Editing Little penguin (section)

=== Feeding ===
[[File:Eudyptula minor, Auckland, New Zealand imported from iNaturalist photo 430247598.jpg|thumb|Feeding on [[Hyporhamphus ihi|New Zealand piper]] (''Hyporhamphus ihi''), [[Auckland]]]]
Little penguins are central place foragers, meaning they will travel distances to forage but always return to the same nest or colony.<ref>Olsson, O., Helf, K. L., & Brown, J. S. (2008). A guide to central place effects in foraging [Review of A guide to central place effects in foraging]. Theoretical Population Biology, 74(1), 22–33</ref> They are also a species where both parents are required to raise chicks, and alternate foraging trips while the other is guarding and incubating the nest during the post guard stage. These stints can last anywhere between 1–10 days during incubation.<ref name="Mattern" /> Despite nesting on the shore, little penguins forage at sea and feed on a diet ranging from small schooling fish, to cephalopods, krill, and microzooplankton.<ref>Braidwood, J., Kunz, J., & Wilson, K. J. (2011). Effect of habitat features on the breeding success of the blue penguin (Eudyptula minor) on the West Coast of New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 38(2), 131–141.</ref> As the species is widely distributed across a range of habitats in New Zealand and Australia, variation in diet and foraging choice has also arisen. Important little penguin prey items include [[Nototodarus sloanii|arrow squid]], [[slender sprat]], [[Graham's gudgeon]], [[red cod]], and [[ahuru]].<ref name="Flemming1">Flemming, S.A. (2013) "[http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/little-penguin]". ''In Miskelly, C.M. (ed.)'' ''New Zealand Birds Online''</ref> 
 
Little penguins feed by hunting small [[Clupeidae|clupeoid]] fish, [[cephalopod]]s, and [[crustacean]]s, for which they travel and dive quite extensively,<ref name="Flemming">Flemming, S.A., Lalas, C., and [[Yolanda van Heezik|van Heezik, Y.]] (2013) "[http://newzealandecology.org/nzje/new_issues/NZJEcol37_2_199.pdf Little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') diet at three breeding colonies in New Zealand]". ''New Zealand Journal of Ecology'' '''37''': 199–205 Accessed 30 January 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/environmentwaste/naturalenvironment/Documents/biodiversitylittlepenguinfactsheet.pdf "Little Penguin Factsheet"] ''Auckland Council'', New Zealand (28 February 2014). Retrieved 2014-07-26.</ref> including to the sea floor. Foraging efficiency has been found to be significantly influenced by age. Foraging success appears to stabilise selection for middle-aged penguins, as feeding is a learnt behaviour but also requires good physical condition.<ref name="Zimmer">{{Cite journal |last=Zimmer |first=Ilka |last2=Ropert-Coudert |first2=Yan |last3=Kato |first3=Akiko |last4=Ancel |first4=Andre |last5=Chiaradia |first5=Andre |date=2011-01-25 |title=Does Foraging Performance Change with Age in Female Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor)? |url=https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016098 |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=e16098 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0016098 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=3026794 |pmid=21283573 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Pelletier">Pelletier, L., Chiaradia, A., Kato, A., & Ropert-Coudert, Y. (2014). Fine-scale spatial age segregation in the limited foraging area of an inshore seabird species, the little penguin. Oecologia, 176(2), 399+.</ref>

For the Philip Island and other southern Australian colonies, [[Australian anchovy|Australian anchovies]] are the primary food source.<ref name= "Dann">Dann, P., & Chambers, L. (2013). Ecological effects of climate change on little penguins Eudyptula minor and the potential economic impact on tourism [Review of Ecological effects of climate change on little penguins Eudyptula minor and the potential economic impact on tourism]. Climate Research, 58(1), 67–79. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24896130</ref> Although the diet of the Philip Island colony has diversified to include selections of cephalopods and krill during the post guard stage of their life cycle where greater amounts of energy is required for chick development and egg production, resident penguins predominantly rely on anchovies when more energy is required.<ref>Chiaradia, A., Forero, M. G., Hobson , K. A., Swearer, S., Hume , F., Dann, P., & Renwick, L. (2011). Diet segregation between two colonies of little penguins Eudyptula minor in southeast Australia [Review of Diet segregation between two colonies of little penguins Eudyptula minor in southeast Australia]. Austral Ecology , 37(5), 610–619.</ref>

The nature of their diet also impacts foraging methods, which may vary by colony depending on what food is available. When prey is larger and individuals are only catching 1-2 items at a time, they are more likely to hunt alone to reduce competition, whereas smaller and more mobile prey, or schooling prey species, promote group hunting to enable efficient encirclement.<ref>Sutton, G. J., Hoskins, A. J., & Arnould, J. P. Y. (2015). Benefits of Group Foraging Depend on Prey Type in a Small Marine Predator, the Little Penguin. PLoS ONE, 10(12).</ref> The Oamaru colony predominantly feeds on smaller schooling species such as sprat and gudgeon, while penguins from the Stewart/Codfish Island colonies more often hunt alone. The latter is likely linked to a predominantly cephalopods diet (58% of prey items at < 10 gm each).<ref name="Mattern"/>