Penguins: a group of aquatic flightless birds that live about entirely in the Southern Hemisphere .
Kingdom: | Animalia
Phylum: | Chordata
Class: | Aves
Order: | Sphenisciformes
Family: | Spheniscidae
Genus: | Acinonyx
There are 18 species of penguins that live about entirely in the Southern Hemisphere, with only one species, the Galápagos penguin, found union of the Equator.
Size and Weight:
Penguins vary in size and weight depending on the species. Their stature ranges from 15 inches to 3.5 feet. Their weight ranges from 2 pounds to 88 pounds. emperor penguins ( Aptenodytes forsteri ) are the largest species, with an modal height of 45 inches grandiloquent. emperor penguins can weigh up to 88 pounds .
The blue penguin, ( Eudyptula minor ), besides called little penguin, small gloomy penguin, or fairy penguin, are the smallest of the penguins. Adults average about 10 to 12 inches in length and weigh between 2.2 and 3.3 pounds, with males being slenderly longer and heavier than females .
Appearance:
Penguins are flightless birds with flippers alternatively of wings. Their bodies are adapted for liquid and dive in the water, with some species able to reach speeds up to 15 miles per hour. Their soundbox shape is fusiform ( tapered at both ends ) and streamlined, allowing them to be adept swimmers. They have a big forefront, short neck, and elongated torso. Their tails are curtly, cadaver, and wedge-shaped .
Their legs and webbed feet are set far back on the body, which gives penguins their erect carriage on land. When coke conditions are right, they will slide on their bellies .
A penguin ’ s feather blueprint makes it look like it ’ second wearing a dinner jacket. Its feather design is a imprint of camouflage called countershading with a black body and a white belly. This discolor helps camouflage the boo in the water as it searches for raven .
Their color and blueprint change by species .
Diet:
Penguins eat krill, squids, and fishes. Their diet varies slightly on the species of penguins, which have slightly unlike food preferences. This reduces rival among species .
The smaller penguin species of the Antarctic and the subantarctic chiefly feed on krill and squids. Species found far north tend to eat fishes. For exemplar, in Antarctica, Adélie penguins feed chiefly on little krill, while chinstraps foraging for large krill. While the larger species, including Emperor and king penguins, chiefly corrode fishes and squids .
Habitat:
Penguin habitats include oceans and coasts. They by and large live on islands and remote continental regions with few land predators, where their inability to fly is not damaging to their survival. They are adapted to living at sea, and some species can spend months at a fourth dimension at sea .
unlike species thrive in varying climates. While the Galápagos penguins live on tropical islands at the equator, the emperor butterfly penguins are restricted to the throng ice and waters of Antarctica .
Geography:
Penguins live primarily in the Southern Hemisphere. The bantam blue penguins can be found in Australia and New Zealand, while the gallant emperor penguins can be found in Antarctica and the king penguins can be found in many sub- Antarctic islands. The endangered African penguin and the Galápagos penguin—the only penguin to be found north of the equator .
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Breeding:
due to their longer life, penguins may take three to eight years to reach sexual maturity. Some smaller species may begin breeding at three or four, while the larger species do not reach sexual adulthood until subsequently .
While the breed season differs from species to species, most species have an annual breeding temper from leap through summer. The little penguin has the shortest education bicycle of about 50 days and breeds throughout the year. meanwhile, the baron penguin has the longest breed cycle of 14 to 16 months .
Most penguin species of penguins are monogamous, where one male breeds lone with one female during a copulate season. Some female penguins may have one to three partners in one season and some males may have one or two partners .
Penguins meet at nesting sites to breed and lay their eggs, and most penguin species tend to be faithful to the same rookeries and return each year. Mature birds much return to the same rock garden where they hatched for breeding season, leading to bombastic populations at the same rockeries. The males tend to arrive first to establish and defend their nest site. Nesting habitats vary on species, however, the rockeries sometimes consist of multiple species. For case, Gentoo penguins have been found nesting near Adélie and chinstrap penguins .
The female penguin typically lays two eggs, with the exception of emperor and king penguins, which entirely lay one testis. A nest of eggs is called a seize, and a batch with more than one egg presents a better prospect of at least one dame outlive. The egg coloring material ranges from white to bluish or greenish and the shape varies among species .
The brooding period, which the time spent warming the egg before it hatches, varies among species, ranging from one month with erect-crested penguins to 66 days with emperor penguins. During the incubation period, mates take turns incubating the egg, allowing one spouse to leave to feed for several days at a time .
emperor penguins are the exception to this incubation period. The female emperor butterfly penguin transfers a single egg to the top of her mate ’ sulfur feet. While the female goes to sea to feed for several weeks, the male incubates the egg. When the female returns to her checkmate, the testis is typically about to hatch. During the courtship, nest, and incubation periods, the male fasts and lives off reserves of body fatten. He loses up to 45 % of his consistency weight during this time .
Social Structure:
Penguins are among the most social of all birds. All species of penguin are colonial, meaning that they live in large groups. During the engender temper, penguins come ashore and nest in huge colonies called rookeries. Rookeries can consist of hundreds of thousands of birds and couple over hundreds of square miles .
Penguins often swim and feed in groups, but some may dive for prey alone. emperor penguins have been observed feeding in groups with organize diving .
Penguins besides communicate with each other and exhibit intricate woo and mate-recognition behavior. They communicate by vocalizing and performing physical behaviors called “ displays, ” using these displays to communicate cuddle territories and mating information. Penguins have been observed using displays in partner and dame recognition, a well as in refutation against intruders .
Lifespan:
The average life anticipation of penguins is likely around 15 to 20 years, with some individuals live well retentive. There is a high mortality rate among the young. For exemplar, the emperor butterfly chicks may experience a 90 % mortality within the first year of life and about 50 % of king penguin chicks will not survive due to winter starvation .
Threats:
Penguins have predators both on land and in the urine. In the water system, penguins may become prey to leopard seals, fur seals, ocean lions, sharks, or killer whales. On state, penguin chicks and eggs may be hunted by foxes and snakes, a well as precede predators like feral dogs and cats. marauding birds, including sheathbills and colossus petrels, besides prey on penguin chicks and eggs .
Climate change is another major threat to penguins living in Antarctica like emperor penguins and Adelie penguins. These species rely on the region ’ mho frost sheets to breed and hunt. As sea ice melts due to warmer temperatures related to climate change, these species are losing their habitat. According to a 2008 World Wildlife Fund ( WWF ) study, an estimated 50 % of the emperor butterfly penguins and 75 % of the Adelie penguins will likely decline or disappear if global average temperatures rise above pre-industrial levels by precisely 2 degrees Celsius .
early major human threats to penguin species include overfishing, by-catch, hunt, and befoulment. According to WWF, commercial fishing in the Southern Ocean region can increase contest among penguin species, as the phone number of available fish to eat declines. commercial fishing can besides lead to the accidental capture and drown of penguins in fishing nets.
Conservation Status:
Penguin conservation status varies on species. several species of penguins are listed as “ endangered ” by the IUCN Red List, including the African, the Northern Rockhopper, and Galàpagos penguins. Several more species are listed as “ vulnerable, ” including Southern Rockhopper, Snares, Humboldt and Macaroni penguins. early species are listed as “ Near Threatened ” or “ Least Concern. ”
Conservation Efforts:
All species of penguins are legally protected from hunting and testis collect by the Antarctic Treaty, which was signed by 12 nations in 1959. It was reauthorized in 1991 to protect Antarctica and preserve its support resources. The Treaty makes it illegal to harm, or in any direction intervene with, a penguin or its eggs .
Source: World Wildlife Fund ( WWF ) and SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment
I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.