TY  - STD
AU  - Ancel André, Gilbert Caroline
PY  - 2013//
TI  - The long engagement of the emperor penguin
BT  - POLAR BIOLOGY
SP  - 573
EP  - 577
VL  - 36
IS  - 4
KW  - Antarctica
KW  - Breeding
KW  - Courtship
KW  - Ecology
KW  - Microbiology
KW  - Oceanography
KW  - Plant Sciences
KW  - Primary oceanic production
KW  - Spheniscidae
KW  - Zoology
KW  -
N2  - 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.
SN  - 0722-4060
L1  - https://intranet.ipev.fr/proposals/uploads/files/137/2014/Ancel2013a.pdf
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00300-013-1285-9
N1  - exported from refbase (http://publi.ipev.fr/polar_references/show.php?record=4456), last updated on Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0100
ID  - AncelAndre2013
ER  -