Researching the specific species of penguins within the overall animal group. Not only do each of the species display distinct differences and variations aesthetically, but also in their behaviour and mannerisms, as well as global diversity- from the arctic to the Galapagos, and so on.
The species include:
- ADELIE PENGUINS (Pygoscelis adeliae)
- AFRICAN PENGUINS (Spheniscus demersus)
- CHINSTRAP PENGUINS (Pygoscelis antarctica)
- EMPEROR PENGUINS (Aptenodytes forsteri)
- ERECT-CRESTED PENGUINS (Eudyptes sclateri)
- FIORDLAND PENGUINS (Spheniscus mendiculus)
- GALAPAGOS PENGUINS (Spheniscus mendiculus)
- GENTOO PENGUINS (Pygoscelis papua)
- HUMBOLDT PENGUINS (Spheniscus humboldti)
- KING PENGUINS (Aptenodytes patagonicus)
- LITTLE (BLUE) PENGUINS (Eudyptula minor)
- MACARONI PENGUINS (Eudyptes chrysolophus)
- MAGELLANIC PENGUINS (Spheniscus magellanicus)
- ROCKHOPPER PENGUINS (Eudyptes chrysocome)
- ROYAL PENGUINS (Eudyptes schlegeli)
- SNARES PENGUINS (Eudyptes robustus)
- YELLOW-EYED PENGUINS (Megadyptes antipodes)
ADELIE
The Adélie Penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae, is a species of penguin common along the entire Antarctic coast. They are among the most southerly distributed of all seabirds, as are the Emperor Penguin, the South Polar Skua, the Wilson's Storm Petrel, the Snow Petrel, and the Antarctic Petrel. In 1840, French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville named them for his wife, Adéle.
Taxonomy
The Adélie Penguin is one of three species in the genus Pygoscelis. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA evidence suggests the genus split from other penguins around 38 million years ago, about 2 million years after the ancestors of the genus Aptenodytes. In turn, the Adélie penguins split off from the other members of the genus around 19 million years ago.
Distribution and habitat
There are 38 colonies of Adélie penguins, and there are over 5 million Adélies in the Ross Sea region. Ross Island supports a colony
of approximately half a million Adélies. The Adélie penguins breed from
October to February on shores around the Antarctic continent. Adelies
build rough nests of stones. Two eggs
are laid, these are incubated for 32 to 34 days by the parents taking
turns (shifts typically last for 12 days). The chicks remain in the nest
for 22 days before joining creches. The chicks moult into their juvenile plumage and go out to sea after 50 to 60 days. Adelie penguins live in groups called colonies.
Description
These penguins are mid-sized, being 46 to 75 cm (18 to 30 in) in length and 3.6 to 6 kg (7.9 to 13 lb) in weight.
Distinctive marks are the white ring surrounding the eye and the
feathers at the base of the bill. These long feathers hide most of the
red bill. The tail is a little longer than other penguins' tails. The
appearance looks somewhat like a tuxedo.
They are a little smaller than other penguin species. Their appearance
is closest to the stereotypical image of penguins as mostly black with a
white belly.
Adelie penguins can swim up to 45 miles per hour.
Adelie penguins are preyed on by leopard seals and skua.
Behavior
Like all penguins, the Adélie is highly social, foraging and nesting
in groups. They are also very aggressive to other penguins that steal
stones from their nest.
Specifics of their behaviour were documented extensively by Apsley Cherry-Garrard (a survivor of Robert Falcon Scott’s fateful final journey to the South Pole) in his book The Worst Journey in the World.
Cherry-Garrard noted; “They are extraordinarily like children, these
little people of the Antarctic world, either like children or like old
men, full of their own importance."
Certain displays of their selfishness were commented upon by Levick
during his surveying of penguins in the Antarctic, "At the place where
they most often went in [the water], a long terrace of ice about six
feet in height ran for some hundreds of yards along the edge of the
water, and here, just as on the sea-ice, crowds would stand near the
brink. When they had succeeded in pushing one of their number over, all
would crane their necks over the edge, and when they saw the pioneer
safe in the water, the rest followed.”
It was observed how the penguin's intrigue could also put them in
harms way, which Scott found a particular nuisance, “The great trouble
with [the dog teams] has been due to the fatuous conduct of the
penguins. Groups of these have been constantly leaping on to our [ice]
floe. From the moment of landing on their feet their whole attitude
expressed devouring curiosity and a pig-headed disgregard for their own
safety. They waddle forward, poking their heads to and fro in their
usually absurd way, in spite of a string of howling dogs straining to
get at them. “Hulloa!” they seem to say, “here’s a game – what do all
you ridiculous things want?” And they come a few steps nearer. The dogs
make a rush as far as their harness or leashes allow. The penguins are
not daunted in the least, but their ruffs go up and they squawk with
semblance of anger.”
Regularly this attitude lead to the demise of an Adélie penguin, "Then
the final fatal steps forward are taken and they come within reach.
There is a spring, a squawk, a horrid red patch on the snow, and the
incident is closed.”
Others on the mission to the South Pole were more receptive of this
element of the Adélie's intrigue. Cherry-Garrard; “Meares and Dimitri
exercised the dog-teams out upon the larger floes when we were held up
for any length of time. One day a team was tethered by the side of the
ship, and a penguin sighted them and hurried from afar off. The dogs
became frantic with excitement as he neared them: he supposed it was a
greeting, and the louder they barked and the more they strained at their
ropes, the faster he bustled to meet them. He was extremely angry with a
man who went and saved him from a very sudden end, clinging to his
trousers with his beak, and furiously beating his shins with his
flippers.”
This was an occurrence of some regularity, “It was not an uncommon
sight to see a little Adélie penguin standing within a few inches of the
nose of a dog which was almost frantic with desire and passion.”
Due to their obstinate personality traits Cherry-Garrard held the
birds in great regard, “Whatever [an Adélie] penguin does has
individuality, and he lays bare his whole life for all to see. He cannot
fly away. And because he is quaint in all that he does, but still more
because he is fighting against bigger odds than any other bird, and
fighting always with the most gallant pluck.”
Diet
The Adélie penguin is known to feed mainly on Antarctic krill, ice krill, Antarctic silverfish, and Glacial Squid (diet varies depending on geographic location) during the chick-rearing season. The stable isotope record of fossil eggshell
accumulated in colonies over the last 38,000 years reveals a sudden
change from a fish-based diet to krill that started two hundred years
ago. This is most likely due to the decline of the Antarctic Fur Seal since the late 18th century and Baleen whales
in the 20th century. The reduction of competition from these predators
has resulted in a surplus of krill, which the penguins now exploit as an
easier source of food.
Reproduction
Adélie penguins arrive at their breeding grounds in October or
November, at the end of winter and the start of spring. Their nests
consist of stones piled together. In December, the warmest month in
Antarctica (about -2°C), the parents take turns incubating the egg; one
goes to feed and the other stays to warm the egg. The parent who is
incubating does not eat. In March, the adults and their young return to
the sea. The Adélie penguin lives on sea ice but needs the ice-free land
to breed. With a reduction in sea ice and a scarcity of food,
populations of the Adélie penguin have dropped by 65% over the past 25
years.
Migration
Adélie penguins living in the Ross Sea
region in Antarctica and migrate an average of about 13,000 kilometers
during the year as they follow the sun from their breeding colonies to
winter foraging grounds and back again. The longest treks have been
recorded at 17,600 kilometers.
AFRICAN (ALSO KNOWN AS "JACKASS")
The African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), also known as the Black-footed Penguin is a species of penguin, confined to southern African waters. It is known as Brilpikkewyn in Afrikaans, Inguza or Unombombiya in Xhosa, Manchot Du Cap in French and Pingüino Del Cabo in Spanish. It is also widely known as the "Jackass" Penguin for its donkey-like bray, although several species of South American penguins produce the same sound.
The African Penguin is a banded penguin, placed in the genus Spheniscus.
The other banded penguins are the African Penguin's closest relatives,
and are all found mainly in the Southern Hemisphere: the Humboldt Penguin and Magellanic Penguins found in southern South America, and the Galápagos Penguin found in the Pacific Ocean near the equator. All are similar in shape, colour and behaviour.
Etymology
The genus to which the African Penguin belongs to, Spheniscus, derives from the Ancient Greek word sphen, which means wedge. This refers to their streamlined body shape. Its species name, demersus, is a Latin word for "plunging".
African Penguins grow to 68–70 cm (26.7–27.5 in) tall and weigh between 2
and 5 kg (4.4 and 11 lb). They have a black stripe and black spots on
the chest, the pattern of spots being unique for every penguin, like
human fingerprints. They have pink glands above their eyes, which are
used for thermoregulation.
The hotter the penguin gets, the more blood is sent to these glands so
it may be cooled by the surrounding air, thus making the glands more
pink. This species exhibits slight sexual dimorphism: the males are larger than the females and have larger beaks. The beak is more pointed than that of the Humboldt.
Their distinctive black and white colouring is a vital form of
camouflage– white for underwater predators looking upwards and black for
predators looking down onto the dark water. This is called countershading.
The African Penguin is found on the south-western coast of Africa, living in colonies on 24 islands between Namibia and Algoa Bay, near Port Elizabeth, South Africa. It is the only penguin species that breeds in Africa and its presence gave name to the Penguin Islands.
Two colonies were established by penguins in the 1980s on the mainland near Cape Town, namely Boulders Beach
near Simon's Town and Stony Point in Betty's Bay. Mainland colonies
probably only became possible in recent times due to the reduction of
predator numbers, although the Betty's Bay colony has been attacked by leopards. The only other mainland colony is in Namibia, but it is not known when this was established.
Boulders Beach is a tourist attraction, for the beach, swimming and the penguins. The penguins will allow people to approach them as close as a meter (three feet).
Diet
African Penguins forage in the open sea, where they pursue pelagic fish such as pilchards and anchovies (e.g. Engraulis capensis), and marine invertebrates such as squid and small crustaceans. A penguin may consume up to 540 grams of prey every day, but this may increase to over 1 kg when raising older chicks.
Breeding
The African Penguin is monogamous. It breeds in colonies, and pairs return to the same site each year. The African Penguin has an extended breeding season, with nesting usually peaking from March to May in South Africa, and November and December in Namibia.
A clutch of two eggs are laid either in burrows dug in guano, or
scrapes in the sand under boulders or bushes. Incubation is undertaken
equally by both parents for about 40 days. At least one parent guards
the chicks until about 30 days, whereafter the chick joins a creche with
other chicks, and both parents head out to sea to forage each day.
Chicks fledge at 60 to 130 days, the timing depending on
environmental factors such as quality and availability of food. The
fledged chick then go to sea on their own and return to their natal
colony after a lengthy time period of 12-22 months to molt into adult
plumage.
When penguins molt,
they are unable to forage as their new feathers are not waterproof yet;
therefore they fast over the entire molting period, which in African
Penguins takes about 20 days.
Predation
The average lifespan of an African Penguin is 10 to 27 years in the wild, and possibly longer in captivity. However, the African Penguin may often fall to predators.
Their predators in the ocean include sharks, Cape Fur Seals and, on occasion, orcas. Land-based enemies include mongooses, genets, domestic cats, and the Kelp Gull which steals their eggs and newborn chicks.
Conservation
Threats
Of the 1.5-million African Penguin population estimated in 1910, only
some 10% remained at the end of the 20th-century. African penguin
populations, which breed in Namibia and South Africa, have declined by
95 percent since preindustrial times.
Commercial fisheries have forced these penguins to search for prey
farther off shore, as well as making them eat less nutritious prey,
since their preferred prey has become scarce. Global climate change is also affecting these penguin's prey abundance.
As recently as the mid-twentieth century, penguin eggs were
considered a delicacy and were still being collected for sale.
Unfortunately, the practice was to smash eggs found a few days prior to
gathering, to ensure that only fresh ones were sold. This added to the
drastic decline of the penguin population around the Cape coast, a
decline which was hastened by the removal of guano
from islands for use as fertilizer, eliminating the burrowing material
used by penguins. Penguins remain susceptible to pollution of their
habitat by petrochemicals from spills, shipwrecks and cleaning of tankers while at sea.
Disaster struck on 23 June 2000, when the iron ore tanker MV Treasure sank between Robben Island and Dassen Island, South Africa. It released 1,300 tons of fuel oil, causing an unprecedented coastal bird crisis,
oiling 19,000 adult penguins at the height of the best breeding season
on record for this vulnerable species. The oiled birds were brought to
an abandoned train repair warehouse in Cape Town
to be cared for. An additional 19,500 un-oiled penguins were removed
from Dassen Island and other areas before they became oiled, and were
released about 800 kilometres east of Cape Town, near Port Elizabeth.
This gave workers enough time to clean up the oiled waters and shores
before the birds could complete their long swim home (which took the
penguins between 1 and 3 weeks). Some of the penguins were named and
radio-tracked as they swam back to their breeding grounds. Tens of
thousands of volunteers descended upon Cape Town to help with the rescue
and rehabilitation process, which was overseen by IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) and the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB),
and took more than three months to complete. This was the largest
animal rescue event in history; more than 91% of the penguins were
successfully rehabilitated and released - an amazing feat that could not
have been accomplished without such a tremendous international
response.
Conservation Status
The African Penguin is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. The African Penguin is listed in the Red Data Book as an endangered species.
In September 2010, the African Penguin was listed as endangered under the U.S.A Endangered Species Act.
Roughly 4 million penguins existed at the beginning of the last
century. The total population fell to 200 000 in the year 2000; ten
years later, in 2010, the number was estimated to be only at 55000. If
this decline is not halted, the African Penguin is expected to be
extinct within 15 years.
5000 breeding pairs were estimated to live in Namibia in 2008; in
2009, about 21 000 pairs were estimated to live in South Africa.
Mediation Efforts
Many organisations such as SANCCOB, Dyer Island Conservation Trust,
and the government are working tirelessly to halt the decline of the
African Penguin, through various measures: monitoring population trends,
hand-rearing and releasing abandoned chicks, setting up artificial
nests, and proclaiming marine reserves where fishing is prohibited.
CHINSTRAP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinstrap_Penguin
The Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus) is a species of penguin which is found in the South Sandwich Islands, Antarctica, the South Orkneys, South Shetland, South Georgia, Bouvet Island and Balleny.
Their name derives from the narrow black band under their heads which
makes it appear as if they are wearing black helmets, making them one of
the most easily identified types of penguin. Other names for them are
"Ringed Penguins", "Bearded Penguins", and "Stonecracker Penguins" due
to their harsh call.
Description
Chinstrap Penguins grow to 68 cm (27 in) in length, and a weight of 6 kg (13.2 lbs);
however, their weight can drop as low as 3 kg (6.6 lbs) depending on
the breeding cycle. Males are both larger and heavier than females.
The adult Chinstraps' flippers are black, with a white edge. The inner
sides of the flippers are white. The face is white extending behind the
eyes. The chin and throat are white as well. The short bill is black.
The eyes are reddish-brown. The strong legs and the webbed feet are
pink. Their diet consists of krill, shrimp and fish, for which they swim up to 80 km (50 mi) offshore each day.
The chinstrap penguin is able to withstand swimming in freezing
waters due to its tightly packed feathers, which provide a waterproof
coat. Thick blubber deposits provide insulation as well, and blood
vessels in the flippers and legs have evolved intricate structures to
preserve heat.
The chinstrap penguin's black-and-white plumage helps camouflage it
in the water from predators, such as seals. When seen from above, the
bird's black back blends into the dark water below, while the bird's
underside blends into the sunshine above when seen from below.
They live on barren islands and large icebergs of the sub-Antarctic Region and the Antarctic Peninsula; however, they generally require solid, snow-free ground to nest on. The Chinstrap Penguin's primary predator is the leopard seal. There are 12 - 13 million chinstrap penguins. They have an average life span of 15-20 years.
Predator
The predator of adult Chinstraps is the Leopard seal. Eggs and chicks
can fall prey to birds, such as sheathbills and the Brown skua.
Behavior
On land (and occasionally on icebergs) they build circular nests from
stones, and lay two eggs, which are incubated by both the male and the
female for shifts of 6 days. The chicks hatch after about 37 days, and
have fluffy gray backs and white fronts. The chicks stay in the nest for
20–30 days before they go to join a creche. At around 50–60 days old, they moult, gaining their adult feathers and go to sea.
Roy and Silo
In 2004, two male chinstrap penguins named Roy and Silo in Central Park Zoo, New York City, formed a pair-bond
and took turns trying to “hatch” a rock; this was substituted by a
keeper for a fertile egg, and the pair subsequently hatched and raised
the chick. Penguins, by their nature, hatch eggs and are social
creatures. A children's book, And Tango Makes Three, was written based on this event.
EMPEROR
The Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage
and size, reaching 122 cm (48 in) in height and weighing anywhere from
22 to 45 kg (49 to 99 lb). The dorsal side and head are black and
sharply delineated from the white belly, pale-yellow breast and
bright-yellow ear patches. Like all penguins it is flightless, with a
streamlined body, and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a
marine habitat.
Its diet consists primarily of fish, but can also include crustaceans, such as krill, and cephalopods, such as squid.
In hunting, the species can remain submerged up to 18 minutes, diving
to a depth of 535 m (1,755 ft). It has several adaptations to facilitate
this, including an unusually structured hemoglobin to allow it to function at low oxygen levels, solid bones to reduce barotrauma, and the ability to reduce its metabolism and shut down non-essential organ functions.
The Emperor Penguin is perhaps best known for the sequence of
journeys adults make each year in order to mate and to feed their
offspring. The only penguin species that breeds during the Antarctic
winter, it treks 50–120 km (31–75 mi) over the ice to breeding colonies
which may include thousands of individuals. The female lays a single
egg, which is incubated by the male while the female returns to the sea
to feed; parents subsequently take turns foraging at sea and caring for
their chick in the colony. The lifespan is typically 20 years in the
wild, although observations suggest that some individuals may live to
50 years of age.
The Emperor Penguin was described in 1844 by English zoologist George Robert Gray, who created its generic name from Ancient Greek word elements, ἀ-πτηνο-δύτης [a-ptēno-dytēs], "without-wings-diver". Its specific name is in honour of the German naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster, who accompanied Captain James Cook on his second Pacific Voyage and officially named five other penguin species.
Together with the similarly coloured but smaller King Penguin (A. patagonicus), the Emperor Penguin is one of two extant species in the genus Aptenodytes. Fossil evidence of a third species—Ridgen's Penguin (A. ridgeni)—has been found in fossil records from the late Pliocene, about three million years ago, in New Zealand. Studies of penguin behaviour and genetics have proposed that the genus Aptenodytes is basal; in other words, that it split off from a branch which led to all other living penguin species. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA evidence suggests this split occurred around 40 million years ago.
Description
The adult Emperor Penguin stands up to 122 cm (48 in) tall. The
weight ranges from 22.7 to 45.4 kg (50 to 100 lb) and varies by sex,
with males weighing more than females. The weight also varies by season, as both male and female penguins lose substantial mass while raising hatchlings and incubating
eggs. A male Emperor penguin must withstand the Antarctic cold for more
than two months to protect his eggs from extreme cold. During this
entire time he doesn't eat a thing. Most male penguins will lose about
12 kg (26 lb) while they wait for their babies to hatch.
The mean weight of males at the start of the breeding season is 38 kg
(84 lb) and that of females is 29.5 kg (65 lb). After the breeding
season this drops to 23 kg (51 lb) for both sexes.
Like all penguin species, the Emperor has a streamlined body to
minimise drag while swimming, and wings that have become stiff, flat
flippers. The tongue is equipped with rear-facing barbs to prevent prey from escaping when caught. Males and females are similar in size and colouration. The adult has deep black dorsal
feathers, covering the head, chin, throat, back, dorsal part of the
flippers, and tail. The black plumage is sharply delineated from the
light-coloured plumage elsewhere. The underparts of the wings and belly
are white, becoming pale yellow in the upper breast, while the ear
patches are bright yellow. The upper mandible of the 8 cm (3 in) long
bill is black, and the lower mandible can be pink, orange or lilac. In juveniles, the auricular patches, chin and throat are white, while its bill is black. The Emperor Penguin chick is typically covered with silver-grey down and has a black head and white mask. A chick with all-white plumage was found in 2001, but was not considered to be an albino as it did not have pink eyes. Chicks weigh around 315 g (11 oz) after hatching, and fledge when they reach about 50% of adult weight.
The Emperor Penguin's dark plumage fades to brown from November until February, before the yearly moult in January and February.
Moulting is rapid in this species compared with other birds, taking
only around 34 days. Emperor Penguin feathers emerge from the skin after
they have grown to a third of their total length, and before old
feathers are lost, to help reduce heat loss. New feathers then push out
the old ones before finishing their growth.
The average yearly survival rate of the Emperor Penguin has been
measured at 95.1%, with an average life expectancy of 19.9 years. The
same researchers estimated that 1% of Emperor Penguins hatched could
feasibly reach an age of 50 years. In contrast, only 19% of chicks survive their first year of life. Therefore, 80% of the Emperor Penguin population comprises adults five years and older.
Vocalization
As the species has no fixed nest sites that individuals can use to
locate their own partner or chick, the Emperor Penguin must rely on
vocal calls alone for identification. It uses a complex set of calls that are critical to individual recognition between parents, offspring, and mates, displaying the widest variation in individual calls of all penguins. Vocalizing Emperor Penguins use two frequency bands simultaneously. Chicks use a frequency-modulated whistle to beg for food and to contact parents.
Adaptations to cold
The Emperor Penguin breeds in the coldest environment of any bird species; air temperatures may reach −40 °C (−40 °F), and wind speeds may reach 144 km/h (89 mph). Water temperature is a frigid −1.8 °C (28.8 °F), which is much lower than the Emperor Penguin's average body temperature of 39 °C (102 °F). The species has adapted in several ways to counteract heat loss. Feathers provide 80–90% of its insulation, and it has a layer of sub-dermal fat which may be up to 3 cm (1.2 in) thick before breeding. This resultant blubber layer impedes the mobility of the Emperor on land compared to its less well fat-insulated cousin, the Magellanic Penguin.
Its stiff feathers are short, lanceolate (spear-shaped), and densely
packed over the entire skin surface. With around 100 feathers covering
one square inch (15 feathers per cm2), it has the highest feather density of any bird species.
An extra layer of insulation is formed by separate shafts of downy
filaments between feathers and skin. Muscles allow the feathers to be
held erect on land, reducing heat loss by trapping a layer of air next
to the skin. Conversely, the plumage is flattened in water, thus
waterproofing the skin and the downy underlayer. Preening is vital in facilitating insulation and in keeping the plumage oily and water-repellent.
The Emperor Penguin is able to thermoregulate
(maintain its core body temperature) without altering its metabolism,
over a wide range of temperatures. Known as the thermoneutral range,
this extends from -10 to 20 °C (14 to 68 °F). Below this temperature
range, its metabolic rate increases significantly, although an
individual can maintain its core temperature from 38.0 °C (100.4 °F) down to −47 °C (−53 °F).
Movement by swimming, walking, and shivering are three mechanisms for
increasing metabolism; a fourth process involves an increase in the
breakdown of fats by enzymes, which is induced by the hormone glucagon. At temperatures above 20 °C (68 °F),
an Emperor Penguin may become agitated as its body temperature and
metabolic rate rise to increase heat loss. Raising its wings and
exposing the undersides increases the exposure of its body surface to
the air by 16%, facilitating further heat loss.
Adaptations to pressure and low oxygen
In addition to the cold, the Emperor Penguin encounters another
stressful condition on deep dives —markedly increased pressure of up to
40 times that of the surface, which in most other terrestrial organisms
would cause barotrauma. The bones of the penguin are solid rather than air-filled,
which eliminates the risk of mechanical barotrauma. However, it is
unknown how the species avoids the effects of nitrogen-induced decompression sickness.
While diving, the Emperor Penguin's oxygen use is markedly reduced,
as its heart rate is reduced to as low as 15-20 beats per minute and
non-essential organs are shut down, thus facilitating longer dives. Its hemoglobin and myoglobin
are able to bind and transport oxygen at low blood concentrations; this
allows the bird to function with very low oxygen levels that would
otherwise result in loss of consciousness.
Distribution and habitat
The Emperor Penguin has a circumpolar distribution in the Antarctic
almost exclusively between the 66° and 77° south latitudes. It almost
always breeds on stable pack ice near the coast and up to 18 km (11 mi)
offshore. Breeding colonies are usually located in areas where ice cliffs and icebergs shelter them from the wind.
The total population is estimated at around 400,000–450,000
individuals, which are distributed among as many as 40 independent
colonies. Around 80,000 pairs breed in the Ross Sea sector. Major breeding colonies are located at Cape Washington (20,000–25,000 pairs), Coulman Island in Victoria Land (around 22,000 pairs), Halley Bay, Coats Land (14,300–31,400 pairs), and Atka Bay in Queen Maud Land (16,000 pairs). Two land colonies have been reported: one on a shingle spit at Dion Island on the Antarctic Peninsula, and one on a headland at Taylor Glacier in the Australian Antarctic Territory. Vagrants have been recorded on Heard Island, South Georgia, and in New Zealand.
Conservation status
The Emperor Penguin is listed as a species of "least concern" by the IUCN. Along with nine other species of penguin, it is currently under consideration for inclusion under the US Endangered Species Act. The primary reasons for this are declining food availability due to the effects of climate change
and industrial fisheries on the crustacean and fish populations. Other
reasons for their potential placement on this list include disease, habitat destruction, and disturbance at breeding colonies by humans. Of particular concern is the impact of tourism.
One study has shown Emperor Penguin chicks in a créche to become more
apprehensive following helicopter approach to 1,000 m (3,281 ft).
Population declines of 50% in the Terre Adélie
region have been observed due to increased adult mortality, especially
of males, during an abnormally prolonged warm period in the late 1970s,
which resulted in reduced sea-ice coverage. On the other hand, egg
hatching success rates declined when the sea-ice extent increased. The
species is therefore considered to be highly sensitive to climatic
changes.
A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution study in January 2009 found Emperor Penguins could be pushed to the brink of extinction by the year 2100
due to global climate change. By applying mathematical models to
predict how the loss of sea ice from climate warming would affect a big
colony of Emperor Penguins at Terre Adélie, Antarctica,
they forecast a decline of 87% in the colony's population by the end of
the century, from the current 3,000 breeding pairs in the colony to 400
breeding pairs. The decline may be mirrored in the whole Emperor
Penguin population, estimated at about 200,000 breeding pairs.
In 2009, satellite images of areas of excrement-stained ice that are
large enough to be visible from space helped scientists to discover ten
previously unknown emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica.
Behaviour
The Emperor Penguin is a social animal in its nesting and its foraging behaviour; birds hunting together may coordinate their diving and surfacing.
Individuals may be active day or night. A mature adult travels
throughout most of the year between the nesting area and ocean foraging
areas; the species disperses into the oceans from January to March.
The American physiologist
Gerry Kooyman revolutionized the study of penguin foraging behaviour in
1971 when he published his results from attaching automatic
dive-recording devices to Emperor Penguins. He found that the species
reaches depths of 265 m (869 ft), with dive periods of up to 18 minutes. Later research revealed a small female had dived to a depth of 535 m (1,755 ft) near McMurdo Sound.
It is possible that the Emperor Penguin can dive even deeper, as the
accuracy of the recording devices is diminished at greater depths.
Further study of one bird's diving behaviour revealed regular dives to
150 m (490 ft) in water around 900 m (3,000 ft) deep, and shallow dives
of less than 50 m (160 ft), interspersed with deep dives of more than
400 m (1,300 ft) in depths of 450 to 500 m (1,480 to 1,600 ft). This was suggestive of feeding near or at the sea bottom.
Both male and female Emperor Penguins forage for food up to 500 km
(311 mi) from colonies while collecting food to feed chicks, covering
82–1,454 km (51–903 mi) per individual per trip. A male returning to the
sea after incubation heads directly out to areas of permanent open
water, known as polynyas, around 100 km (62 mi) from the colony.
An efficient swimmer, the Emperor Penguin exerts pressure with both its upward and downward strokes while swimming. The upward stroke works against buoyancy and helps maintain depth. Its average swimming speed is 6–9 km/h (4–6 mph).
On land, the Emperor Penguin alternates between walking with a wobbling
gait and tobogganing—sliding over the ice on its belly, propelled by
its feet and wing-like flippers. Like all penguins, it is flightless.
As a defence against the cold, a colony of Emperor Penguins forms a
compact huddle (also known as the turtle formation) ranging in size from
ten to several hundred birds, with each bird leaning forward on a
neighbour. Those on the outside upwind tend to shuffle slowly around the
edge of the formation and add themselves to its leeward edge, producing
a slow churning action, and giving each bird a turn on the inside and
on the outside.
Diet
The Emperor Penguin's diet consists mainly of fish, crustaceans and cephalopods, although its composition varies from population to population. Fish are usually the most important food source, and the Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarcticum) makes up the bulk of the bird's diet. Other prey commonly recorded include other fish of the family Nototheniidae, the Glacial Squid (Psychroteuthis glacialis), and the hooked squid species Kondakovia longimana, as well as Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba). The Emperor Penguin searches for prey in the open water of the Southern Ocean, in either ice-free areas of open water or tidal cracks in pack ice. One of its feeding strategies is to dive to around 50 m (164 ft), where it can easily spot sympagic fish like the Bald notothen (Pagothenia borchgrevinki)
swimming against the bottom surface of the sea-ice; it swims up to the
bottom of the ice and catches the fish. It then dives again and repeats
the sequence about half a dozen times before surfacing to breathe.
Predators
The Emperor Penguin's predators include birds and aquatic mammals. The Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus)
is the predominant land predator of chicks, responsible for up to 34%
of chick deaths in some colonies though they often scavenge dead
penguins as well. The South Polar Skua (Stercorarius maccormicki)
mainly scavenges for dead chicks, as the live chicks are too large to
be attacked by the time of its annual arrival in the colony.
The known aquatic predators are both mammals: the Leopard Seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), which takes some adult birds, as well as fledglings soon after they enter the water, and the Orca (Orcinus orca), which takes adult birds.
If one of a breeding pair dies or is killed during the breeding
season, the surviving parent must abandon its egg or young and go back
to the sea to feed.
Courtship and breeding
The Emperor Penguin is able to breed at around three years of age,
and usually commences breeding around one to three years later.
The yearly reproductive cycle begins at the start of the Antarctic
winter, in March and April, when all mature Emperor Penguins travel to
colonial nesting areas, often walking 50 to 120 km (31 to 75 mi) inland
from the edge of the pack ice.
The start of travel appears to be triggered by decreasing day lengths;
Emperor Penguins in captivity have been induced successfully into
breeding by using lighting systems mimicking seasonal Antarctic day
lengths.
The penguins start courtship in March or April, when the temperature can be as low as −40 °C (−40 °F).
A lone male gives an ecstatic display, where it stands still and places
its head on its chest before inhaling and giving a courtship call for
1–2 seconds; it then moves around the colony and repeats the call. A
male and female then stand face to face, with one extending its head and
neck up and the other mirroring it; they both hold this posture for
several minutes. Once in pairs, couples waddle around the colony
together, with the female usually following the male. Before copulation, one bird bows deeply to its mate, its bill pointed close to the ground, and its mate then does the same.
Emperor Penguins are serially monogamous. They have only one mate each year, and stay faithful to that mate. However, fidelity between years is only about 15%.
The narrow window of opportunity available for mating appears to be an
influence, as there is a priority to mate and breed which often
precludes waiting for the appearance of the previous year's partner.
The female penguin lays one 460–470 g (1 lb) egg in May or early June; it is vaguely pear-shaped, pale greenish-white, and measures around 12 × 8 cm (4¾ x 3 in).
It represents just 2.3% of its mother's body weight, making it one of
the smallest eggs relative to the maternal weight in any bird species.
15.7% of the weight of an Emperor Penguin egg is shell; like those of
other penguin species, the shell is relatively thick, which minimises
risk of breakage.
After laying, the mother's nutritional reserves are exhausted and she
very carefully transfers the egg to the male, before immediately
returning to the sea for two months to feed.
The transfer of the egg can be awkward and difficult, and many couples
drop the egg in the process. When this happens, the chick inside is
quickly lost, as the egg cannot withstand the freezing temperatures on
the icy ground. The male spends the winter incubating the egg in his brood pouch, balancing it on the tops of his feet, for 64 consecutive days until hatching.
The Emperor Penguin is the only species where this behaviour is
observed; in all other penguin species both parents take shifts
incubating. By the time the egg hatches, the male will have fasted for around 115 days since arriving at the colony.
To survive the cold and winds of up to 200 km/h (120 mph), the males
huddle together, taking turns in the middle of the huddle. They have
also been observed with their backs to the wind to conserve body heat.
In the four months of travel, courtship, and incubation, the male may
lose as much as 20 kg (44 lb), from around 38 kg to just 18 kg (84 lb to
40 lb).
Hatching may take as long as two or three days to complete, as the shell of the egg is thick. Newly hatched chicks are semi-altricial, covered with only a thin layer of down and entirely dependent on their parents for food and warmth. If the chick hatches before the mother's return, the father feeds it a curd-like substance composed of 59% protein and 28% lipid, which is produced by a gland in his esophagus. The young chick is brooded in what is called the guard phase, spending time balanced on its parent's feet and sheltered in the brood pouch.
The female penguin returns at any time from hatching to ten days afterwards, from mid-July to early August.
She finds her mate among the hundreds of fathers by his vocal call and
takes over caring for the chick, feeding it by regurgitating the food
that she has stored in her stomach. The male then leaves to take his
turn at sea, spending around 24 days there before returning. The parents then take turns, one brooding while the other forages at sea.
About 45–50 days after hatching, the chicks form a crèche,
huddling together for warmth and protection. During this time, both
parents forage at sea and return periodically to feed their chicks.
A crèche may comprise up to several thousand birds densely packed
together and is essential for surviving the low Antarctic temperatures.
From early November, chicks begin moulting into juvenile plumage,
which takes up to two months and is often not completed by the time they
leave the colony; adults cease feeding them during this time. All birds
make the considerably shorter trek to the sea in December or January
and spend the rest of the summer feeding there.
Relationship with humans
The species has been bred outside Antarctica at SeaWorld San Diego; more than 20 individuals have hatched there since 1980. Considered a flagship species, 55 individuals were counted in captivity in North American zoos and aquaria in 1999. The species is kept in captivity in only two places in the world.
Penguin rescue, rehabilitation and release
In June 2011, a juvenile Emperor Penguin was found on a beach north of Wellington
in New Zealand. He had been consuming 3 kg of sand, which he had
mistaken for snow, as well as sticks and stones, and had to undergo a
number of operations to remove these and save his life. Following
recovery, on 4 September, the juvenile, named "Happy Feet" (after the
name of the 2006 film), was fitted with a tracking device and released into the Southern Ocean 80 km north of Campbell Island.
However, 8 days later scientists lost contact with the bird, suggesting
that the transmitter had fallen off (considered likely) or that he had
been eaten by a predator (considered less likely).
Cultural references
The species' unique life cycle in such a harsh environment has been described in print and visual media. Apsley Cherry-Garrard,
the Antarctic explorer, said: "Take it all in all, I do not believe
anybody on Earth has a worse time than an Emperor Penguin". Widely distributed in cinemas in 2005, the French documentary La Marche de l'empereur, which was also released with the English title March of the Penguins, told the story of the penguins' reproductive cycle. The subject has been covered for the small screen three times by the BBC and presenter David Attenborough, first in episode five of the 1993 series on the Antarctic Life in the Freezer, again in the 2006 series Planet Earth, and finally Frozen Planet in 2011.
The computer-animated movie Happy Feet
(2006) features Emperor Penguins as its primary characters, with one in
particular that loves to dance; although a comedy, it too depicts their
life cycle and promotes an underlying serious environmental message of
threats from global warming and depletion of food sources by
overfishing. The computer-animated movie Surf's Up (2007) features a surfing Emperor Penguin named Zeke "Big-Z" Topanga.
More than 30 countries have depicted the bird on their stamps –
Australia, Great Britain, Chile and France have each issued several. It has also been depicted on a 1962 10 franc stamp as part of an Antarctic expedition series. Canadian band The Tragically Hip included a song 'Emperor Penguin' on their 1998 album Phantom Power.
ERECT-CRESTED
The Erect-crested Penguin (Eudyptes sclateri) is a penguin from New Zealand. It breeds on the Bounty and Antipodes Islands.
This is a small-to-medium-sized, yellow-crested, black-and-white
penguin, at 50–70 cm (20–28 in) and weighing 2.5–6 kg (5.5–13 lb). As in
all penguin species, the male is slightly larger than the female and
the birds weigh the most prior to moulting.
It has bluish-black to jet black upperparts and white underparts, and a
broad, bright yellow eyebrow-stripe which extends over the eye to form a
short, erect crest.
Its biology is poorly studied and only little information about the
species has emerged in the past decades. Erect-crested Penguins nest in
large colonies on rocky terrain. It presumably feeds on mainly krill and squid like other crested penguin species.
The binomial commemorates the British zoologist Philip Lutley Sclater.
This species is threatened by population decline, and a small
breeding range restricted to two locations. The current population is
estimated at 154,000. In addition to being listed as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List, the Erect-crested Penguin is listed as endangered and granted protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
The mascot character of the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion is an erect-crested penguin named Pen Pen.
FIORLAND
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiordland_Penguin
The Fiordland Crested Penguin (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus), also known as Tawaki (Maori), is a species of crested penguin from New Zealand. It breeds along the Fiordland coast and its outlying islands as well as on Stewart Island/Rakiura.
Also known as the Fiordland Crested Penguin, the Fiordland Penguin was described in 1845 by English zoologist George Robert Gray, its specific epithet derived from the Ancient Greek pachy-/παχυ- 'thick' and rhynchos/ρυνχος 'beak'. It is one of six species in the genus Eudyptes, the generic name derived from the Ancient Greek eu/ευ 'good' and dyptes/δυπτης 'diver'.
Description
They are medium-sized, yellow-crested, black-and-white penguins, growing to approximately 60 cm (24 in) long and weighing on average 3.7 kg (8.2 lbs), with a weight range of 2 to 5.95 kg (4.4 to 13.1 lb). It has dark, bluish-grey upperparts with a darker head, and white underparts. It has a broad, yellow eyebrow-stripe which extends over the eye and drops down the neck. Most birds have 3-6 whitish stripes on the face.Distribution and habitat
This penguin nests in colonies in dense temperate forest. It breeds along the Fiordland coast and its outlying islands as well as on Stewart Island/Rakiura.Diet
The main prey species reported for Fiordland penguins are cephalopods (85%, mainly Arrow squid, Nototodarus sloanii), followed by crustaceans (13%, primarily Krill, Nyctiphanes australis) and fish (2%, mainly Red Cod and Hoki). However, the importance of cephalopods might be exaggerated.Conservation
The current status of this penguin is threatened due to its small population. Current population estimates range between 2,500-3,000 pairs and is thought to have declined since the late 1980s by around 33%. It is under threat from introduced predators including dogs, cats, stoats and rats.
GALAPAGOS
The Galapagos Penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) is a penguin endemic to the Galapagos Islands. It is the only penguin that lives north of the equator in the wild; it can survive due to the cool temperatures resulting from the Humboldt Current and cool waters from great depths brought up by the Cromwell Current. The Galapagos Penguin is one of the banded penguins, the other species of which occur mostly on the coasts of mainland South America, and Africa.
Description
The average Galapagos Penguin is 49 centimetres (19 in) long and 2.5 kilograms (5.5 lb) in weight. They have a black head with a white border running from behind the eye, around the black ear-coverts and chin, to join on the throat. They have blackish-grey upperparts and whitish underparts, with two black bands across the breast, the lower band extending down the flanks to the thigh. Juveniles differ in having a wholly dark head, greyer on side and chin, and no breast-band. The female penguins are smaller than the males,
but are otherwise quite similar.
The Galapagos Penguin is the third smallest species of penguin.
While ninety percent of the Galapagos Penguins live among the western islands of Fernandina and Isabela, they also occur on Santiago, Bartolome, northern Santa Cruz, and Floreana. The northern tip of Isabela crosses the equator, meaning that Galápagos Penguins occasionally visit the northern hemisphere, the only penguins to do so.
The temperature at the islands stays between 15 and 28 degrees Celsius (59–82 °F). During El Niño seasons, the penguins put off breeding since their food becomes less abundant; this makes the chances of raising offspring successfully unfavorable compared to the chances of dying in the attempt. They usually breed when the sea surface temperature is below 24 degrees Celsius (75 °F) which results in more food for them. The strong sun is the main problem for the penguins. Their primary means of cooling off is going into the water, but they have other behavioral adaptations because of all the time they spend on land. They use two methods of thermoregulation in warmer weather on land. One is by stretching out their flippers and hunching forward to keep the sun from shining on their feet, since they can lose heat from their flippers due to the blood flow there. They also pant, using evaporation to cool the throat and airways.
The species is endangered, with an estimated population size of around 1,500 individuals in 2004, according to a survey by the Charles Darwin Research Station. The population underwent an alarming decline of over 70% in the 1980s, but is slowly recovering. It is therefore the rarest penguin species (a status which is often falsely attributed to the Yellow-eyed Penguin). Population levels are influenced by the effects of the El Niño Southern Oscillation, which reduces the availability of shoaling fish, leading to low reproduction or starvation. However, anthropogenic factors (e.g. oil pollution, fishing by-catch and competition) may be adding to the ongoing demise of this species. On Isabela Island, introduced cats, dogs and rats attack penguins and destroy their nests. When in the water, they are preyed upon by sharks, fur seals, and sea lions.
The average Galapagos Penguin is 49 centimetres (19 in) long and 2.5 kilograms (5.5 lb) in weight. They have a black head with a white border running from behind the eye, around the black ear-coverts and chin, to join on the throat. They have blackish-grey upperparts and whitish underparts, with two black bands across the breast, the lower band extending down the flanks to the thigh. Juveniles differ in having a wholly dark head, greyer on side and chin, and no breast-band. The female penguins are smaller than the males,
but are otherwise quite similar.
The Galapagos Penguin is the third smallest species of penguin.
Distribution
The Galapagos Penguin occurs primarily on Fernandina Island and the west coast of Isabela Island, but small populations are scattered on other islands in the Galapagos archipelago.While ninety percent of the Galapagos Penguins live among the western islands of Fernandina and Isabela, they also occur on Santiago, Bartolome, northern Santa Cruz, and Floreana. The northern tip of Isabela crosses the equator, meaning that Galápagos Penguins occasionally visit the northern hemisphere, the only penguins to do so.
Ecology and behavior
The penguins stay in the archipelago. They stay by the Cromwell Current during the day since it is cooler and return to the land at night. They eat small schooling fish, mainly mullet, sardines, and sometimes crustaceans. They only go search for food during the day and normally within a few kilometers of their breeding site. They depend on the cold nutrient-rich currents to bring them food.The temperature at the islands stays between 15 and 28 degrees Celsius (59–82 °F). During El Niño seasons, the penguins put off breeding since their food becomes less abundant; this makes the chances of raising offspring successfully unfavorable compared to the chances of dying in the attempt. They usually breed when the sea surface temperature is below 24 degrees Celsius (75 °F) which results in more food for them. The strong sun is the main problem for the penguins. Their primary means of cooling off is going into the water, but they have other behavioral adaptations because of all the time they spend on land. They use two methods of thermoregulation in warmer weather on land. One is by stretching out their flippers and hunching forward to keep the sun from shining on their feet, since they can lose heat from their flippers due to the blood flow there. They also pant, using evaporation to cool the throat and airways.
The species is endangered, with an estimated population size of around 1,500 individuals in 2004, according to a survey by the Charles Darwin Research Station. The population underwent an alarming decline of over 70% in the 1980s, but is slowly recovering. It is therefore the rarest penguin species (a status which is often falsely attributed to the Yellow-eyed Penguin). Population levels are influenced by the effects of the El Niño Southern Oscillation, which reduces the availability of shoaling fish, leading to low reproduction or starvation. However, anthropogenic factors (e.g. oil pollution, fishing by-catch and competition) may be adding to the ongoing demise of this species. On Isabela Island, introduced cats, dogs and rats attack penguins and destroy their nests. When in the water, they are preyed upon by sharks, fur seals, and sea lions.
Breeding
Most nests are seen between May and January. The nests are made within 50 metres (160 ft) of the water on the shore. Adults stay near the breeding area during the year with their mate that they have chosen for life. When the penguins are breeding, incubation takes 38–40 days with both parents helping out. After thirty days of the chicks being born and both parents sharing responsibility of taking care of them, the chicks have feathers that are brown above and white below. The purpose of this is to protect the chicks from the strong sun more so than keeping them warm. The Galápagos Penguin mates for life. It lays one or two eggs in places such as caves and crevices, protected from direct sunlight, which can lead to the eggs overheating. One parent will always stay with the eggs or chicks while the other is absent for several days to feed. The parents usually only rear up one child. If there is not enough food available, the nest may be abandoned. Bermudian naturalist Louis L. Mowbray was the first who successfully bred the Galapagos Penguin in captivity.Predators
Because of the Galapagos Penguin’s smaller size, it has many predators. On land, the penguins must keep an eye out for crabs, snakes, owls, and hawks, while in the water they must avoid sharks, fur seals, and sea lions. They face many hazards due to humans, as well as the hazards of unreliable food resources and volcanic activity. Illegal fishermen interrupt the penguins’ nesting trees, and they are often caught in fishing nets by mistake. Much balance has to take place to ensure that the Galápagos Penguins do not become extinct.
GENTOO
The Gentoo Penguin , Pygoscelis papua, is easily recognized by the wide white stripe extending like a bonnet
across the top of its head and its bright orange-red bill. The gentoo
penguin has pale whitish-pink webbed feet and a fairly long tail - the
most prominent tail of all penguins. Chicks have grey backs with white
fronts. As the Gentoo penguin waddles along on land, its tail sticks out
behind, sweeping from side to side, hence the scientific name
Pygoscelis, which means ‘rump-tailed’. Adult Gentoos reach a height of 51 to 90 cm (20–36 in), making them the third largest species of penguin after the two giant species, the Emperor Penguin and the King Penguin.
The Gentoo penguin calls in a variety of ways, but the most frequently
heard is a loud trumpeting which is emitted with its head thrown back.
The application of Gentoo to the penguin is unclear, according to the OED, which reports that Gentoo was an Anglo-Indian term, used as early as 1638 to distinguish Hindus in India from Muslims, the English term originating in Portuguese gentio (compare "gentile"); in the twentieth century the term came to be regarded as derogatory.
The Gentoo Penguin is one of three species in the genus Pygoscelis. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA
evidence suggests the genus split from other penguins around 38 million
years ago, about 2 million years after the ancestors of the genus Aptenodytes.
In turn, the Adelie Penguins split off from the other members of the
genus around 19 million years ago, and the Chinstrap and Gentoo finally
diverging around 14 million years ago.
Two sub-species of this penguin are recognised: Pygoscelis papua papua and the smaller Pygoscelis papua ellsworthii'
Description
Males have a maximum weight of about 8.5 kg (19 lb) just before molting,
and a minimum weight of about 4.9 kg (10.8 lb) just before mating. For
females the maximum weight is 8.2 kg (18 lb) just before moulting, but
their weight drops to as little as 4.5 kg (10 lb) when guarding the
chicks in the nest.
Birds from the north are on average 700 g (1.5 lb) heavier and 10 cm
(4 in) taller than southern birds Gentoo penguin reaches 75–80 cm. They are the fastest underwater swimming penguins, reaching speeds of 36 km/h. Gentoo are adapted to very harsh cold climates.
Breeding
Gentoos breed on many sub-Antarctic islands. The main colonies are on the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Kerguelen Islands; smaller populations are found on Macquarie Island, Heard Islands, South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. The total breeding population is estimated to be over 300,000 pairs.
Nests are usually made from a roughly circular pile of stones and can
be quite large, 20 cm high and 25 cm in diameter. The stones are
jealously guarded and their ownership can be the subject of noisy
disputes between individual penguins. They are also prized by the
females, even to the point that a male penguin can obtain the favors of a
female by offering her a nice stone.
Two eggs are laid, both weighing around 500 g. The parents share
incubation, changing duty daily. The eggs hatch after 34 to 36 days. The
chicks remain in the nests for about 30 days before forming creches. The chicks molt into sub-adult plumage and go out to sea at about 80 to 100 days.
Diet
Gentoos live mainly on crustaceans such as krill, with fish
making up only about 15% of the diet. However, they are opportunistic
feeders, and around the Falklands are known to take roughly equal
proportions of fish (Patagonotothen sp., Thysanopsetta naresi, Micromesistius australis), crustaceans (Munida gregaria) and squid (Loligo gahi, Gonatus antarcticus, Moroteuthis ingens).
Threats
In the water, sea lions, leopard seals, and orca are all predators of the Gentoo. On land there are no predators of full grown Gentoos. Skua can steal their eggs; however, some other seabirds have managed to snatch chicks.
HUMBOLDT
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_Penguin
The Humboldt Penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) (also termed Peruvian Penguin, or Patranca) is a South American penguin, that breeds in coastal Peru and Chile. Its nearest relatives are the African Penguin, the Magellanic Penguin and the Galápagos Penguin. The penguin is named after the cold water current it swims in, which is itself named after Alexander von Humboldt, an explorer.
Humboldt Penguins are medium-sized penguins, growing to 56–70 cm (22–28 in) long and a weight of 3.6-5.9 kg (8-13 lbs). They have a black head with a white border that runs from behind the eye, around the black ear-coverts and chin, and joins at the throat. They have blackish-grey upperparts and whitish underparts, with a black breast-band that extends down the flanks to the thigh. They have a fleshy-pink base to the bill. Juveniles have dark heads and no breast-band. They have spines on their tongue which they use to hold their prey.
Range and habitat
Humboldt Penguins nest on islands and rocky coasts, burrowing holes in guano and sometimes using scrapes or caves. In South America the Humboldt Penguin is found only along the Pacific coast, and the range of the Humboldt Penguin overlaps that of the Magellanic Penguin on the central Chilean coast.Conservation
The current status of this penguin is threatened, due to a declining population caused in part by over-fishing, climate change, and ocean acidification. Historically it was the victim of guano over-exploitation. Penguins are also declining in numbers due to habitat destruction. The current population is estimated at between 3,300 and 12,000. In August 2010 the Humboldt penguin of Chile and Peru, was granted protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.Raising of young
In 2009 at a zoo in Bremerhaven, Germany, two adult male Humboldt penguins adopted an egg that had been abandoned by its biological parents. After the egg hatched, the two male penguins raised, protected, cared for, and fed the chick in the same manner that regular penguin couples raise their own biological offspring.
KING
The King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) is the second largest species of penguin at about 11 to 16 kg (24 to 35 lb), second only to the Emperor Penguin. There are two subspecies—A. p. patagonicus and A. p. halli; patagonicus is found in the South Atlantic and halli elsewhere.
King Penguins eat small fish, mainly lanternfish, and squid and rely less than most Southern Ocean predators on krill and other crustaceans. On foraging trips they repeatedly dive to over 100 metres (330 ft), often over 200 metres (660 ft).
King Penguins breed on the subantarctic islands at the northern reaches of Antarctica,
South Georgia, and other temperate islands of the region. The total
population is estimated to be 2.23 million pairs and is increasing.
Taxonomy
The King Penguin was described in 1778 by English naturalist and illustrator John Frederick Miller, its generic name derived from the Ancient Greek a/α 'without' pteno-/πτηνο- 'able to fly' or 'winged' and dytes/δυτης 'diver'. Its specific epithet patagonicus derived from Patagonia.
Together with the similarly coloured but larger Emperor Penguin (A. forsteri), it is one of two extant species in the genus Aptenodytes. Fossil evidence of a third species—Ridgen's Penguin (A. ridgeni)—has been found in fossil records from the late Pliocene, about three million years ago, in New Zealand. Studies of penguin behaviour and genetics have proposed that the genus Aptenodytes is basal; in other words, that it split off from a branch which led to all other living penguin species. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA evidence suggests this split occurred around 40 million years ago.
Subspecies
Description
The King Penguin is the second largest species of penguin at about 90 cm (3.0 ft) tall and weighing 11 to 16 kg (24 to 35 lb), second only to the Emperor Penguin.
Like all penguin species, it has a streamlined body to minimise drag
while swimming, webbed feet to propel more force when swimming, and
wings that have become stiff, flat flippers. There is little difference in plumage between the male and female, although the latter are slightly smaller.
The upper parts features of the King penguin include a silvery-grey
back with a blackish-brown head decorated with ear patches of bright
golden-orange. However, rare individuals have been sighted that have
varying degrees of melanism, including one individual spotted on a National Geographic Society expedition to South Georgia Island that was completely black.
The 12–13 cm (4¾–5 in) black bill is long and slender, and curved
downwards like a banana peel. The lower mandible bears a striking pink
or orange-coloured mandibular plate.
An immature bird will have yellow, rather than orange-tinged markings, and grey tips to its black brown feathers. It moults into adult plumage at after reaching two years of age.
The chick is first covered with brown-grey down, before moulting into
a thick, woolly brown coat borne until around 10–12 months of age.
Their mandibular plates are black until the moult into immature plumage.
Adaptations to the environment
King penguins have adapted well to their extreme living conditions in
the subantarctic. To keep warm, the penguins have four layers of
feathering. King Penguins have 70 feathers per every square inch. The
outer layer of feathers are oiled and waterproof, unlike the feathering of a duck, which reduces the amount of water absorbed that would otherwise increase their weight. The inner three layers are down feathers,
very effective insulation. A chick is born without the oily outer
layer, and therefore cannot fish until maturity. A King Penguin chick
has dark down feathers. They remain on land and do not go into the water
until their down feathers have fallen off.
Drinking
Like most penguins, King Penguins are able to drink salt water because of their supraorbital glands
which filter excess salt from their blood stream by way of a capillary
just above the eyes. The excess salt is then expelled through the
nostrils as a concentrated brine.
Distribution and habitat
King Penguins breed on subantarctic islands between 45 and 55°S, at the northern reaches of Antarctica, as well as Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, and other temperate islands of the region. The total population is estimated to be 2.23 million pairs and is increasing.
The largest breeding populations are on Crozet Island, with around
455,000 pairs, 228,000 pairs on the Prince Edward Islands,
240,000–280,000 on the Kerguelen Islands and over 100,000 on the South
Georgia Islands. Macquarie Island has around 70,000 pairs. The
non-breeding range is poorly known though presumably the subantarctic
waters of the southern Indian, South Atlantic and Asian part of the
Southern Ocean. Vagrant birds have been recorded from the Antarctic
peninsula as well as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
The Nature Protection Society released King Penguins in Gjesvær in Finnmark, and Røst in Lofoten
in northern Norway in August 1936. Birds were reported in the area
several times in the 1940s though none have been seen since 1949.
Behaviour
The American sicophysiologist
Gerry Kooyman revolutionized the study of penguin foraging behaviour in
1971 when he published his results from attaching automatic
dive-recording devices to Emperor Penguins, and recording a dive of 235 metres (771 ft) by a King Penguin in 1982. The current maximum dive recorded is 343 metres in the Falkland Islands region, and a maximum time submerged of 552 seconds recorded at the Crozet Islands.
The King Penguin dives to depths of 100–300 meters (350–1000 feet),
spending around 5 minutes submerged, during daylight hours, and less
than 30 metres (98 ft) at night.
The majority (around 88% in one study) of dives undertaken by King
Penguins are flat-bottomed; that is, the penguin dives to a certain
depth and remains there for a period of time hunting (roughly 50% of
total dive time) before returning to the surface. They have been
described as U-shaped or W-shaped, relating to the course of the dive.
The bird dives in a V-shaped or 'spike' pattern in the remaining 12% of
dives; that is the bird dives at an angle through the water column,
reaches a certain depth and then returns to the surface. Other penguins
dive in this latter foraging pattern in contrast. Observations at Crozet Islands revealed most King Penguins were seen within 30 km (19 mi) of the colony. Using the average swimming speed, Kooyman estimated the distance travelled to foraging areas at 28 km (17 mi).
Its average swimming speed is 6.5–10 km/h (4–6 mph). On shallower
dives under 60 m (200 ft), it averages 2 km/h (1.2 mph) descending and
ascending, while on deeper dives over 150 m (490 ft) deep, it averages
5 km/h (3.1 mph) in both directions.
On land, the King Penguin alternates between walking with a wobbling
gait and tobogganing—sliding over the ice on its belly, propelled by its
feet and wing-like flippers. Like all penguins, it is flightless.
Diet
King penguins eat small fish, and squid and rely less than most Southern Ocean predators on krill and other crustaceans. Fish constitute 80–100% of the diet, except in winter months of July and August, when they make up only 30%. Lanternfish are the main fish taken, principally the species Electrona carlsbergi and Krefftichthys anderssoni, as well as Protomyctophum tenisoni. Slender escolar (Paradiplospinus gracilis) of the Gempylidae, and Champsocephalus gunneri, is also consumed. Cephalopods consumed include those of the genus Moroteuthis, the hooked squid species Kondakovia longimana, the Sevenstar Flying Squid (Martialia hyadesii), young Gonatus antarcticus and Onychoteuthis species.
Predators
The King Penguin's predators include birds and aquatic mammals; Skua species (Stercorarius spp.) take small chicks and eggs, while the Snowy Sheathbill (Chionis alba) scavenges for dead chicks and unattended eggs. The Leopard Seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) takes adult birds at sea. Orcas may also hunt king penguins.
Courtship and breeding
The King Penguin is able to breed at three years of age, although
only a very small minority (5% recorded at Crozet Islands) actually do
then; the average age of first breeding is around 6 years. King Penguins are serially monogamous. They have only one mate each year, and stay faithful to that mate. However, fidelity between years is only about 29%. The long breeding cycle may contribute to this low rate.
The King Penguin has an unusually prolonged breeding cycle, taking some 14–16 months from laying to offspring fledging.
Although pairs will attempt to breed annually, they are generally only
successful one year in two, or two years in three in a triennial pattern
on South Georgia.
The reproductive cycle begins in September to November, as birds return
to colonies for a prenuptial moult. Those that were unsuccessful in
breeding the previous season will often arrive earlier. They then return
to the sea for three weeks before coming ashore in November or
December. The female penguin lays one pyriform (pear-shaped) white egg weighing 300 g (⅔ lb). It is initially soft, but hardens and darkens to a pale greenish colour. It measures around 10 × 7 cm (3.9 × 2.8 in).
The egg is incubated for around 55 days with both birds sharing
incubation in shifts of 6–18 days each. Hatching may take up to 2–3 days
to complete, and chicks are born semi-altricial and nidicolous. In other words, they have only a thin covering of down and are entirely dependent on their parents for food and warmth. The young chick is brooded in what is called the guard phase, spending its time balanced on its parents' feet and sheltered by its pouch.
During this time, the parents alternate every 3–7 days, one incubating
while the other forages. This period lasts for 30–40 days before the
chicks form crèches,
a group of many chicks together. A penguin can leave its chick at a
crèche while it fishes as a few adult penguins stay behind to look after
them. Other varieties of penguins also practice this method of communal
care for offspring.
By April the chicks are almost fully grown, but lose weight by
fasting over the winter months, gaining it again during spring in
September. Fledging then takes place in late spring/early summer.
King Penguins form huge breeding colonies; for example, the colony on South Georgia Island at Salisbury Plain holds over 100,000 breeding pairs and the one at St. Andrew's Bay over 100,000 birds. Because of the long breeding cycle, colonies are continuously occupied.
The King Penguin feeds its chicks by eating a fish, digesting it slightly and regurgitating the food into the chick's mouth.
Because of their large size, King Penguin chicks take 14–16 months
before they are ready to go to sea. This is markedly different from
smaller penguins, who rear their chicks through a single summer when
food is plentiful. King Penguins time their mating so the chicks will
develop over the harshest season for fishing. In this way, by the time
the young penguins are finally mature enough to leave their parents, it
is summer when food is plentiful and conditions are more favorable for
the young to survive alone.
Relationship with humans
Considered a flagship species, 176 individuals were counted in captivity in North American Zoos and Aquaria in 1999. The species has been bred in captivity at SeaWorld in San Diego, USA. The species is exhibited at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, USA, Indianapolis Zoo, USA, Detroit Zoo, USA, Saint Louis Zoo, USA, Newport Aquarium in Newport, Kentucky, USA, Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, Berlin Zoological Garden in Germany, Zurich Zoo in Switzerland, 63 Seaworld in Seoul, South Korea, Melbourne Aquarium in Australia, Mar del Plata Aquarium in Argentina and Loro Parque in Spain.
It is also the emblem of Edinburgh Zoo.
Roger Tory Peterson's ornithological nickname was "King Penguin".
Notable King Penguins
- Sir Nils Olav, mascot and Colonel in Chief of the Royal Norwegian Guard
- Misha, a central character and metaphor in two novels by Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov
- The King Penguin is also the species of penguin represented by the popular character Pondus, an image found on various paraphernalia in many retail stores throughout Canada. Pondus originates in Danish children's books written and photographed by Ivar Myrhøj and published in 1997 by Lademann publisher in the late 1960s. These penguins appeared in the production of Batman Returns.
- Opus the Penguin, a fictional character in the comic strips Bloom County, Outland, and Opus, is a king penguin and the most famous character of the comic strips.
The Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor) is the smallest species of penguin.
The penguin, which usually grows to an average of 33 cm (13 in) in
height and 43 cm (17 in) in length (though specific measurements vary by
subspecies), is found on the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand, with possible records from Chile.
Apart from Little Penguins, they have several common names. In Australia, they are also referred to as Fairy Penguins because of their tiny size. In New Zealand, they are also called Little Blue Penguins, or just Blue Penguins, owing to their slate-blue plumage, and they are called Kororā in Māori.
Taxonomy
The Little Penguin was first described by German naturalist, Johann Reinhold Forster in 1781. There are several subspecies but a precise classification of these is still a matter of dispute. The holotypes of the subspecies Eudyptula minor variabilis and Eudyptula minor chathamensis are in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The White-flippered Penguin is sometimes considered a subspecies, sometimes a distinct species, and sometimes a morph. As the Australian and Otago (eastern South Island) Little Penguins seem to be a distinct species to which the specific name minor would apply, the White-flippered birds indeed belong to a distinct species, although not exactly as originally assumed.
Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA evidence suggests the split between Eudyptula and Spheniscus
occurred around 25 million years ago, with the ancestors of the
White-flippered and Little Penguins diverging about 2.7 million years
ago.
Description
Like all penguins, the little penguin's wings have developed into
flippers used for swimming. The Little Penguin typically grows to
between 30 and 33 cm (12 to 13 inches) tall and usually weighs about 1.5
kilogram on average (3.3 pounds). The head and upperparts are blue in
colour, with slate-grey ear coverts fading to white underneath, from the
chin to the belly. The flippers are blue. The dark grey-black beak is
3–4 cm long, the irises pale silvery- or bluish-grey or hazel, and the
feet pink above with black soles and webbing. An immature individual
will have a shorter bill and lighter upperparts.
Like most seabirds, they have a long lifespan. The average for the species is 6.5 years, but flipper ringing experiments show in very exceptional cases up to 25 years in captivity.
Distribution and habitat
The Little Penguin breeds along the entire coastline of New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, and southern Australia (including roughly 20,000 pairs on Babel Island).
Little penguins have also been reported from Chile (where they are known as Pingüino pequeño or Pingüino azul) (Isla Chañaral 1996, Playa de Santo Domingo, San Antonio, 16 March 1997) and South Africa, but it is unclear whether these birds were vagrants.
Rough estimates (as new colonies continue to be discovered) of the world population are around 350,000-600,000 animals.
The species is not considered endangered, except for the
White-Flippered subspecies found only on Banks Peninsula and nearby
Motunau Island in New Zealand. Since the 1960s, the mainland population
has declined by 60-70%; though there has been a small increase on
Motunau Island. But overall Little Penguin populations have been
decreasing as well, with some colonies having been wiped out and other
populations continuing to be at risk. However, new colonies have been established in urban areas.
The greatest threat to Little Penguin populations has been predation (including nest predation) from cats, dogs, mustelids, foxes, large reptiles, and possibly ferrets and stoats.
Due to their diminutive size and the introduction of new predators,
some colonies have been reduced in size by as much as 98% in just a few
years, such as the small Fairy colony on Australia's Middle Island,
which was reduced from 5000 penguins to 100. Because of this threat of
colony collapse, conservationists pioneered an experimental technique
using Maremma Sheepdogs to protect the colony and fend off would-be predators.
Behaviour
Diet
These birds feed by hunting fish, squid and other small sea animals,
for which they travel and dive quite extensively. They are generally
inshore feeders.
The use of dataloggers has provided information of the diving behaviour
of Little Penguins. 50% of their dives go no deeper than 2 m and the
mean diving time is 21 seconds. Yet, they are able to dive as deep as 20m and remained submerged as long as 60 sec.
Reproduction
Little Penguins mature at different ages. The female matures at 2
years old. However the male matures at 3 years old. Little Penguins only
remain faithful to their partner in breeding seasons and whilst
hatching eggs. At other times of the year they do tend to swap burrows.
They exhibit site fidelity to their nesting colonies and nesting sites over successive years.
Little Penguins live year-round in large colonies, with each
individual breeding pair forming a burrow in which to raise their chicks
(of which two are born at a time, usually about 2 days apart). One is
the heir to the family and the other is the spare, in case anything was
to happen to the first. Little Penguins typically return to their
colonies to feed their chicks at dusk. The birds will tend to come
ashore in small groups to provide some defense against predators which
might pick off individuals one by one. In Australia, the strongest
colonies are usually on cat-free and fox-free islands. However, the
population on Granite Island (which is a fox, cat and dog-free island)
has been severely depleted, from around 2000 penguins in the year of
2001 down to 146 in 2009.
Relationship with humans
South of Perth, Western Australia, visitors to Penguin Island are
able to view penguins in a totally natural state. Less than one hour
from the centre of the city it is possible to see Little Penguins in all
months, including visiting sensitive areas where they remain on land
for extended periods for the purposes of moulting.
At Phillip Island, southeast of Melbourne, a viewing area has been set up at the Phillip Island Nature Park
to allow visitors to view the nightly "penguin parade". Lights and
concrete stands have been erected to allow visitors to see but not
photograph the birds interacting in their colony, who are not bothered
by their spectators. The "parade", which stands as a very popular
attraction, brings half a million visitors a year. A similar viewing area has been erected in the Otago, New Zealand town of Oamaru, where visitors may view the birds returning to their colony at dusk.
In Oamaru it is not uncommon for penguins to nest within the cellars
and foundations of local shorefront properties, especially in the old
historic precinct of the town.
Visitors to Kangaroo Island, South Australia, have the nightly
opportunity to commune with penguins at the Kangaroo Island Marine
Centre in Kingscote and at the Penneshaw Penguin Centre.
Several human-made enclosures have been made to support breeding and
shelter, with several people clearing an area for the penguins and
burying the huts, most notably The Knox School, when their efforts were filmed and broadcast in 2008 by Totally Wild.
Mascots and logos
Linus Torvalds, the original creator of Linux (a popular operating system kernel), was once bitten by a Little Penguin while on holiday in Australia. Reportedly, this encounter encouraged Torvalds to select Tux as the official Linux mascot.
Penny the Little Penguin was the mascot for the 2007 FINA World Swimming Championships held in Melbourne, Victoria.
Sea World
There is a colony of Little Penguins at Sea World, on the Gold Coast, in Queensland, Australia. In early March, 2007, 25 of the 37 penguins died from an unknown toxin following a change of gravel in their enclosure.
It is still not known what caused the deaths of the Little Penguins,
and it was decided not to return the 12 surviving penguins to the same
enclosure in which the penguins became ill.
A new enclosure for the Little Penguin colony was opened at Sea World in 2008.
Predators
Little Penguins in the wild are sometimes preyed upon by New Zealand fur seals. A study done by researchers from the South Australian Research and Development Institute (based at the Waite campus of the University of Adelaide) found that roughly 40 percent of seal droppings in South Australia's Granite Island area contained Little Penguin remains.
Little Penguins on Middle Island in Warrnambool, Victoria were subject to heavy predation by foxes, which could reach the island at low tide by a tidal sand bridge. The deployment of Maremma sheepdogs to protect the penguin colony has deterred the foxes and enabled the penguin population to rebound. This is in addition to the support from groups of volunteers who work to protect the penguins from attack at night.
In Sydney, snipers have been deployed to protect a colony of Little Penguins. This effort is in addition to support from local volunteers who work to protect the penguins from attack at night.
MACARONI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaroni_Penguin
The Macaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) is a species of penguin found from the Subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula. One of six species of crested penguin, it is very closely related to the Royal Penguin,
and some authorities consider the two to be a single species. It bears a
distinctive yellow crest, and the face and upperparts are black and
sharply delineated from the white underparts. Adults weigh on average
5.5 kg (12 lb) and are 70 cm (28 in) in length. The male and female are
similar in appearance although the male is slightly larger with a
relatively larger bill. Like all penguins, it is flightless, with a
streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a
marine lifestyle.
Its diet consists of a variety of crustaceans, mainly krill, as well as small fish and cephalopods; the species consumes more marine life annually than any other species of seabird. These birds moult
once a year, spending about three to four weeks ashore, before
returning to the sea. Numbering up to 100,000 individuals, the breeding
colonies of the Macaroni Penguin are among the largest and densest of
all penguin species. After spending the summer months breeding, penguins
disperse into the oceans for six months; a 2009 study found that
Macaroni Penguins from Kerguelen travelled over 10,000 km (6,200 mi) in the central Indian Ocean.
With about 18 million individuals, the Macaroni Penguin is the most
numerous penguin species. However, widespread declines in populations
have been recorded since the mid-1970s. These factors resulted in their conservation status being reclassified as vulnerable.
Taxonomy
The Macaroni Penguin was described from the Falkland Islands in 1837 by German naturalist Johann Friedrich von Brandt. It is one of six or so species in the genus Eudyptes, collectively known as crested penguins. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek words eu "good", and dyptes "diver". The specific epithet chrysolophus is derived from the Greek words chryse "golden", and lophos "crest".
The common name was recorded from the early 19th century in the
Falkland Islands. English sailors apparently named the species for its
conspicuous yellow crest; Maccaronism was a term for a particular style in 18th-century England marked by flamboyant or excessive ornamentation. A person who adopted this fashion was labelled a maccaroni or macaroni, as in the song "'Yankee Doodle".
Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA evidence suggests that the Macaroni Penguin split from its closest relative, the Royal Penguin (Eudyptes schlegeli), around 1.5 million years ago.
Although the two have generally been considered separate species, the
close similarities of their DNA sequences has led some, such as the
Australian ornithologists Les Christidis and Walter Boles, to treat the Royal as a subspecies of the Macaroni.
The two species are very similar in appearance, although the Royal
Penguin has a white face instead of the usually black face of the
Macaroni. Interbreeding with the Indopacific subspecies of the Southern Rockhopper Penguin (E. chrysocome filholi) has been reported at Heard and Marion Islands, with three hybrids recorded there by a 1987–88 Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition.
Description
The Macaroni Penguin is a large, crested penguin, similar in appearance to other members of the genus Eudyptes. An adult bird has an average length of around 70 cm (28 in);
the weight varies markedly depending on time of year and sex. Males
average from 3.3 kg (7 lb) after incubating, or 3.7 kg (8 lb) post-moult
to 6.4 kg (14 lb) pre-moult, while females average 3.2 kg (7 lb)
post-moult to 5.7 kg (13 lb) pre-moult. The head, chin, throat and upperparts are black and sharply demarcated against the white underparts. The black plumage
has a bluish sheen when new and brownish when old. The most striking
feature is the yellow crest that arises from a patch on the centre of
the forehead, and extends horizontally backwards to the nape.
The flippers are blue-black on the upper surface with a white trailing
edge, and mainly white underneath with a black tip and leading edge. The
large bulbous bill is orange-brown. The iris
is red and there is a patch of pinkish bare skin from the base of the
bill to the eye. The legs and feet are pink. The male and female are
similar in appearance, although males tend to be slightly larger.
Males also bear relatively larger bills, which average around 6.1 cm
(2.4 in) compared to 5.4 cm (2.1 in) in females; this feature has been
used to tell the sexes apart.
Immature birds are distinguished by their smaller size, smaller
duller brown bill, dark grey chin and throat, and absent or
underdeveloped head plumes, often just a scattering of yellow feathers.
The crest is fully developed in birds aged 3–4 years, a year or two
before breeding age.
Macaroni Penguins moult
once a year, a process in which they replace all of their old feathers.
They spend around two weeks accumulating fat before moulting because
they do not feed during the moult, as they cannot enter the water to
forage for food without feathers. The process typically takes three to
four weeks, which they spend sitting ashore. Once finished, they go back
to sea and return to their colonies to mate in the spring. Overall survival rates are poorly known; the successful return of breeding adults at South Georgia Island varied between 49 and 78% over three years, and around 10% of those that did return did not breed the following year.
Vocalisation
The calls of this species are similar to other crested penguins;
birds are especially noisy in colonies when establishing territories and
forming pairs, and quiet down during incubation. During this period,
parents make trumpeting calls when changing shifts at the nest; birds
recognise each other more by voice than by location. A penguin calling
for its chick or its mate has to compete with the vocalisations of
potentially thousands of other birds – an environment with huge
background noise and few visual cues. Field studies suggest that
Macaroni penguins achieve this communication with the use of a
display-call, a complex sound containing a unique acoustic signature for
each bird. Calls recorded at colonies on South Georgia have a more rapid rhythm and lower pitch than those on Kerguelen and Crozet Islands.
Distribution and habitat
A 1993 review estimated that the Macaroni was the most abundant species of penguin, with a minimum of 11,841,600 pairs of Macaroni Penguins worldwide. Macaroni Penguins range from the subantarctic to the Antarctic Peninsula; at least 216 breeding colonies at 50 sites have been recorded. In South America, Macaroni Penguins are found in southern Chile, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and South Orkney Islands. They also occupy much of Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula, including the northern South Shetland Islands, Bouvet Island, the Prince Edward and Marion islands, the Crozet Islands, the Kerguelen Islands, the Heard and McDonald Islands. While foraging for food, groups will range north to the islands off Australia, New Zealand, southern Brazil, Tristan da Cunha, and South Africa.
Conservation
Although the population of Macaroni Penguins is estimated at around
18 million mature individuals, a substantial decline has been recorded
in several locations. This includes a 50% reduction in the South Georgia population between the mid 1970s to mid 1990s, and the disappearance of the species from Isla Recalada in Southern Chile. This decline of the overall population in the last 30 years has resulted in the classification of the species as globally Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Long-term monitoring programs are underway at a number of breeding
colonies, and many of the islands that support breeding populations of
this penguin are protected reserves. The Heard Islands and McDonald
Islands are World Heritage Sites for the Macaroni Penguin. The Macaroni Penguin may be being impacted by commercial fishing and marine pollution.
A 2008 study suggests that the abilities of female penguins to
reproduce may be negatively affected by climate- and fishing-induced
reductions in krill density.
Behaviour
Like other penguin species, the Macaroni Penguin is a social animal
in its nesting and its foraging behaviour; its breeding colonies are
among the largest and most densely populated of all penguin species. Outside the breeding season, the penguin is pelagic; birds disperse to sea from April or May until October.
A 2009 study by a French team led by scientist Charles Andre Bost found
that Macaroni Penguins nesting at Kerguelen dispersed eastwards over an
area exceeding 3×106 km2. Fitted with geolocation
sensors, the 12 penguins studied travelled over 10,000 km (6,200 mi) in
this period and spent their time largely within a zone 47–49° S and
70–110° E in the central Indian Ocean, not coming ashore once. This
area, known as the Polar Frontal Zone, was notable for the absence of krill.
Living in colonies results in a high level of social interaction
between birds, which has led to a large repertoire of visual as well as
vocal displays.
These behaviours peak early in the breeding period, and colonies
particularly quieten when the male Macaroni Penguins are at sea. Agonistic
displays are those which are intended to confront or drive off, or
alternatively, appease and avoid conflict with other individuals. Macaroni Penguins, particularly those on adjacent nests, may engage in bill-jousting;
birds lock bills and wrestle, each trying to unseat the other, as well
as batter with flippers and peck or strike their opponent's nape. Submissive displays include the slender walk,
where birds move through the colony with feathers flattened, flippers
moved to the front of the body, and head and neck hunched, and general
hunching of head and neck when incubating or standing at the nest.
Diet
The diet of the Macaroni Penguin consists of a variety of crustaceans, squid and fish, although the proportions that each makes up vary with locality and season. Krill, particularly Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), account for over 90% of food during breeding season. Cephalopods and small fish such as the Marbled rockcod (Notothenia rossii), Painted notie (Lepidonotothen larseni), Champsocephalus gunneri, the lanternfish species Krefftichthys anderssoni, Protomyctophum tenisoni and P. normani become more important during chick-rearing.
Like several other penguin species, the Macaroni Penguin sometimes
deliberately swallows small (10–30 mm diameter) stones; this behaviour
has been speculated to aid in providing ballast for deep-sea diving, or to help grind food, especially the exoskeletons of crustaceans that are a significant part of its diet.
Foraging for food is generally conducted on a daily basis, from dawn
to dusk when there are chicks to feed. Overnight trips are sometimes
made, especially as the chicks grow older;
a 2008 study that used surgically implanted data loggers to track the
movement of the birds showed the foraging trips become longer once the
chick-rearing period is over. Birds venture out for 10–20 days during incubation and before the moult. Macaroni penguins are known to be the largest single consumer of marine resources among all of the seabirds, with an estimated take of 9.2 million tonnes of krill a year.
Outside the breeding season, Macaroni Penguins tend to dive deeper,
longer, and more efficiently during their winter migration than during
the summer breeding season. Year round, foraging dives usually occur
during daylight hours, but winter dives are more constrained by daylight
due to the shorter days.
Foraging distance from colonies has been measured at around 50 km (31 mi) at South Georgia, offshore over the continental shelf, and anywhere from 59 to 303 kilometres (37 to 188 mi) at Marion Island.
Macaroni Penguins normally forage at depths of 15 to 70 metres (49 to
230 ft), but have been recorded diving down to 100 metres (330 ft) on
occasions. Some night foraging does occur, but these dives are much
shallower, ranging from only 3 to 6 metres (9.8 to 20 ft) in depth.
Dives rarely exceed two minutes in duration.
All dives are V-shaped, and no time is spent at the sea bottom; about
half the time on a foraging trip is spent diving. Birds have been
calculated as catching anywhere from 4–16 krill or 40–50 amphipods per dive.
Predators
The Macaroni Penguin's predators consist of birds and aquatic mammals. The Leopard Seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), Antarctic Fur Seal (Arctocephalus gazella) and Subantarctic Fur Seal (A. tropicalis)
sometimes hunt adult Macaroni Penguins in the water. Colonies suffer
low rates of predation if undisturbed; predators generally only take
eggs and young that have been left unattended or deserted. Skua species, the Snowy Sheathbill (Chionis alba), and Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus) prey on eggs, and skuas and Giant Petrels also sometimes take chicks.
Courtship and breeding
Female Macaroni Penguins can begin breeding at around five years of
age, while the males do not normally breed until at least six years old.
Females breed at a younger age because the male population is larger.
The surplus of male penguins allows the female penguins to select more
experienced male partners as soon as the females are physically able to
breed.
Commencing a few days after females arrive to the colony, sexual
displays are used by males to attract partners and advertise their
territory, and by pairs once together at the nest site and at changeover
of incubation shifts. In the ecstatic display,
a penguin bows forward, making loud throbbing sounds, and then extends
its head and neck up until the neck and beak are vertical. The bird then
waves its head from side to side braying loudly. Birds also engage in mutual bowing, trumpeting, and preening.
Monitoring of pair fidelity at South Georgia has shown around three
quarters of pairs will breed together again the following year.
Adult Macaroni Penguins typically begin to breed late in October, and lay their eggs in early November.
The nest itself is a shallow scrape in the ground which may be lined
with some pebbles, stones, or grass, or nestled in a clump of tussock grass (on South Georgia Island). Nests are densely packed, ranging from around 66 cm apart in the middle of a colony to 86 cm at the edges.
A fertile Macaroni Penguin will lay two eggs each breeding season. The
first egg to be laid weighs 90–94 grams (3.2–3.3 oz), 61–64% the size of
the 145–155-gram (5.1–5.5 oz) second, and is extremely unlikely to
survive.
The two eggs together weigh 4.8% of the mother's body weight; the
composition of an egg is 20% yolk, 66% albumen, and 14% shell.
Like those of other penguin species, the shell is relatively thick to
minimise risk of breakage, and the yolk is large, which is associated
with chicks born in an advanced stage of development. Some of the yolk remains at hatching and is consumed by the chick in its first few days.
The fate of the first egg is mostly unknown, but studies on the related Royal Penguin and Erect-crested Penguin show the female tips the egg out when the larger second egg is laid. The task of incubating the egg is divided into three roughly equal sessions of around 12 days each over a five week period.
The first session is shared by both parents, followed by the male
returning to sea, leaving the female alone to tend the egg. Upon the
male's return, the female goes off to sea and does not return until the
chick has hatched.
Both sexes fast for a considerable period during breeding; the male
fasts for 37 days after arrival until he returns to sea for around ten
days before fasting while incubating eggs and young for another 36 days,
and the female fasts for 42 days from her arrival after the male until
late in the incubation period. Both adults lose 36–40% of their body weight during this period.
The second egg hatches around 34 days after it is laid. Macaroni
Penguins typically leave their breeding colony by April or May to
disperse into the ocean.
From the moment the egg is hatched, the male Macaroni Penguin cares
for the newly hatched chick. For about 23 to 25 days the male protects
its offspring and helps to keep it warm, since only a few of its
feathers have grown in by this time. The female brings food to the chick
every one to two days. When they are not being protected by the adult
male penguins, the chicks form crèches
to keep warm and stay protected. Once their adult feathers have grown
in at about 60–70 days, they are ready to go out to sea on their own.
Media appearances
- The character Buck Rockgut in the Nickelodeon animated series The Penguins of Madagascar is a macaroni penguin.
- A macaroni penguin is featured in the classic children's book Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?.
- In the movie Happy Feet and Happy Feet 2, Macaroni penguins are voiced by Robin Williams and others.
The Magellanic Penguin, Spheniscus magellanicus, is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands, with some migrating to Brazil where they are occasionally seen as far north as Rio de Janeiro. It is the most numerous of the Spheniscus penguins. Its nearest relatives are the African, the Humboldt and the Galápagos Penguins. They are native to the Strait of Magellan in the cool climate of southern Chile, hence the name's origin.
Magellanic Penguins are medium-sized penguins which grow to be
61–76 cm (24–30 in) tall and weigh between 2.7 kg and 6.5 kg
(5.9-14.3 lbs). The males are larger than the females, and the weight of both drops while the parents nurture their young.
Adults have black backs and white abdomens. There are two black bands
between the head and the breast, with the lower band shaped in an
inverted horseshoe. The head is black with a broad white border that
runs from behind the eye, around the black ear-coverts and chin, and
joins at the throat. Chicks and younger penguins have grey-blue backs,
with a more faded grey-blue color on their chest. Magellanic Penguins
can live up to 25 years in the wild, but as much as 30 years in
captivity.
Young birds usually have a blotched pattern on their feet, which
fades as they age. By the time these birds reach about ten years of age,
their feet usually become all black.
Like other species of penguins, the Magellanic Penguin has very rigid wings used to "fly" or cruise under water.
Diet
Magellanic Penguins feed in the water, preying on cuttlefish, sardines, squid, krill, and other crustaceans, and ingest sea water with their prey. Their salt-excreting gland rids the salt from their bodies.
Breeding
Magellanic Penguins travel in large flocks when hunting for food. In
the breeding season, these birds gather in large nesting colonies at the
coasts of Argentina, southern Chile, and the Falkland Islands, which have a density of 20 nests per 100 square meters. One of the largest of these colonies is located at Punta Tombo.
Nests are built under bushes or in burrows. Two eggs are laid.
Incubation lasts 39–42 days, a task which the parents share in 10-15 day
shifts. The chicks are cared for by both parents for 29 days and are
fed every two to three days. Normally, both are raised through
adulthood, though occasionally only one chick is raised.
Magellanic Penguins mate with the same partner year after year. The
male reclaims his burrow from the previous year and waits to reconnect
with his female partner. The females are able to recognize their mates
through their call alone.
Status in the wild
Millions of these penguins still live on the coasts of Argentina and Chile,
but the species is classified as a "threatened species", primarily due
to the vulnerability of large breeding colonies to oil spills, which
kill 20,000 adults and 22,000 juveniles every year off the coast of
Argentina. To help the fight against the oil spills, zoo representatives
from all over the world come and adopt the hatchlings, and breed them
there. The decline of fish populations is also responsible, as well as
predators such as sea lions and giant petrels, which prey on the chicks.
Climate change has displaced fish populations, so Magellanic penguins
must swim an extra 25 miles (40 km) further from the nest for fish.
While the penguins are swimming an extra 50 miles (80.4 km), their mates
are sitting on a nest and starving. A colony being tracked by
University of Washington professor P. Dee Boersma, about 1,000 miles (1,609 km) south of Buenos Aires,
has fallen by more than 20 percent in the past 22 years, leaving
200,000 breeding pairs. Some younger penguins are now moving their
breeding colonies north to be closer to fish, but, in some cases, this
is putting them on private, unprotected lands.
At present, 12 of 17 penguin species are experiencing rapid population declines.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockhopper_penguin
The rockhopper penguins are three closely related taxa of crested penguins that have been traditionally treated as a single species
and are sometimes split into two or three species. Not all experts
agree on the classification of these penguins. Some consider all three
as distinct species, some split the Western and Eastern forms into the
Southern Rockhopper Penguin and keeping the Northern Rockhopper as
distinct, while other experts lump all 3 calling it simply Rockhopper
Penguin. The subspecies in the group are:
- Western Rockhopper Penguin, Eudyptes (chrysocome) chrysocome
- Eastern Rockhopper Penguin, Eudyptes (chrysocome) filholi
- Northern Rockhopper Penguin, Eudyptes (chrysocome) moseleyi
The Southern Rockhopper Penguin group (Eudyptes chrysocome), are two subspecies of rockhopper penguin, that together are sometimes considered distinct from the Northern Rockhopper Penguin. It occurs in subantarctic waters of the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as around the southern coasts of South America.
Description
This is the smallest yellow-crested, black-and-white penguin in the genus Eudyptes.
It reaches a length of 45–58 cm (18–23 in) and typically weighs 2–3.4
kg (4.4–7.5 lb), although there are records of exceptionally large
rockhoppers weighing 5 kg (11 lb).
It has slate-grey upper parts and a straight, bright yellow eyebrow
ending in long yellowish plumes projecting sideways behind a red eye.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Rockhopper Penguin complex is confusing. Many taxononists consider all three Rockhopper Penguin forms subspecies. Some split the Northern subspecies (moseleyi) from the Southern forms (chrysocome and filholi). Still others consider all three distinct. The subspecies recognized for the Southern Rockhopper Penguin complex are:
- Eudyptes chrysocome chrysocome, the Western Rockhopper Penguin or American Southern Rockhopper Penguin - breeds around the southern tip of South America
- Eudyptes chrysocome filholi, the Eastern Rockhopper Penguin or Indopacific Southern Rockhopper Penguin - breeds on subantarctic islands of the Indian and western Pacific oceans.
The Northern Rockhopper Penguin lives in a different water mass than the Western and Eastern Rockhopper Penguins, separated by the Subtropical Front, and they are genetically different. Therefore, northern birds are sometimes separated as E. moseleyi. The rockhopper penguins are closely related to the Macaroni Penguin (E. chrysolophus) and the Royal Penguin (E. schlegeli), which may just be a colour morph of the Macaroni Penguin.
Interbreeding with the Macaroni Penguin has been reported at Heard
and Marion Islands, with three hybrids recorded there by a 1987-88
Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition.
Distribution, ecology and status
The Southern Rockhopper Penguin group has a global population of
roughly 1 million pairs. About two-thirds of the global population
belongs to E. c. chrysocome which breeds on the Falkland Islands and on islands off Argentina and southern Chile. These include most significantly Isla de los Estados, the Ildefonso Islands, the Diego Ramírez Islands and Isla Noir. E. c. filholi breeds on the Prince Edward Islands, the Crozet Islands, the Kerguelen Islands, Heard Island, Macquarie Island, Campbell Island, the Auckland Islands and the Antipodes Islands. Outside the breeding season, the birds can be found roaming the waters offshore their colonies.
These penguins feed on krill, squid, octopus, lantern fish, mollusks, plankton, cuttlefish, and mainly crustaceans.
A rockhopper penguin named "Rocky" in Bergen Aquarium in Norway,
lived to 29 years 4 months. It died in October 2003. This stands as the
age record for rockhopper penguins, and possibly it was the oldest
penguin known.
The Southern Rockhopper Penguin group is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN. Its population has declined by about one-third in the last thirty years.
Behaviour
Their common name refers to the fact that, unlike many other penguins
which get around obstacles by sliding on their bellies or by awkward
climbing using their flipper-like wings as aid, Rockhoppers will try to
jump over boulders and across cracks.
This behaviour is by no means unique to this species however - at least the other "crested" penguins of the genus Eudyptes hop around rocks too. But the Rockhopper's congeners occur on remote islands in the New Zealand region, whereas the rockhopper penguins are found in places that were visited by explorers and whalers since the Early Modern era. Hence, it is this particular species in which this behavior was first noted.
Their breeding colonies are located from sea-level to cliff-tops and
sometimes inland. Their breeding season starts in September and ends in
November. Two eggs are laid but only one is usually incubated. Incubation lasts 35 days and their chicks are brooded for 26 days.
Rockhoppers in popular culture
Rockhopper penguins are the most familiar of the crested penguins
to the general public. Their breeding colonies, namely those around
South America, today attract many tourists who enjoy watching the birds'
antics. Historically, the same islands were popular stopover and
replenishing sites for whalers
and other seafarers since at least the early 18th century. It is hardly
surprising that almost all crested penguins depicted in movies, books
and so on are ultimately based on Eudyptes chrysocome chrysocome.
In film and video
- Several of the characters in the film Surf's Up, are Rockhoppers.
- Rocko, voiced by James Belushi in the Don Bluth film The Pebble and the Penguin, is a Rockhopper.
- Lovelace, voiced by Robin Williams in the 2006 film Happy Feet is a Rockhopper
- Fidgel from the Big Idea Productions video series 3-2-1 Penguins! is a Rockhopper.
- A Rockhopper, voiced by Carlos Mencia, is in the Bob Saget film parody Farce of the Penguins.
In computer and video games
- The characters Ivan and Tobi from the Konami video game Sexy Parodius are actually a pair of Rockhoppers.
- Hopper is the name of a Rockhopper Penguin in the Nintendo video game series Animal Crossing.
- Rockhopper is also the name of a pirate penguin in the MMOG Club Penguin.
- The Rockhopper penguin is an adoptable animal in the 2006 PC game, Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania. A fictional joke version of it, the "Killer Penguin", appears as a lab accident in the game's sequel, Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals. It is depicted as able to kill any animal, including dinosaurs.
- A Rockhopper Penguin is featured on the official logo for Lunar Linux operating system.
In music and literature
- The cover of the Fleetwood Mac album Penguin features a Rockhopper. The penguin subsequently became Fleetwood Mac's mascot.
- Rockhopper IV is the name of a spaceship in Alastair Reynolds's 2005 science fiction novel, Pushing Ice. The ship's logo is a penguin, genus unspecified.
Other
The Rockhopper Penguin is the official mascot of Swiss Airforce's Pilot Class 2009 (PK 09)
The Northern Rockhopper Penguin, Eudyptes c. moseleyi, is usually considered a subspecies of rockhopper penguin, although fairly recent studies show evidence of distinction from the Southern Rockhopper Penguin group Eudyptes c. chrysocome/E. c. filholi.
A study published in 2009 showed that the world population of the
Northern Rockhopper had declined by 90% since the 1950s. For this
reason, the Northern Rockhopper Penguin is classified as an endangered.
Taxonomy
The Rockhopper Penguin Eudyptes chrysocome is sometimes considered two species, Northern and Southern Rockhopper Penguin, after research published in 2006 demonstrated morphological, vocal and genetic differences between the two populations. Molecular datings suggest that the genetic divergence with the Southern Rockhopper penguin may have been caused by a vicariant event caused by a shift in the position of the Subtropical Front during the mid-Pleistocene climate transition. Analysis of a part of a mitochondrial control region from a Northern Rockhopper Penguin found on the Kerguelen Islands
showed that it may have come from Gough Island, 6,000 km away, and that
the Southern and Northern Rockhoppers are genetically separate, though
some individuals may disperse from their breeding colonies. Many taxonomists have yet to recognize the split, although some are beginning to do so.
Distribution and habitat
More than 99% of Northern Rockhoppers breed on Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island in the south Atlantic Ocean.
Ecology and behaviour
Food and feeding
The Northern Rockhopper Penguin feeds on krill and other things such as crustaceans, squid, octopus and fish.
Breeding
It breeds in colonies in a range of locations from sea level or on cliff sides, to sometimes inland.
Population and threats
The current population is estimated to be between 100,000-499,999
breeding pairs at Gough Island, 18,000 to 27,000 pairs at Inaccessible
Island, and 3,200 to 4,500 at Tristan da Cunha. In the Indian Ocean, the
population was 25,500 pairs on Amsterdam Island, and 9,000 pairs on St
Paul Island in 1993; there has been no information available on
population trends there since the 1990s. Declines at the Atlantic Ocean
sites show a decline of 2.7 per cent per year; the drop in the population at Gough Island has been described as equivalent to the loss of 100 birds every day since the 1950s.
A study published in 2009 showed that the world population of the
Northern Rockhopper had declined by 30% since the 1950s, possibly
because of climate change, changes in marine ecosystems and overfishing for squid and octopus by humans. Other possible factors in the decline include disturbance and pollution from ecotourism and fishing, egg-harvesting, predation from introduced House Mice Mus musculus and predation and competition from Subantarctic Fur Seals Arctocephalus tropicalis.
The Northern Rockhopper Penguin is classified as Endangered because
of the decline in numbers over the last three generations (or 30 years).
2011 oil spill
On March 16, 2011, the Maltese-registered freighter MS Oliva ran aground on Nightingale Island,
spilling tons of heavy crude into the ocean. The crew was rescued, but
the ship broke up, leaving an oil slick that surrounded the island,
threatening its population of rockhopper penguins. Nightingale Island has no fresh water, so the penguins are being transported to Tristan da Cunha for cleaning.
The Eastern Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome filholi) although genetically different is still often considered as a subspecies of the Southern Rockhopper Penguin.
Distribution
E. c. filholi breeds on the sub-Antarctic islands of the Indo-Pacific Ocean: Prince Edward, Crozet, Kerguelen, Heard, Macquarie, Campbell, Auckland, and the Antipodes Islands.
ROYAL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_penguin
The Royal Penguin (Eudyptes schlegeli) inhabits the waters surrounding Antarctica. Royals look very much like Macaroni Penguins,
but have a white face and chin instead of the Macaronis' black visage.
They are 65–76 cm (26–30 in) long and weigh 3–8 kg (6.6–18 lb). Males are larger than females. Royal Penguins breed only on Macquarie Island and, like other penguins, spend much of their time at sea, where they are assumed to be pelagic. They are not to be confused with the similarly named King Penguin or Emperor Penguin.
There is some controversy over whether Royal Penguins are a sub-species
of Macaroni Penguins. Individuals of the two groups have been known to
interbreed, though this is a relatively rare occurrence. Indeed, other
penguins have been known to form mixed-species pairs in the wild.
Royal Penguins nest on beaches or on bare areas on slopes covered with vegetation. Like most seabirds they are colonial,
nesting in scrapes on the ground up to a mile inland. The breeding
season begins in September with laying starting in October. Two eggs are
incubated for 35 days, with each incubation stint lasting up to two
weeks. After brooding the chick for three weeks, both parents forage at
sea while the chicks form large creches. The chicks fledge after two months. Young adults usually return to the colony to breed after six years.
Royal Penguins feed on krill, fish, and small amounts of squid. They
build their nest by making a shallow hole in the sand or in a weeded
area. They put plants and stones inside the nest. Most of the time, two
eggs are often laid, however, only one survives. The egg is kept warm by
both parents for 35 days. This is done by rotating 12 day shifts. After
hatching, the male watches out for the chick for 10 to 20 days and the
female brings food for both of them. Around 20 days, the chicks will
form a home for warmth and safety. The parents continue to feed it 2 to 3
times a day. When the chick is about 65 days old it will have its adult
feathers and goes on its own.
Royal Penguins are not considered threatened. Historically they were
harvested for their oil; between 1870 and 1919 the government of Tasmania
issuing licences for hunting them, with an average of 150,000 penguins
(both Royal and King) being taken each year. At the peak of the industry
in 1905, the plant established on Macquarie Island was processing 2000
penguins at a time, with each penguin yielding about half a litre of
oil.
Since the end of penguin hunting on Macquarie the numbers have
climbed to 850,000 pairs. Before hunting started, there were 3 million
penguins on the island (both Royal and King).
The scientific name commemorates the German zoologist Hermann Schlegel.
SNARES
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snares_Penguin
The Snares Penguin (Eudyptes robustus), also known as the Snares Crested Penguin and the Snares Islands Penguin, is a penguin from New Zealand. The species breeds on The Snares, a group of islands off the southern coast of the South Island.
This is a medium-small, yellow-crested penguin, at a size of 50-70 cm
(20-28 in) and a weight of 2.5–4 kg (5.5-8.8 lbs). It has dark
blue-black upperparts and white underparts. It has a bright yellow
eyebrow-stripe which extends over the eye to form a drooping, bushy
crest. It has bare pink skin at the base of its large red-brown bill.
This penguin nests in small (10 nests) to large (1200 nests) colonies
under forest cover or the open. Main colonies are located on North East
Island, other colonies are established on Broughton Island as well as the rocky Western Chain. The Snares Penguin's main prey is krill, supplemented by squid and small fish. The species is currently rated as 'vulnerable' by the IUCN
as its breeding range is restricted to one small island group. The
current population is estimated at around 25,000 breeding pairs.
Nomenclature
Snares Penguins were originally collected in 1874 and named atrata by Frederick Wollaston Hutton. However, Hutton lost his sample at sea before a full speciation could be identified. A description written by Hutton and an illustration done by Keulemans in Buller’s
“A History of the Birds of New Zealand” are evidence that this is the
same penguin previously identified by Hutton. However, there is some
debate over the classification of this penguin, and Oliver was able to
successfully propose that a few slight anatomical differences did exist
between the Snares Penguins and the early description and illustration,
leading the Snares Penguin to be called robustus instead of atratus.
Description
The Snares Penguin is often compared to the Fiordland Penguin (Eudyptes Pachyrhynchus), which is related by the genus of Crested Penguins (Eudyptes). Snares Penguins can be distinguished from Fiordland Penguins by a patch of skin at the base of their beaks.
The Snares Penguin is similarly colored to other species of penguins,
having a black head, back and flippers with a white belly. A
bright-yellow crest, beginning at the base of the bill, runs along the
upper part of the head on both sides and ends at the back of the head.
It has a thick reddish-brown beak, traced with light pink skin at the
base.
The eyes are generally described as a bright red-brown color, but this
coloration can vary somewhat between individuals and in different
lighting.
The color patterns under the wings differ from individual to
individual, so it is not a good characteristic for species
identification.
The penguin can make a large variety of vocal noises. It is difficult
to verbally describe these noises, but they range from hisses and
explosive cries when threatened to rhythmical braying and trumpeting
sounds that can be heard from long distances at sea.
Distribution and habitat
The Snares Penguin is named after the place in which it breeds—the
Snares Islands. The Snares Islands are a small group of islands off the
coast of southern New Zealand. Although little is known of their range
and migration
outside of the breeding season, it is not thought that they migrate far
in the winters. Occasional sitings have occurred on the coasts of Tasmania, southern Australia, the Chatham Islands, Stewart Island, and the southern New Zealand mainland. There are approximately 25,000 living pairs of Snares Penguins.
Snares Penguins nest in dense colonies under the tree cover of the Olearia forests or on coastal rocks.
To build a nest, the penguins dig up shallow holes in the ground and
layer the bottom with grass, leaves, twigs, peat, or pebbles. A small rim of mud is added to the rim of the nest to raise it above ground level. Vegetation at nesting sites dies dues to the dense nesting activities, and the colony moves to a new nesting site.
Colonies nesting near streams may have some advantage, as the stream
provides water for drinking and bathing. However, it is not essential
that nesting colonies are located near a stream since many are far from
any streams.
Conservation
Although Snares Penguins are not currently threatened, they are
considered a vulnerable species. If a threat arose, it could quickly
wipe out their population because their breeding grounds are confined to
a small island group. Possible threats include the introduction of a
new predator, overfishing around the islands that would deplete their food source, increasing water temperatures from global warming driving prey away, and pollution. The New Zealand government has taken action to protect the Snares Islands habitats and marine feeding grounds.
Behavior
Diet
The diet of Snares Penguins usually consists of krill of the species Nyctiphanes australis, small fish, and cephalopods.
One study found that about 60 percent of the mass of stomach contents
from Snares Penguins consisted of krill, 30 percent was fish, and about
10 percent was cephalopods. The researchers concluded that the number of
fish otoliths and cephalopod beaks indicated the importance of these types of prey to adult penguins while at sea.
Another study reports the diet consisting of about 55 percent krill, 24
percent fish, and 21 percent cephalopods, also suggesting that fish and
cephalopods are more important prey types than the percentages of
stomach composition indicate. Yearly, two week long foraging trips by males has been found to be synchronized with spring plankton
blooms, as they are reliable predictors of food sources. Upon the
return of the males, the females go on somewhat long foraging trips
(less than a week), returning in time for her chicks to hatch. Then, the
female is the lone provider of food, and she embarks on short voyaging
trips (about 1 to three days).
Snares Penguins use shallow pursuit diving to catch prey, a strategy
used by other penguin species as well. This hunting strategy consists of
propelling themselves through the water using their webbed feet and
flippers, reaching speeds of up to 15 miles per hour.
Predators
Predators of adult Snares Penguins are sea lions and leopard seals. Their eggs and chicks are hunted by skuas and petrels.
Courtship and breeding
The breeding season of Snares Penguins occurs in the summer of New
Zealand, beginning in early September and ending in late January. Snares Penguins begin reproducing in the age range of five to nine years old. To court the females, single males stand erect with their wings spread out and pumping their chest.
It is likely that the pairs remain faithful to each other for more than
one season. The pairs then build a nest, most of the work being done by
the male.
The female lays two eggs, typically about three to five days apart,
which hatch 31–37 days later. The second laid egg is up to 85 percent
larger than the first and also hatches first. The smaller, last-hatched
chick is outcompeted by its siblings and usually does not survive, also
called "siblicide".
Egg-size dimorphism is particularly large in Snares Penguins, and the
larger egg hatching first only accentuates the sibling size difference.
Hatching pattern and size-dimorphic eggs are two of the mechanisms by
which birds can change their breeding pattern in response to
environmental and breeding conditions. In altricial
birds, such as Snares Penguins, egg-size variation and asynchronous
hatching are adaptive mechanisms that may lead to brood reduction.
However, Snares Penguins and other members of their genus, Eudyptes,
differ from most other birds in that their last laid egg is larger and
hatches first rather than being the smallest and last to hatch.
Egg incubation
does not occur until both eggs have been laid, and they are usually
incubated one in front of the other. The smaller, first-laid egg is
often placed in the anterior position for incubation, which is thought
to be the less favorable location since they have lower and more
variable temperatures during incubation. Although the smaller, first egg
receives less favorable incubation, it was found that egg-size
dimorphism affects the hatching pattern in Snares Penguins instead of
egg incubation position.
Both parents partake in incubating the eggs. For the first ten days,
they alternate. Then the male leaves for an extended period (about 12
days) to forage for food, while the mother stays with the eggs. When he
returns, the roles are reversed. Also, upon his return, the pair engages
in a display of bowing and trumpeting, which further strengthens their
bond. For the first three weeks after hatching, the male guards the
chicks from predators while the female searches for food, returning each
day to feed her offspring.
It was observed that parents can recognize their chicks and chicks can
recognize their parents. The study found that calls between chick and
parent were more important for recognition than visual cues. The parents provide food for their young each day until it has molted and can forage for its own food. The chicks fledge at approximately 11 weeks.YELLOW-EYED
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-eyed_Penguin
The Yellow-eyed Penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) or Hoiho is a penguin native to New Zealand. Previously thought closely related to the Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor), molecular research has shown it more closely related to penguins of the genus Eudyptes. Like most other penguins, it is mainly piscivorous.
The species breeds around the South Island of New Zealand, as well as Stewart, Auckland and Campbell Islands. Colonies on the Otago Peninsula are a popular tourist venue, where visitors may closely observe penguins from hides, trenches or tunnels.
Taxonomy
The Yellow-eyed Penguin is the sole extant species in the genus Megadyptes. (A smaller, recently extinct species M. waitaha was discovered in 2008.) Previously thought closely related to the Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor), new molecular research has shown it more closely related to penguins of the genus Eudyptes. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA evidence suggests it split from the ancestors of Eudyptes around 15 million years ago.
The Yellow-eyed Penguin was described by Jacques Bernard Hombron and Honoré Jacquinot in 1841. The Maori name is Hoiho.
Description
This is a fairly large penguin, measuring 65–79 cm (26–31 in) long.
Weights vary through the year being greatest, 7 to 8 kg (15.5–18 lbs),
just before moulting and least, 5 to 6 kg (11–13.2 lbs), after moulting.
The males are larger than the females.
It has a pale yellow head and paler yellow iris with black feather
shafts. The chin and throat are brownish-black. There is a band of
bright yellow running from its eyes around the back of the head. The
juvenile has a grayer head with no band and their eyes have a gray iris.
The Yellow-eyed Penguin may be long lived, with some individuals
reaching 20 years of age. Males are generally longer lived than females,
leading to a sex ratio of 2:1 around the age of 10–12 years.
Distribution and habitat
This penguin usually nests in forest or scrub, among Native Flax (Phormium tenax) and lupin (Lupinus arboreus),
on slopes or gullies, or the shore itself, facing the sea. These areas
are generally sited in small bays or on headland areas of larger bays. It is found in New Zealand, on the south-east coast of South Island, Foveaux Strait and Stewart Island/Rakiura, and Auckland and Campbell Islands. It expanded its range from the subantarctic islands to the main islands of New Zealand after the extinction of the Waitaha Penguin several hundred years ago.
Conservation
This species of penguin is endangered, with an estimated population
of 4000. It is considered one of the world's rarest penguin species. The
main threats include habitat degradation and introduced predators. It
may be the most ancient of all living penguins. In August 2010 the yellow-eyed penguin was granted protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Health
In spring 2004, a previously undescribed disease killed off 60% of Yellow-eyed Penguin chicks on the Otago peninsula and in North Otago. The disease has been linked to an infection of Corynebacterium, a genus of bacteria that also causes diphtheria in humans. It has recently been described as diphtheritic stomatitis. However, it seems as if this is just a secondary infection. The primary pathogen remains unknown. A similar problem has affected the Stewart Island population.
Behaviour
The Yellow-eyed Penguin generally forages 7–13 km (4–8 miles)
offshore, and travelling on average around 17 km (11 mi) away from the
nesting site. Birds leave the colony at dawn and return the same evening
during chick rearing, although may spend 2–3 days at sea at other
times. Average depth dived is 34 m (112 ft).
Diet
The Yellow-eyed Penguin pursues prey in 20–60 m (66–196 ft) deep dives. Around 90% of the Yellow-eyed Penguin's diet is made up of fish; with cephalopods such as the arrow squid (Nototodarus sloanii) making up the remainder. Fish species consumed include the blue cod (Parapercis colias), red cod (Pseudophycis bachus), opalfish (Hemerocoetes monopterygius), and New Zealand Blueback Sprat (Sprattus antipodum), all between 2 and 32 cm (1–13 in) long. Cephalopods make up almost half (49%) of the diet of immature birds.
Breeding
Whether or not Yellow-eyed Penguins are colonial nesters has been an
ongoing issue with zoologists in New Zealand. Most Antarctic penguin
species nest in large high density aggregations of birds. For an example
see the photo of nesting Emperor Penguin.
In contrast yellow-eyed penguins do not nest within visual sight of
each other. While they can be seen coming ashore in groups of 4–6 or
more individuals then disperse along track to individual nests sites out
of sight of each other. The consensus view of New Zealand penguin
workers is that it is preferable to use habitat rather than colony to
refer to areas where yellow-eyed penguins nest.Nest sites are selected
in August and normally two eggs are laid in September. The incubation
duties (lasting 39-51 days) are shared by both parents who may spend
several days on the nest at a time. For the first six weeks after
hatching, the chicks are guarded during the day by one parent while the
other is at sea feeding. The foraging adult returns at least daily to
feed the chicks and relieve the partner.
After the chicks are six weeks of age, both parents go to sea to
supply food to their rapidly growing offspring. Chicks usually fledge in
mid February and are totally independent from then on. Chick fledge
weights are generally between 5 and 6 kg.
First breeding occurs at 3-4 years of age and long term partnerships
are formed. Yellow-eyed penguins may live for up to 24 years.
Penguins and humans
Tourism
Several mainland habitats have hides and are relatively easily
accessible for those wishing to watch the birds come ashore. These
include beaches at Oamaru, Moeraki light-house, a number of beaches near Dunedin, and The Catlins. In addition commercial tourist operations on Otago Peninsula also provide hides to view Yellow-eyed Penguins.
Conservation
A reserve protecting more than 10% of the mainland population was established at Long Point in the Catlins in November 2007 by the Department of Conservation and the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust.
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