Display Rate and Speed of Nest Relief in Antarctic Pygoscelid Penguins

• Published in: The Auk
• Main Authors: MÜller-Schwarze, D., MÜller-Schwarze, C.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press (OUP) 1980
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; Chinstrap penguin; Gentoo penguin
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/auk/97.4.825; http://academic.oup.com/auk/article-pdf/97/4/825/32911415/auk0825.pdf

Abstract The three species of the genus Pygoscelis, P. adeliae (Adélie Penguin), P. antarctica (Chinstrap Penguin), and P. papua (Gentoo Penguin) perform an elaborate Nest Relief Ceremony (NRC) upon one mate's return to the nest. The NRC consists of a number of displays, each of which is performed one or several times. The most conspicuous displays during NRC are the Loud Mutual Display (LMD) and Quiet Mutual Display (QMD) in P. adeliae and P. antarctica, and their morphologically different functional equivalents in P. papua, the "donkey call" (LMD) and "bow-gape-hiss" (BGH). The displays whose repetition rate is negatively correlated with the time elapsed between arrival of the mate and actual changeover are the LMD in P. adeliae, "circling" in P. antarctica, and BGH in P. papua.