Biology

The secret life of Phillip Island’s divorced penguins

Credit: Phillip Island Nature Park

Life isn’t always a beach for Phillip Island’s beloved penguins. It turns out that penguins will divorce their partner and find a new mate if they are not satisfied with the number of children filling their nest. But it’s a risky decision that can lower your success in your next breeding attempt.

A new study conducted over a decade by Monash University and Phillip Island Nature Park delves into the species’ complex love life and reveals what can be predicted about the colony’s reproductive future.

The findings are published in the journal Ecology and Evolution.

The researchers found that penguin divorce rates are more likely to be affected by environmental factors such as habitat changes or behavioral traits such as time spent foraging, and that the greater the number of divorces and re-pairings, the greater the colony’s reproductive success. was found to be a highly reliable indicator for predicting During the breeding season, the overall reproductive success of the colony decreases.

Phillip Island is home to 37,000 little penguins, the world’s largest colony of these penguins, and the internationally famous Penguin Parade sees these amazing seabirds waddle back from the sea to their burrows at dusk. It attracts thousands of tourists every year.

Professor Richard Reyna, head of the Monash Ecophysiology and Conservation Research Group in the School of Biological Sciences, has been studying the island’s penguins for 20 years and said, contrary to conventional wisdom, not all penguins make lifelong partners. .

“In good times, they mostly stick together with their partners, but then there’s often a bit of hanky-panky,” Professor Reyna says. ā€œHowever, after an unsuccessful breeding season, they may try to find a new partner for the next season to increase their breeding success.

“Our study covered 13 breeding seasons, and we tracked which individuals changed partners or divorced from one season to the next. Throughout the study, we tracked nearly 250 birds from approximately 1,000 breeding pairs. and found that there were years when the divorce rate was lower, resulting in higher breeding success rates. ā€

Professor Andre Chiaradia, a marine scientist at Phillip Island Nature Park, said divorce rates are an accurate predictor of success because they correlate more accurately with reproductive rates than other factors affecting penguins. said.

“Our findings of low divorce rates in Phillip Island’s little penguins under favorable environmental conditions highlight the importance of considering social dynamics alongside environmental factors when developing strategies to protect vulnerable seabird species. Professor Chiaradia said.

Matt Simpson worked on this research as an honors project in collaboration with Professor Reyna and Professor Chiaradia while completing his BSc degree at Monash University.

ā€œWe are proud to have made a significant contribution to the conservation of these fascinating birds by helping to discover new ways to identify patterns that indicate the health of these bird populations,ā€ said Simpson. spoke. ā€œThis work took a long time and a lot of effort to create. It was also a great opportunity to gain real-world experience in the field while completing my studies.ā€

This research is the latest in a strong, decades-long collaboration between Monash University and Phillip Island Nature Park.

Further information: Matthew D. Simpson et al, Divorce Rates Better Predict Population-Level Reproduction Success in Little Penguins Than Foraging Behavior or Environmental Factors, Ecology and Evolution (2025). DOI: 10.1002/ece3.70787

Provided by Monash University

Citation: The Secret Life of Divorcing Penguins on Phillip Island (January 16, 2025), January 16, 2025 https://phys.org/news/2025-01-secret-phillip-island-divorcing-penguins. Retrieved from html

This document is subject to copyright. No part may be reproduced without written permission, except in fair dealing for personal study or research purposes. Content is provided for informational purposes only.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button