PenguinsAbegaill Villacruz

Definition of Terms

• Penguins – aquatic, flightless birds• Waddle/rookies – group of penguins (land)• Raft – group of penguins (sea/ocean)• Chick – young penguin• Colony – group of young penguin• Breeding – producing offspring• Breeding cycle – from courtship to

producing the chick

Taxonomic Classification

• Kingdom: Animalia• Phylum: Chordata• Class: Aves• Subclass: Neornithes (modern birds)• Superorder: Neognathae• Order: Sphenisciformes• Family: Spheniscidae• Genus: 6 genera• Species: ranges from 17 to 20 living

species

Examples• Aptenodytes – great penguins

Aptenodytes patagonicus

King PenguinsAptenodytes forsteri

Emperor PenguinsAptenodytes forsteri

Emperor Penguins

Examples•Pygoscelis – Brush-tailed penguins

Pygoscelis adeliae

Adélie Penguin

Pygoscelis antarcticus

Chinstrap Penguin

 Pygoscelis papua

Gentoo penguin

Examples•Eudyptula – Little penguins

Eudyptula minor

Little Blue PenguinEudyptula minor albosignata

White-flippered Penguin

Examples•Spheniscus – Banded penguins

Spheniscus magellanicus

Magellanic Penguin

Spheniscus humboldti

Humboldt PenguinSpheniscus mendiculus

Galapagos Penguin

Spheniscus demersus

African Penguin

Examples•Megadyptes

Megadyptes antipodes

Megadyptes antipodesMegadyptes waitaha

Waitaha Penguin

Examples•Eudyptes – Crested penguins

Eudyptes pachyrhynchus

Fiordland Crested Penguin

Eudyptes robustus

Snares PenguinEudyptes sclateri

Erect-crested Penguin

Examples•Eudyptes – Crested penguins

Eudyptes chrysocome

Southern Rockhopper Penguin

Eudyptes chrysocome filholi

Eastern Rockhopper Penguin

Eudyptes c. moseleyi

Northern Rockhopper Penguin

Examples•Eudyptes – Crested penguins

Eudyptes schlegeli

Royal PenguinsEudyptes chrysolophus

Macaroni Penguin

Distribution and Habitat

• Southern hemisphere

• Temperate zone

• Near the equator

– Bergmann’s rule

Distribution and Habitat

• Islands and remote continental areas

• Nutrient-rich, cold-water currents

• Spend half of their lives on land, and half in the oceans

Distribution and Habitat

Predation

• Predators:– Adult: sharks, orcas, giant petrels, sea lions,

sea leopards– Chick: giant petrels, gulls, skua– Egg: gulls, skua, sheathbill– Humans

• Prey– Krill, squid, fish

• But not all species eat these

Predation

Feeding Ways

• Depend on vision– Relies on bioluminescence of crustaceans,

squids and fishes

• Catch with their bills, and swallow it whole

Feeding Ways

• Undergo fasting– Breeding seasons– Courtship, nesting, incubation periods– Molting periods

Physical Characteristics

• Size– Height: from 1.1 m. (3.7 ft.) to 41 cm. (16 in.)– Weight: from 41 kg. (90 lb.) to 1 kg. (2.2 lb.)

Physical Characteristics

• Coloration – Countershading (dark backs, light undersides)– Distinct markings with each species– Chicks, juveniles and immature penguins

have different markings

Senses

• Hearing– Average hearing used by parents and chicks

for locating each other– Mate recognition

Senses

• Eyesight– Adapted for seeing in land and in water– Color vision sensitive to violet, blue, and

green wavelengths

Senses

• Smell– Not sure if they can smell– Studies on Humboldt penguins showed that

this particular specie can smell

Adaptations

• Swimming– Streamlined shape body

• Hunches its head to the shoulders, and keeps feet pressed close to the body against the tail

– Paddle-like flippers• Flattened and broadened bones• Covered with short, scale-like feathers

– Solid, dense bones to overcome buoyancy– Coming to surface

• Porpoising – leap in and out of the water

Adaptations

• Diving*– Reduced heart rate– Reduced blood flow

* Generally not exhibited by penguins

Adaptations

• Respiration– Have lungs for inhaling and exhaling

• Inhales and exhales rapidly at the surface

– Have multiple air sacs

Adaptations

• Salt secretion– Supraorbital glands– Help rid excess salt– Salts are shaken off on the bill

Adaptations

• Thermoregulation– Dark plumage on dorsal side– Overlapping feathers– Tucks in flippers, and shiver to conserve heat– Fat layer– Tips up their feet– Huddle together

Adaptations

• Thermoregulation– For temperate and tropical penguins

• Panting• Ruffle their feathers• Hold its flippers away from the body• Lack feathers on legs and have bare patches on

face

Communication

• Vocalization– Individually identifiable for mating and mother-

chick recognition– 3 kinds

• Contact call• Display call• Threat call

Reproduction

• Breeding– Sexual maturity: 3 to 8 years– Breeding season: mostly from spring to

summer• King penguin – (longest breeding cycle) 14 to 16

months• Emperor penguins – during winter• Fairy penguin – (shortest breeding cycle) 50 days

Reproduction

• Courtship– Males display first to establish a nest and

attract a mate– 3 distinct types of display

• Ecstatic or trumpeting• Mutual• Bowing

Reproduction

• Courtship– Mostly monogamous– Females selects the same male for the next

breeding season• If not, it is because they arrived at different times

or the male failed to return to the nesting area

Reproduction

• Nesting– Males arrive first to the nesting area– Females follow 1 to 5 days after– They nest on the place where they hatched– Nesting areas vary:

• Some near beaches, or steep areas, or burrowed deposits

Care of the Chicks

• Both parents feed the chick– Regurgitated food

• Cover the chick with brood patch

• Male penguin cares for the chick when the female leaves for food

Ecological Role

• Serve as food for other species– Without them, those species will have to catch

other prey, which might disrupt the food chain– Ex. leopard seals would shift to krill diet which

would decrease the survival of other species eating the same thing

References

• http://www.pinguins.info/Engels/taxonomie_eng.html

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penguin

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neognathae

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neornithes

• www.pinguins.info

• http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/penguin.htm

• http://www.penguinscience.com/education/ask_answers_4.php

• http://www.penguinworld.com/map/map.php

• http://www.penguinworld.com/profpenguin/faq.html

• http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/penguins/facts3.htm

• http://laaquariumvolunteers.org/index.php?topic=animal&id=104

• http://www.buzzle.com/articles/penguin-facts.html

• www.arkive.org

Thank you