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Research Paper On Emperor Penguin

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In Antarctica, the weather conditions are extremely unfavorable to most organisms. The organisms that live there have adapted not only to survive the subzero temperatures, but have also adapted to successfully reproduce and have healthy offspring. Two fascinating Antarctic species are the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) and the adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae). These two species, although almost neighbors, have developed different mating rituals and methods of egg care.
The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is one of the largest and heaviest penguins in Antarctica. On average, these penguins are 4 feet in height and weigh in at about 80 pounds (Owen, 2014). Apart from being one of the tallest penguin species in the world, these …show more content…

Once the penguin reaches for to 4-5 years of age he/she is sexually mature thus ready to mate. To start this ritual, the penguins will migrate 60-100 miles inland to their designated breeding grounds around early spring. This breeding site will contain emperor penguins from various colonies and can hold up to a thousand penguins ready to breed. Once there, the males will begin to court females by giving a mating call. These calls are very eccentric and unique to the penguins, and they usually last about 2 seconds in length (Aubin and Jouventin, 2002). When the female penguin decides she is interested, she and the male will mimic each other’s posture for a few minutes. Once the female chooses the male as her mate, she will then follow him throughout the colony. Before they mate however, they undergo the final part of the ritual in which both penguins face each other and they will both deeply bow to one another to the point where their beaks touch the floor. From that moment onwards, these penguins will be able to differentiate their mates through their vocal calls (Aubin and Jouventin, 2002). One unique thing about emperor penguins is that they are one of the few organisms that are monogamous. These penguins are so loyal that there is less than a 15% chance of them being infidel to their partner by next breeding …show more content…

These penguins reach their mating sites around October to November (Robinsson et.al, 2010). Their mating sites can not be on ice, instead they locate areas on the antarctic edge where there is fast melting ice. If not then they try their best to locate solid land. Once they reach the breeding grounds the males begin to court the adelie females. The primary way for the male adelie penguins to court female penguins is to make a nest. Unlike other birds, these nests are not made out of sticks and twigs, instead the adelie penguins make their nests out of stones and pebbles. The male adelie penguin that manages to gather the most stones and ultimately build the largest nest will be seen as the most desirable mate for that season (Robinsson et.al, 2010). Due to the fact that the mating season for the adelie penguins lasts such a short time, the younger penguins often commit sexual deviancy in the breeding grounds due to their sexual inexperience. Often times, the young adelie penguin does not know how to behave when breeding, frequently misinterpreting signs and signals that signify as a consent to mate. Examples of sexual deviancy that is found amongst the young adelie penguins include but is not limited to: necromantic sex, homosexual sex, and rape of other female penguins (McKie,

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