Coordinated movements prevent jamming in an Emperor penguin huddle.
For Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri), huddling is the key to survival during the Antarctic winter. Penguins in a huddle are packed so tightly that individual movements become impossible, reminiscent of a jamming transition in compacted colloids. It is crucial, however, that the huddle structu...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ded615fd3b7e48f780a3ee56fc5d002e 2023-05-15T14:06:28+02:00 Coordinated movements prevent jamming in an Emperor penguin huddle. Daniel P Zitterbart Barbara Wienecke James P Butler Ben Fabry 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0020260 https://doaj.org/article/ded615fd3b7e48f780a3ee56fc5d002e EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3106014?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0020260 https://doaj.org/article/ded615fd3b7e48f780a3ee56fc5d002e PLoS ONE, Vol 6, Iss 6, p e20260 (2011) Medicine R Science Q article 2011 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0020260 2022-12-31T12:11:57Z For Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri), huddling is the key to survival during the Antarctic winter. Penguins in a huddle are packed so tightly that individual movements become impossible, reminiscent of a jamming transition in compacted colloids. It is crucial, however, that the huddle structure is continuously reorganized to give each penguin a chance to spend sufficient time inside the huddle, compared with time spent on the periphery. Here we show that Emperor penguins move collectively in a highly coordinated manner to ensure mobility while at the same time keeping the huddle packed. Every 30-60 seconds, all penguins make small steps that travel as a wave through the entire huddle. Over time, these small movements lead to large-scale reorganization of the huddle. Our data show that the dynamics of penguin huddling is governed by intermittency and approach to kinetic arrest in striking analogy with inert non-equilibrium systems, including soft glasses and colloids. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Aptenodytes forsteri Emperor penguins Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Huddle ENVELOPE(-64.983,-64.983,-65.411,-65.411) The Antarctic PLoS ONE 6 6 e20260 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Daniel P Zitterbart Barbara Wienecke James P Butler Ben Fabry Coordinated movements prevent jamming in an Emperor penguin huddle. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
For Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri), huddling is the key to survival during the Antarctic winter. Penguins in a huddle are packed so tightly that individual movements become impossible, reminiscent of a jamming transition in compacted colloids. It is crucial, however, that the huddle structure is continuously reorganized to give each penguin a chance to spend sufficient time inside the huddle, compared with time spent on the periphery. Here we show that Emperor penguins move collectively in a highly coordinated manner to ensure mobility while at the same time keeping the huddle packed. Every 30-60 seconds, all penguins make small steps that travel as a wave through the entire huddle. Over time, these small movements lead to large-scale reorganization of the huddle. Our data show that the dynamics of penguin huddling is governed by intermittency and approach to kinetic arrest in striking analogy with inert non-equilibrium systems, including soft glasses and colloids. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Daniel P Zitterbart Barbara Wienecke James P Butler Ben Fabry |
author_facet |
Daniel P Zitterbart Barbara Wienecke James P Butler Ben Fabry |
author_sort |
Daniel P Zitterbart |
title |
Coordinated movements prevent jamming in an Emperor penguin huddle. |
title_short |
Coordinated movements prevent jamming in an Emperor penguin huddle. |
title_full |
Coordinated movements prevent jamming in an Emperor penguin huddle. |
title_fullStr |
Coordinated movements prevent jamming in an Emperor penguin huddle. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Coordinated movements prevent jamming in an Emperor penguin huddle. |
title_sort |
coordinated movements prevent jamming in an emperor penguin huddle. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0020260 https://doaj.org/article/ded615fd3b7e48f780a3ee56fc5d002e |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-64.983,-64.983,-65.411,-65.411) |
geographic |
Antarctic Huddle The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Huddle The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Aptenodytes forsteri Emperor penguins |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Aptenodytes forsteri Emperor penguins |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 6, Iss 6, p e20260 (2011) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3106014?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0020260 https://doaj.org/article/ded615fd3b7e48f780a3ee56fc5d002e |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0020260 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
e20260 |
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1766278180202610688 |