(Tables 1,2) Site characteristics and phenotypic attributes of King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) on Possession Island@en

In colonial species, it is often assumed that locations in the center of the colony are of highest quality and provide highest breeding success. We tested this prediction, known as the \"central-periphery model,\" in a King Penguin colony in the subantarctic Crozet Archipelago. Breeding activity and survival of 150 penguins, fitted with transponder tags, were monitored over an entire breeding season. Among these 150 birds, 50 bred on the slope at the upper periphery of the colony, where the rates of predation and parasitism by ticks were high. Fifty birds bred in the center of the colony, where rates of predation and tick parasitism were low, and 50 bred at the lower end of the colony, where the rate of tick parasitism was low but predation and flooding were important risks. We predicted that the center of the colony should provide the safest breeding place and consequently be characterized by the highest breeding success and be used by the highest-quality individuals. Yet we found that penguins breeding in the center of the colony had the same breeding success as those at both peripheral locations. In addition, penguins breeding on the upper slope had a higher survival rate than penguins breeding at the center or bottom of the slope and were likely of higher quality. Our study does not support the central-periphery model and emphasizes the complexity behind the relationships among breeding site, breeding success, and individual quality.对于群居物种而言，学界通常默认群居中心区域的栖息地质量最优，且能带来最高的繁殖成功率。我们针对亚南极克罗泽群岛（Crozet Archipelago）的王企鹅（King Penguin）群居地，对这一被称为‘中心-外围模型（central-periphery model）’的预测展开了检验。研究人员为150只王企鹅安装了应答器标签（transponder tags），并在完整的繁殖季内对它们的繁殖活动与存活情况进行了监测。在这150只个体中，50只在群居地上部外围的斜坡地带繁殖，该区域的捕食率与蜱虫寄生率均较高；50只在群居中心地带繁殖，该区域的捕食率与蜱虫寄生率均较低；剩余50只则在群居地下部区域繁殖，该区域蜱虫寄生率较低，但捕食与洪涝是主要生存风险。我们此前预测，群居中心地带应是最安全的繁殖位点，因此会拥有最高的繁殖成功率，且会由个体质量最优的王企鹅占据。但研究结果显示，在群居中心繁殖的王企鹅，其繁殖成功率与两处外围区域的个体并无差异。此外，在上部斜坡繁殖的王企鹅，其存活率高于在群居中心或斜坡下部繁殖的个体，且这类个体的质量大概率更优。本研究并不支持中心-外围模型，同时凸显了繁殖位点、繁殖成功率与个体质量三者间关系的复杂性。