Acoustic communication in a king penguin colony : importance of bird location within the colony and of the body position of the listerner

• Published in: Polar Biology
• Main Authors: Lengagne, Thierry, Aubin, Thierry, Jouventin, Pierre, Lauga, Jacques
• Other Authors: Neurobiologie de l'apprentissage, de la mémoire et de la communication (NAMC), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire d'Ecologie Terrestre (LET), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 1999
• Subjects: [SDV.NEU]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]; Polar Biology
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00173752; https://doi.org/10.1007/s003000050361

This study focuses on the propagation of the display call used for individual recognition between penguin partners. Transmission of acoustic information in a noisy environment such as a king penguin colony is very difficult. Conditions of propagation were examined for two areas of the colony (hatching and courtship areas) and reception at three heights from the ground (10, 45 and 90 cm). Signal modification was assessed in terms of attenuation of signal, amplitude modulation and spectral content. The acoustic recognition of the mate, which is decisive for breeding success, took place in the hatching area where signal degradation was less great for all parameters studied. When the receiver was located 10 cm above the ground, degradation of the signal was much more pronounced than when it was located 45 or 90 cm above ground. The characteristic incubating attitude of the king penguin (i.e. standing with the head at 45 cm above the ground) enables it to receive the main part of the signal in spite of the noisy environment.