Gentoo penguin foraging in Antarctic, Southern Oceans (> 60 degrees South), and South Shetland Islands, Antarctic from 2005-04-03 to 2008-09-30 (NCEI Accession 0162405)

This data set contains water and air temperature data in addition to duration of time spent at temperature to provide estimates of daily activity and consequent demand for food during winter for gentoo penguins. These estimates are scarce for many polar seabirds, yet they are essential for assessing constraints on foraging effort, demand for food, and potential competition with local fisheries. We affixed archival temperature tags to gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) from two colonies in the South Shetland Islands to measure the frequency, timing, and duration of foraging trips and to estimate minimum food requirements during winter.