Adélie penguins are one of only 5 species of penguins that live on the Antarctic continent (Adélie, emperor, gentoo, chinstrap and macaroni penguins).
Adélie penguins breed around the entire Antarctic coast and small islands in places where there is exposed rock. More than 80,000 pairs of Adélie penguins breed annually along the 40km of Antarctic coast near Mawson station. Scientists at the Australian Antarctic Division study the Adélie penguin colony on Béchervaise Island, near Mawson as part of a long term ecosystem monitoring program. This colony is one of the smaller Adélie colonies consisting of around 1800 breeding pairs.
Adélie penguins are medium sized penguins, weighing 3 to 6 kg and standing 70 cm tall. They are distinguished by the white ring surrounding the eye. Males and females are of similar size and difficult to tell apart.
Like all penguins, Adélies are excellent swimmers. They are also very determined and successful long distance walkers travelling across many kilometres of fast ice on the return journey to their colonies. Their walking speed on ice averages 2.5 km/h and swimming speed 4 to 8 km/h. When enough snow covers the ice, they prefer to plonk onto their bellies and toboggan.
The diet of Adélies differs according to the location where food is captured. Local meals (those within 20km of the colony) consist mostly of fish, amphipods and ‘crystal krill’, while offshore meals consist of mainly ‘Antarctic krill’. Meal sizes range from about 300 to 650 g depending on the size of the chicks.
Breeding adults swim between 5 to 120 km offshore to catch food for their chicks. Feeding trips range from 5 to 72 hours in duration.
Some Adélie penguins are capable of diving to depths of up to 175 m but usually feed within the upper 70 m of the water column.
Credit : Australian Antarctic Program
Picture Credit : Google
