Review by Choice Review
This well-written account details the predator-prey interrelationships between breeding Ad'elie penguins and South Polar skuas at Cape Bird on Ross Island, Antarctica. Every conceivable aspect of these interrelationships is treated. The multiyear study was conducted entirely by observational techniques with conscious efforts made to avoid disrupting the "natural" behavior of the subjects. The book is thoroughly documented, and the massive data and results are logically presented. The book is not for the casual reader, as one can easily get bogged down in the detailed presentation of data. The author's general conclusions are that breeding skuas are not dependent on penguin colonies and that skuas are not particularly effective predators of penguins. Rather, skuas breeding near penguin colonies are opportunistic: they take unguarded eggs and young and scavenge dead chicks. That they do this without seriously impacting the reproductive success of the penguins as a whole will come as no surprise to longtime students of predator-prey interactions. This book deserves a place on the shelf of all students of predator-prey relationships. Upper-division undergraduate through faculty. S. W. Harris; Humboldt State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
