Aptenodytes forsteri G. R. Gray, 1844
Emperor Penguin
Species recognized by The Integrated Taxonomic Information System
, T Orrell (custodian) in 
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General Description
Group organization protects from the cold: emperor penguins
Source and Additional Information
Groups of emperor penguins save energy and protect from the cold during incubation thanks to social huddling.
"Although huddling was shown to be the key by which emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) save energy and sustain their breeding fast during the Antarctic winter, the intricacies of this social behavior have been poorly studied. We recorded abiotic variables with data loggers glued to the feathers of eight individually marked emperor penguins to investigate their thermoregulatory behavior and to estimate their 'huddling time budget' throughout the breeding season (pairing and incubation period). Contrary to the classic view, huddling episodes were discontinuous and of short and variable duration, lasting 1.6 ± 1.7 (S.D.) h on average. Despite heterogeneous huddling groups, birds had equal access to the warmth of the huddles. Throughout the breeding season, males huddled for 38 ± 18% (S.D.) of their time, which raised the ambient temperature that birds were exposed to above 0 °C (at average external temperatures of − 17 °C). As a consequence of tight huddles, ambient temperatures were above 20 °C during 13 ± 12% (S.D.) of their huddling time. Ambient temperatures increased up to 37.5 °C, close to birds' body temperature. This complex social behavior therefore enables all breeders to get a regular and equal access to an environment which allows them to save energy and successfully incubate their eggs during the Antarctic winter." (Gilbert 2006:479)
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References
- Gilbert C; Robertson G; Le Maho Y; Naito Y; Ancel A. 2006. Huddling behavior in emperor penguins: dynamics of huddling. Physiology & Behavior. 88(4-5): 479-488.
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Beaks reflect UV light: emperor penguin
Source and Additional Information
The beaks of emperor penguins reflect UV light via a multilayer reflector photonic microstructure.
"Although the mouths and flanges of begging passerines have been reported to reflect in the ultraviolet (Hunt et al. 2003), this is the first time that the nature of the UV-reflecting microstructures has been characterized in beak tissue of any bird. The ultrastructure of the photonic microstructures found in the present study differs radically from that of those previously described in either bird feathers or skin. The regular multilayer membrane arrays found in the beak horn microstructures closely approximate to two dimensional crystal lattices, strongly suggesting that UV reflectance here is produced by interference between incident light and that reflected from successive folds in these microstructures (Prum & Torres 2003)." (Dresp 2005:312)
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References
- Dresp, B; Jouventin, P; Langley, K. 2005. Ultraviolet reflecting photonic microstructures in the King Penguin beak. Biology Letters. 1(3): 310-313.
Feathers trap air to provide warmth: emperor penguin
Source and Additional Information
Feathers of penguins trap air to retain warmth by being filamentous and forming a continuous layer around the body.
"As insulators, feathers are even more efficient than fur. Only a bird--the penguin--can survive on the Antarctic ice-cap in winter, the coldest place on earth. The penguin's feathers are devoted entirely to this task. They are filamentous and trap the air in a continuous layer all round the body. This, reinforced by a thick coat of fat just beneath the skin, enables the hot-blooded penguins to stand about in a blizzard in temperatures of forty degrees below freezing and remain there for weeks on end, even without stoking their internal warmth with a meal." (Attenborough 1979:178-179)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
References
- Attenborough, David. 1979. Life on Earth. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company. 319 p.
"Aptenodytes forsteri G. R. Gray, 1844". Encyclopedia of Life, available from "http://www.eol.org/pages/1049604". Accessed
21 Mar 2010.
