The influence of thermoregulatory demand on contact crèching behaviour in Adélie Penguin chicks
(1) We tested the hypothesis that contact behaviour in Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) chicks of crèching age is strongly influenced by thermoregulatory demand. (2) Estimated thermoregulatory costs (% minimal metabolic rate) for early crèche stage (1 kg) chicks were much higher (13.4–121.0%) than for late crèche (3 kg) chicks (0–45.1%). The incidence of contact behaviour […]
The adaptive significance of crèches in the king penguin
Crèching behaviour in penguins is defined as the rearing of chicks by their own parents in large flocks called ‘crèches’. Although several hypotheses have been proposed to account for the behaviour, the factors inducing chicks to aggregate remain relatively poorly understood, in particular for colonial seabirds. We studied crèching behaviour in the king penguin, Aptenodytes […]