In situ heart rate and activity of incubating Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae)

✍ Scribed by B. Culik; D. Adelung; M. Heise; R. P. Wilson; N. R. Coria; H. J. Spairani

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 618 KB
• Volume: 9
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0722-4060
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00442526

✦ Synopsis

Heart rates and activity were monitored over 24 h in unrestrained, incubating Ad61ie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) exposed to natural conditions in the colony. Heart rate (HR in bpm) increased linearly with wind speed (w; range 0-19 m/s): HR = 85.8 + 1.35 w, but was unrelated (P>0.05) to temperature (-2.5°-6°C), humidity (37%-100%) cloud cover (0-8/8) and estimated solar radiation (0-12). Wind-induced heat loss was apparently compensated to a large degree by increased metabolic activity. Activity (A) measured as frequency of standing per hour, decreased linearly with temperature (t) and wind speed (w): A--1.651-0.033w-0.090t. After correcting for meteorological influences, heart rate and bird activity showed no diurnal periodicity. When incubating, metabolism and activity of Ad61ie penguins appear to be mainly governed by climatic variations.