Organism to Ecosystem Part 3: Synthesis

The Emperor Penguin

Elizabeth Kent
The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is a very fascinating animal as it is the
biggest class of penguin ranging from 100 to 130 cm in height and weighing between 22 and 40
kilograms depending on the time of year and the gender. It is also the most adapted to ice of the
18 known penguin species (De Roy et. al., 2013), because the emperor penguin lives on ice
shelves during breading season and near the Antarctic coast during the duration of the year
(Fretwell et. al., 2014). The emperor penguin comes from the kingdom Animalia, the
subkingdom Bilateria and the infrakingdom of Deuterostomia. The phylum classification is
Chordata, with the subphylum being Vertebrata and the infraphylum of Gnathostomata. The
superclass and class for the emperor penguin are Tetrapoda and Aves, respectfully. Lastly, the
order is Sphenisciformes, the family is Spheniscidae, and the genus and species (as stated above)
is Aptenodytes forsteri (Integrated Taxonomic Information System, 2015).
The range of the emperor penguin depends on the time of year. In general, they can be
found between 54 and 78 S, around the perimeter of the ecoregion of the polar domain in
Antarctica (De Roy, et. al., 2013). This region has very low temperatures with a mean of -14.4C
(Jacquet & Roberts, 2004), and very low precipitation of less than 200 mm per year (Bailey,
1996). The polar domain where the emperor penguins live excludes the subantarctic where there
is more vegetation growth because of higher temperatures since other penguin species tend to
live there. Because of the low temperatures in the polar region, the emperor penguin has
adaptations such as sharp toenails to walk over the ice for long distances and fat reserves as well
as metabolic adaptations purposeful for fasting during long periods of time (Forcada &
Trathana, 2009), especially during the breeding season. Being able to molt, shed and replace with
new, feathers (Davis, 1945), and the fact that emperor penguins have a dense layer of feathers to

provide insulation on land and have the ability to compress them to form a waterproof outer layer
when diving (Milius, 2005), are also adaptations specific to the emperor penguin that allow them
to live in such harsh conditions. As a result of the feathers and the storage of oxygen in their
tissues (Burns & Kooyman, 2001), emperor penguins can stay submerged for 20 minutes
reaching depths of 400 meters to catch their food (De Roy, et. al., 2013).
The climate of Antarctica greatly affects the emperor penguins. The large artic air masses
blow around the snowdrift controlling the climate. The cold climate has been proposed in studies
regarding parasites in penguins to be the factor why blood parasites and others are present in
some penguin species like the magellanic penguin (Schenisusm agellanicus) but not others like
the emperor penguin (Jovani, et. al., 2001). The climate also has an effect on the soil in that it is
very coarse since it mostly contains broken-down rock from the freezing in winter and thawing
in summer of the ground. Accordingly, little to no vegetation can be found in the sub Antarctic
division (Bailey, 1996). The food sources for emperor penguins come from the ocean as they
dive in the water to catch their prey. Unfortunately, climate changes in Antarctica such as an
increase in temperature can decrease sea ice conditions affecting the krill (Euphausia superb)
and Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarcticum), both of which the emperor penguin feeds
on (figure 1). This could cause a decrease in the emperor penguin population if they are unable to
survive off the smaller amount of food and if their breeding success is affected as a result
(Fretwell, et. al., 2014). Climate changes can also break the ice shelves penguins need for
breeding purposes causing a decrease in chick survival rate, which in return may cause a
decrease in the emperor penguin population as a whole (Fretwell et. al., 2014).
On the other side of climate change is a decrease in the winter temperatures. The survival
rates of the male emperor penguins in particular may be limited since they must survive the
winter incubating their egg during the harsh conditions (Jenouvrier et. al., 2012). Since emperor

penguins do not interact with many other species due to low temperatures and limited vegetation,
one of the only mutualistic relationships they have is intraspecific. The relationship, which is
also a survival technique, is a huddling behavior which exists after mating when the emperor
penguins have paired up and must survive the winter. It is unusual to see this behavior in colonial
birds since most birds defend their territory rather than welcoming others in, but huddling is key
to reducing the emperor penguins metabolic rate to be able to fast for a long period of time
(Ancel, et. al., 2009). A decrease in temperatures may also affect the predators of the emperor
penguins, the southern giant fulmar (Macronectes giganteur), the leopard seal (Hydrurga
leptonyx), and the south polar skua (Catharacta maccormicki), who may not be able to adapt fast
enough to both the harsh conditions, and the limited food supply due to a decrease in the emperor
penguin population (Pinshow & Welch, 1980).
Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes Forsteri) have some interesting breeding patterns. The
female penguin mates with one male penguin (through sexual reproduction) in early autumn to
produce one egg in the late autumn. The egg is given to the male who sits on it to keep it warm
(incubation) for the 2 month winter which is from May to July (Jenouvrier et. al., 2012), while
the females go on a journey to the sea to forage for food. The relationship between the egg and
the male emperor penguin is one of commensalism in that the egg needs its father in order to be
protected and warm so it can eventually hatch. The male penguin neither benefits nor is harmed
from the egg itself though. Around the time the egg is about to hatch, the female returns to the
ice shelf where the male has stayed (Kirkwood & Robertson, 1997). While foraging for food, the
females have some competition since the weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) has the same
diet, similar diving patterns, and also lives in the Antarctic year-round. The weddell seal,
however, is capable of hunting for food under the thick ice shelves the males are incubating their

eggs on during the winter. In fact the seasonal cycles for the weddell seal and emperor penguins
are opposite, allowing them to coexist with little overlap (Burns & Kooyman, 2001).
Since emperor penguins have a low reproductive rate and they have a high investment in
each offspring, emperor penguins are considered a K-selected species. The incubation process is
around 2 months and then the males and females take turns feeding the chick for about 5 months
from July to December (Jenouvrier et. al., 2012).
To find the intrinsic rate of increase (rmax) per individual penguin, a time interval of one
year was selected. The maximum number of chicks (baby penguins) produced in one season is
one. This number is multiplied by the maximum number of times penguins reproduce in a year
which is also one (Kirkwood & Robertson, 1997). The product of one is divided by 2 since the
proportion of males and females is roughly equal in emperor penguins (Jenouvrier et. al., 2012).
Since emperor penguins dont start breeding until they are between 4 and 6 years old (Le Maho,
1977) and the average lifetime is about 20 years in Antarctica (Trathan et. al., 2011), the amount
of years female emperor penguins reproduce is about 15 years. This means that each year, about
15 out of 20 or 75% are actually reproducing. 0.5 (our result up to this point) is therefore
multiplied by 0.75 to get 0.38. Lastly, the per capita death rate must be subtracted. Assuming that
there is an equal number of emperor penguins in each of the 20 age groups, the minimum per
capita death rate per year is 1/20 or 0.05. As a result, the final intrinsic rate of increase per year
for each individual emperor penguin is about 0.33 chicks.

Predators:
southern giant fulmar (Macronectes giganteur),
leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx)
south polar skua (Catharacta maccormicki)

Mutualism:

Parasitism:

Intraspecific- huddling
together to survive the
harsh winters

None found for emperor

penguins

Emperor Penguin
(Aptenodytes Forsteri)

Competitors:

Commensalism:

Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii)

Male penguin and the egg it

incubates.

Prey:
krill (Euphausia superb)
Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarcticum)

Figure 1: The relationships of Aptenodytes Forsteri to other members of the community.

Literature Cited
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