the [[Antarctic fur seal]] since the late 18th century and baleen whales in the 20th century. The reduction of competition from these predators has resulted in a surplus of krill, which the penguins now exploit as an easier source of food. | ||