Figure 4. Model of penguin digestion.

Parameters used in a simplified model of penguin digestion, which assumes that, once the stomach is full, the throughput rate (grey line) increases linearly with consumption rate (here taken to be = 0.25 X) until a maximum (225 J s⁻¹). The model also assumes that the percentage of the energy in the ingesta that is absorbed is modulated by the assimilation efficiency, which decreases linearly with throughput rate (starting at 0.9 ( = 90%) at an ingestion rate of ca. 0 J s⁻¹, down by 0.1 for every 400 J s⁻¹ ingested to a minimum of 0.625 (at ingestion rates of 1100 J s⁻¹); black line). A consequence of these is that the rate of energy gain follows an approximately log-type function against consumption rate (dashed line).