Emperor Penguin Research Paper

The leopard seal is one of six species of seals in the Antarctic. They can get up to 1230 pounds and fall anywhere between eight and twelve feet long. These large muscular animals have dark grey backs, and spots scattered among their light grey stomachs and throat. They get their name, “leopard seal”, from their impressively long sharp carnivore like teeth. Although their front teeth are sharp, their back teeth lock together to help them catch krill. Their appetite mainly consists of penguins, fish, squid, and krill, though they will prey on other seals. Although the leopard seal is considered the most ferocious seal in Antarctica, they will play with the penguins in a friendly manner. When they are not playing with the penguin they will grab

The mammalian diving reflex represents a primary physiological mechanism to maximize underwater excursions in air-breathing animals. Traditionally, the oxygen-conserving reflex consists of three metabolic and cardiovascular adjustments: (1) notable bradycardia; (2) selective peripheral vasoconstriction; and (3) increased blood flow to the viscera (Kawakami et al., 1967). Previous studies have observed such a response in birds and mammals, generalizing the considerable reduction of heart rate, or ‘diving bradycardia,’ as indicative of the response (Butler, 1982). The evolutionary success of these diving animals relies partly on the functional significance of reducing metabolic demands to prologue underwater survival. Although

Penguins ( family Spheniscidae, order Sphenisciformes) are a group of flightless, aquatic birds living exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere, particularly in Antarctica. Well-adapted for life in the water, these birds have countershaded white and black plumage, and their wings have evolved into flat, paddle-like flippers. They feed on squid, fish, krill and other forms of sealife. Penguins spend half of their lives in the oceans and half on land. This list contains 10 unusual facts about penguins you may not know.

The best adapted seals can dive to depths of 1600 metres. An analogue of the Plesiosaur, in terms of dive depth, diet, and body shape, is the modern Sea Lion. The sea lion has been known to dive up to two-hundred metres. Additionally, Plesiosaurs ‘used their hyperphalangic paddles for subaqueous flight in the manner of modern sea lions' (Chatterjee & Small, 1989).

The King penguins take 14 to 16 months to fledge a single chick. At sea, King Penguins are usually found in ice-free waters. The cheeks of the King penguins are dark orange. The belly is white but the back is paler than other penguins, more of a grey than black. Due to the extended breeding cycle some birds can be found in the colony at any time of the year.

The eighty five species of krill are divided into two families. One family is known as the Euphaisiidae. This family contains Euphausia which is the largest genra of krill. The other family is the Bentheuphausia ampblyops. This family lives in the deep waters of the ocean. Well known species of krill are the Antarctic Krill (Euphausia superba), the Pacific krill (Euphausia pacifica), and the Northern krill (meganyciphanes norvegica) (Krill Facts par.4). The Antartic krill is the largest species of krill with about 500 million tons located in the Southern Ocean. Krill travel together and that is their way of confusing predators. Another way that krill avoid predators is by staying at the depths of the ocean during the day and then at night they move up to the surface. The krills predators include, fish, birds, and whales. The average lifespan of krill is about six to ten years. For the Antarctic krill mate from January to March and the females can lay up to ten thousand eggs at a time. Sometimes the females lay their eggs multiple times between January and March. The Krill mate at the top of the ocean waters and then they start to sink. After about ten days the krill will sink down to about 3000 meters and then they will hatch. The Antarctic Krill are herbivorous, which means they mostly feed on each other. In the winter the krill eat algae. However, krill can go up to 200 days without

Emperor penguins that live in the Antarctic winter, need to survive, and ensure reproduction occurring in the winter. In order to achieve survival, emperors form huddles together. A huddle is a dynamic mosaic of compact zones (Ancel, Gilbert, Poulind, Beaulieu, Thierry 91). Huddles are very complex and can range anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand birds at a time, in which individuals are closely packed together. Huddling is a huge warming mechanism, and they are shaped like an ellipse. An emperor penguin being close to another individual does not mean it is automatically in a huddle. There are certain requirements that deem an individual in a huddle. An emperor's back has to be completely covered by another individual and the light

wait underwater near an ice shelf for a penguin to jump in before they snag it and tear it

The biggest kind of penguin is the Emperor Penguin. Penguins mostly eat fish, squid, and krill. They spend 75% of their lives in the water. The average height for a fully grown penguin is 3ft 7. The smallest penguin is the Little Blue Penguin.

Dive cycles of Brandt Cormorant and Western Grebe were different in length, but had similarity in some way both birds spent more time forging in the ocean than on the surface (fig1). The total number of individual birds used for this experiment were three for Western Grebe and four for Brandt’s Cormorant.

Pressure has varied effects on different organisms; these effects will contrast majorly between man, cetaceans and pinniped’s as they have different adaptations to help with the pressure created from diving.

Certain penguins even have rouges of orange and yellow marking on the necks such as that of the emperor and king penguin. On the Fiordand, Royal, Snares and Rockhopper penguins it appearances to be an intense yellow bushy eyebrows that adorn their heads. Surprisingly, some even have a racon type mask that appears to be a light-yellow mask covering their face and yellow eyes. The National Geographic stated “Emperors are the largest of all penguins an average bird stands some 45 inches tall. These flightless animals live on the Antarctic ice and in the frigid surrounding waters.” However, the Little Blue Penguin sometimes known as Fairy Penguin and Little Penguins are the smallest penguin species in the world! They grow to about 13 inches in height, 17 inches in length, and on average weighs only about 3.3 pounds! While normally only diving up to 2 meters and for 21 seconds, they can dive as deep as 20 meters, staying beneath water for only about 60 seconds! They make their home and breeds along the coast of New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, and southern Australia”, based on information from The Sea thos

bird.These penguins never actually come to land but gather in huge colonies on packs of ice of

The pressure calculations found are shown in Figure 3. This figure clearly shows that the penguin withstands the largest pressure differential, with the pelican’s differential

In the article: Do all penguins live in cold climates, it says Located on the equator, the Galapagos Islands are the warmest penguin home of all. With average temperatures of around 73 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s a big difference from the average temperature in Antarctica, which is minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit! Off land, penguins are incredibly graceful and fast. They can travel as fast as 11 to 15 miles per hour. Their shape, feet and wings make it all