The long engagement of the emperor penguin

• Main Authors: Ancel, André, Gilbert, Caroline, Beaulieu, Michaël
• Other Authors: Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE-IPHC), Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Mécanismes adaptatifs : des organismes aux communautés, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Biology I, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, 109 and 137 IPEV programs
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2013
• Subjects: Courtship; breeding; primary oceanic production; antarctica; spheniscidae; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology; Antarc*; Antarctica; Aptenodytes forsteri; Emperor penguins; Polar Biology
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00781075; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-013-1285-9s

International audience In birds, courtship is generally short relative to the whole breeding cycle. Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri), however, are an exception as their courtship period is much longer (ca. 6 weeks) than the courtship of other penguin species. This strategy may appear surprising, as it is especially costly to fast and endure drastic climatic conditions for long periods at the colony (1.5 and up to 4 months for females and males, respectively). We examined here the reasons of this extended courtship period and found that emperor penguins returned earlier to the colony when primary oceanic production before breeding was high. This suggests that emperor penguins return to the colony as soon as primary oceanic production in summer allows them to replenish their body reserves. The extended period of time spent at the colony during courtship may therefore result from an evolutionary process that confers advantages to emperor penguins that arrive earlier at the colony by reducing predation risks and offering better chances of securing a partner.