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60-SECOND SCIENCE, These Punk Rock Penguins Have a Bizarre Breeding Strategy

These Punk Rock Penguins Have a Bizarre Breeding Strategy

Christopher Intagliata: For 60-Second Science, I'm Christopher Intagliata.

Hundreds of miles southeast of New Zealand, lie the windswept Bounty and Antipodes Islands. It's there you'll find the breeding grounds of what may be the world's most punk-rock penguin.

[Penguin calls]

… which sports twin bleached-blond mohawks.

Lloyd Davis: "It's like if you took a penguin and put its flipper in an electricity outlet and it got a shock. That's what you might imagine it looks like."

Intagliata: Lloyd Davis of New Zealand's University of Otago says the erect-crested penguin, as it's known, also has a peculiar breeding strategy. The females lay two eggs. But generally leave the first one to die.

Davis: "They just plop the egg on the rock. It's just bizarre to see. And then 40 percent just turn their back on it. They don't even attempt to incubate it, it's like 'I don't care about that.'"

Intagliata: Davis says that's unusual—because most birds pour resources into the first egg, and the second, and however many more … but the last egg is almost an afterthought.

Davis: "The final egg acts like an insurance policy for them, so if they lose one of the other eggs, they can rear the chick from that one. But this is quite the opposite. Because, in this case—and this is why it's such a conundrum in the biological world—they don't favor the first egg, they favor the second one."

Intagliata: Davis and his colleagues traveled to the Antipodes Islands in 1998 to investigate that conundrum. And in reanalyzing their data, they've narrowed down the possible explanations for this behavior.

First, they think the penguins might reject the first egg because it forms while the birds are migrating, so it's smaller—inferior, perhaps—to the second, larger egg. And the penguins may be acknowledging a reality many species face—they simply don't have the resources to rear two chicks.

The study appears in the journal PLOS ONE. Lloyd S. Davis et al, [The breeding biology of erect-crested penguins, Eudyptes sclateri: Hormones, behavior, obligate brood reduction and conservation]

Davis notes that the penguins are now endangered.

Davis: "They seem to have gone down by about a third based on evidence we have and yet we know nothing about them, we know nothing about the causes, and we need to do what we can to protect these wonderful and forgotten penguins."

Intagliata: After all, you could say the birds themselves are already putting all their eggs in one basket.

Penguin audio courtesy study author Thomas Mattern, The Tawaki Trust, Dunedin, New Zealand, and the Global Penguin Society, Puerto Madryn, Argentina.

These Punk Rock Penguins Have a Bizarre Breeding Strategy Diese Punkrock-Pinguine haben eine bizarre Fortpflanzungsstrategie Αυτοί οι Punk Rock πιγκουίνοι έχουν μια παράξενη στρατηγική αναπαραγωγής Estos pingüinos punk rock tienen una extraña estrategia de cría Ces manchots punk rock ont une stratégie de reproduction bizarre Questi pinguini punk rock hanno una bizzarra strategia di allevamento パンクロック・ペンギンの奇妙な繁殖戦略 펑크록 펭귄의 기괴한 번식 전략 Estes pinguins Punk Rock têm uma estratégia de reprodução bizarra Эти панк-рок пингвины имеют причудливую стратегию размножения Bu Punk Rock Penguenlerinin Tuhaf Bir Üreme Stratejisi Var Ці пінгвіни панк-року мають дивну стратегію розмноження 这些朋克摇滚企鹅有一个奇怪的繁殖策略 這些朋克搖滾企鵝有一個奇怪的繁殖策略

**Christopher Intagliata:** For 60-Second Science, I'm Christopher Intagliata.

Hundreds of miles southeast of New Zealand, lie the windswept Bounty and Antipodes Islands. À des centaines de kilomètres au sud-est de la Nouvelle-Zélande se trouvent les îles Bounty et Antipodes, balayées par les vents. It's there you'll find the breeding grounds of what may be the world's most punk-rock penguin. C'est là que se trouvent les aires de reproduction de ce qui pourrait être le pingouin le plus punk-rock du monde.

[Penguin calls]

… which sports twin bleached-blond mohawks. ... qui arbore deux mohawks blonds décolorés. ...ツインブリーチブロンドモヒカン。

**Lloyd Davis:** "It's like if you took a penguin and put its flipper in an electricity outlet and it got a shock. Lloyd Davis : "C'est comme si vous preniez un pingouin et que vous mettiez sa nageoire dans une prise électrique et qu'il recevait une décharge. That's what you might imagine it looks like."

**Intagliata:** Lloyd Davis of New Zealand's University of Otago says the erect-crested penguin, as it's known, also has a peculiar breeding strategy. Intagliata: Lloyd Davis of New Zealand's University of Otago says the erect-crested penguin, as it's known, also has a peculiar breeding strategy. Intagliata : Lloyd Davis, de l'université néo-zélandaise d'Otago, explique que le manchot à crête dressée, comme on l'appelle, a également une stratégie de reproduction particulière. The females lay two eggs. Les femelles pondent deux œufs. But generally leave the first one to die.

**Davis:** "They just plop the egg on the rock. Davis : " Ils jettent simplement l'œuf sur le rocher. It's just bizarre to see. And then 40 percent just turn their back on it. Et 40 % d'entre eux tournent tout simplement le dos à ce projet. そして、40パーセントが背を向ける。 They don't even attempt to incubate it, it's like 'I don't care about that.'" Ils n'essaient même pas de l'incuber, c'est comme si cela ne les intéressait pas".

**Intagliata:** Davis says that's unusual—because most birds pour resources into the first egg, and the second, and however many more … but the last egg is almost an afterthought. Intagliata : Davis dit que c'est inhabituel, parce que la plupart des oiseaux consacrent des ressources au premier œuf, au deuxième, et à bien d'autres encore... mais le dernier œuf n'est presque qu'une réflexion après coup. インタリアータ：ほとんどの鳥は最初の卵、2個目、さらに何個目......と資源を注ぎ込むが、最後の卵はほとんど後回しになるからだ。

**Davis:** "The final egg acts like an insurance policy for them, so if they lose one of the other eggs, they can rear the chick from that one. Davis : " Le dernier œuf agit comme une police d'assurance pour eux, donc s'ils perdent l'un des autres œufs, ils peuvent élever le poussin à partir de celui-ci. デイビス：「最後の卵は、彼らにとって保険のような役割を果たす。 But this is quite the opposite. Because, in this case—and this is why it's such a conundrum in the biological world—they don't favor the first egg, they favor the second one." Parce que, dans ce cas - et c'est pourquoi il s'agit d'une telle énigme dans le monde biologique - ils ne favorisent pas le premier œuf, ils favorisent le second".

**Intagliata:** Davis and his colleagues traveled to the Antipodes Islands in 1998 to investigate that conundrum. And in reanalyzing their data, they've narrowed down the possible explanations for this behavior.

First, they think the penguins might reject the first egg because it forms while the birds are migrating, so it's smaller—inferior, perhaps—to the second, larger egg. Tout d'abord, ils pensent que les manchots pourraient rejeter le premier œuf parce qu'il se forme pendant que les oiseaux migrent, et qu'il est donc plus petit - inférieur, peut-être - que le second œuf, plus gros. まず、最初の卵は鳥が移動している間に形成されるため、2つ目の大きな卵よりも小さく、おそらく劣っているため、ペンギンが拒絶するのではないかと考えている。 And the penguins may  be acknowledging a reality many species face—they simply don't have the resources to rear two chicks. Les manchots reconnaissent peut-être une réalité à laquelle de nombreuses espèces sont confrontées : ils n'ont tout simplement pas les ressources nécessaires pour élever deux poussins.

The study appears in the journal __PLOS ONE__. Lloyd S. Davis et al, [The breeding biology of erect-crested penguins, Eudyptes sclateri: Hormones, behavior, obligate brood reduction and conservation]

Davis notes that the penguins are now endangered. Davis note que les manchots sont aujourd'hui en danger.

**Davis:** "They seem to have gone down by about a third based on evidence we have and yet we know nothing about them, we know nothing about the causes, and we need to do what we can to protect these wonderful and forgotten penguins." Davis : "Ils semblent avoir diminué d'environ un tiers d'après les données dont nous disposons et pourtant nous ne savons rien à leur sujet, nous ne savons rien des causes, et nous devons faire tout ce que nous pouvons pour protéger ces merveilleux manchots oubliés".

**Intagliata:** After all, you could say the birds themselves are already putting all their eggs in one basket. Intagliata : Après tout, on pourrait dire que les oiseaux eux-mêmes mettent déjà tous leurs œufs dans le même panier. インタリアータ結局のところ、鳥たち自身がすでにすべての卵を一つのカゴに入れていると言えるでしょう。

__Penguin audio courtesy study author Thomas Mattern, The Tawaki Trust, Dunedin, New Zealand, and the Global Penguin Society, Puerto Madryn, Argentina.__ Le son des pingouins est fourni par l'auteur de l'étude, Thomas Mattern, The Tawaki Trust, Dunedin, Nouvelle-Zélande, et la Global Penguin Society, Puerto Madryn, Argentine.