What is special about Adélie penguins?
Adélie penguins breed along the entire Antarctic coast and on small islands in areas with exposed rocks. Many of these sites are close to Australian research centers.
Adélie penguins are one of only 5 penguin species found on Antarctica (Adélie, emperor, gentoo, chinstrap and macaroni).
Long-term population surveys have focused on the Windmill Islands near Casey, home to the third-largest Adélie population on the western continent of Antarctica. Researchers have shown that colonies here have grown from 30,000 breeding pairs in the 1950s to nearly 200,000 today. A small population of about 1,800 breeding pairs was studied on Béchervaise Island near Mawson, as part of a long-term conservation program.
Scientists know a lot about the behavior of Adélies during the warmer months, because they breed on land between October and February. Little is known about their winter habits where they spend most of their time at sea in the pack ice. Scientists are tracking their paths in order to determine exactly where the Adélies went on their long ocean voyages. To date, scientists have learned that these penguins can swim more than 1,200 km away.
In the past, about 200 years ago, Adélie penguins ate a lot of fish, but as the krill population grew, the amount of krill in their diet increased as the area’s sperm whales were killed off as fishing expanded.
One of the most interesting things about Adélie penguins is their ability to monitor the amount of salt they eat and feed their young. Due to the limited availability of fresh water, Adélie penguins have adapted to eating krill with a low salt content and can regulate the amount of salt they consume by removing potassium and sodium ions from the food they eat before returning it to their young.
Breeding adult Adelie penguins swim 3-74 miles (5-120 kilometers) to find food for their chicks. These flights can last between 5-72 hours.
One of the deepest dives recorded for the Adelie penguin species is 574 feet (175 meters), but, when searching for prey, most of them are found at depths of 229 feet (70 meters) during their foraging trips.
By using satellites to observe some Adelie penguins, scientists can track the animals’ behavior while they are at sea to map their routes and understand the vastness of the ocean.
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