---

Animalia >Chordata >Aves >Sphenisciformes >Spheniscidae >Pygoscelis >

Video image showing Adelie penguins diving and surfacing synchronously at a small open-water area in an Antarctic fast sea ice area. This image is probably the first to show the synchronized group behavior of Adelie penguins during active foraging. You can see some birds with a number written on their chests. Diving behavior was studied by using time-depth recorders for those birds with numbers. The image format is 'QuickTime Movie', and the file was compressed using the 'MPEG4' codec. Please visit: http://www.momo-p.com/showdetail-e.php?movieid=momo030605pa01a for an image of lower quality (3.8Mb).

Below is the abstract from the article containing this video:

Synchronous diving behavior of Adelie penguins.
Akinori Takahashi, Katsufumi Sato, Jun Nishikawa, Yutaka Watanuki, Yasuhiko Naito

Synchronizing behavior with the other conspecifics has been suggested as serving a function of increased foraging efficiency. However, the potential costs associated with synchronization of behavior have rarely been studied. Adelie penguins Pygoscelis adeliae sometimes dive synchronously in small open waters surrounded by fast sea-ice. We examined the diving behavior of three couples and one trio, which were observed to dive synchronously among groups of 12-47 birds for 1.7-4.5 h duration, with time-depth recorders. Timing of diving and surfacing differed slightly between individuals and one bird tended to initiate diving earlier than the other. Although the duration of the dives differed only slightly between these birds, the maximum depth of the dives differed to a large extent, with one member tending to dive consistently deeper than the other bird in two out of the four cases. Vertical distances between tagged birds in the undulatory phases of the dives (presumed feeding time) were greater than those in the descent and ascent phases, suggesting independent foraging by group members. Duration of the undulatory phase of the dives tended to be shorter in deeper-diving individuals than the others in the synchronously diving group, suggesting a potential cost of reduced feeding time to synchronize diving and surfacing with other birds.

Takahashi A, Sato K, Nishikawa J, Watanuki Y and Naito Y (2003)
Synchronous diving behavior of Adelie penguins. J Ethol (in press) DOI 10.1007/s10164-003-0111-1

(Data No.momo030724pa01b)

Copyrights belong to author.
Read Terms of Service carefully

>>Japanese

[Database Home]