Breeding habitats of emperor penguins in the western Ross Sea

Within the Western Ross Sea, there are six emperor penguin colonies of widely different size that occur exclusively on sea ice. In 1990 a survey of all six sites, two by close overflights and four from the ground, showed that the breeding habitats were highly variable. The most important physical ch...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Author: Kooyman, Gerald L.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1993
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102093000203
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102093000203
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Summary:Within the Western Ross Sea, there are six emperor penguin colonies of widely different size that occur exclusively on sea ice. In 1990 a survey of all six sites, two by close overflights and four from the ground, showed that the breeding habitats were highly variable. The most important physical characteristics of these habitats appear to be stable fast ice, nearby open water, access to fresh snow, and shelter from the wind.