Scientists reveal rapid biological transition event for New Zealand penguins

NEW ZEALAND - An international research team led by scientists from the University of Otago’s Department of Zoology has documented one of the most rapid biological transition events ever found.

The team used carbon dating and ancient DNA analysis of archaeological penguin remains from coastal New Zealand to establish the timing of penguin extinction and colonisation events.

“Previous research has shown that at the time of human arrival, New Zealand was inhabited by the waitaha penguin,"said Dr Nic Rawlence, who carried out the study.

"Hunting and habitat change apparently caused the extinction of this unique mainland penguin, before the yellow-eyed penguin later arrived here from the subantarctic. Until now, we really had no idea when one species went extinct and the other colonised.”

The new dating study has shown that waitaha penguin went extinct around the same time as the giant flightless moa, within 200 years of Polynesian settlement of New Zealand, before 1500 AD.

Intriguingly, the yellow-eyed penguin then replaced the extinct penguin within just a few decades, in the early 1500s.

Oldest known African penguin dies at Pueblo Zoo

Tess at Pueblo Zoo. Credit: Colorado State University.

USA - Pueblo Zoo in Colorado announced today that Tess, the oldest known living African penguin in captivity and the oldest female on record, has died at age 40.

This is an amazing feat, considering that in the wild the average life expectancy of African penguins is 15 to 20 years.

She is survived by her mate, Mongo.

“She was truly a special animal,” her primary keeper, Melanie Pococke, said in the zoo's announcement.

Podgy penguins make better breeders

AUSTRALIA - Putting on a little weight over winter increases a little penguin’s sexual success according to new research published in Royal Society Open Science last month.  

Researchers at Phillip Island Nature Parks, Australia, in collaboration with scientists from the French Research Council, discovered the winter body mass of little penguins has a carry-over effect on timing of breeding and reproductive success during spring and summer.

“Little penguin parents that put on weight in winter, and were heavier than their mass before or after July, were more likely to lay their eggs early, and males were more likely to successfully breed,” André Chiaradia, research scientist at Phillip Island Nature Parks said.

Climate change does not bode well for picky penguins

A gentoo penguin and a chinstrap penguin
Credit: Rachael Herman, Louisiana State University

ANTARCTICA – In a part of the world that is experiencing the most dramatic increase in temperature and climate change, two very similar penguin species – chinstraps and gentoos – are responding very differently.

Chinstrap penguin numbers at Antarctic Peninsula breeding colonies are decreasing while gentoo penguin numbers are increasing.

New research published this month in Marine Ecology Progress Series suggests that the ways in which these species have adapted to co-exist with one another might be to blame.

Little penguin Bella released back to her mate Lucky

Bella having a final swim at Taronga Wildlife Hospital before
being released. Photo credit: Madeleine Smitham

AUSTRALIA - Little penguin Bella was released back into the wild to her waiting mate Lucky earlier this week after being treated at the Taronga Wildlife Hospital.

Bella was released off Manly's Store Beach by Taronga Wildlife Hospital Manager Libby Hall, Sydney Harbour National Park Ranger Melanie Tyas and volunteer penguin wardens.

Lucky had been seen swimming in the area nearby at twilight, looking for her. Little penguins usually mate for life and as it is breeding season it was important to get the two love-birds back together.

World's oldest African penguin undergoes cancer radiation

Tess recovering after radiation therapy.
Photo credit: William Cotton, Colorado State University

USA - On 9 December a toddler peered through thick glass as African penguin Tess dove into her pool at the Pueblo Zoo. It was the penguin’s first swim since Colorado State University (CSU) veterinarians used specialised radiation to treat an aggressive form of skin cancer on her face.

At 40 years old, Tess is the oldest known African penguin, the matriarch of a dying species and a beloved member of the penguin exhibit at the Pueblo Zoo in southern Colorado. For the veterinarians who treated Tess for skin cancer in early December, she is a beacon on a planet with a dwindling variety of creatures.

“Some people would ask, ‘Why are you putting all of these resources into an individual animal?’ But, if this individual animal can tell a story that helps globally with the African penguin, then it’s all worth it,” said Dr. Matthew Johnston, a CSU veterinarian in Avian, Exotic and Zoological Medicine at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

Genomes reveal penguins' secrets

Adélie penguin close up.
Credit: Yvette Wharton – The University of Auckland

ANTARCTICA - Two penguin genomes have been sequenced and analysed for the first time in the open access, open data journal GigaScience. The study reveals insights into how Adélie and emperor penguins have been able to adapt to the cold and hostile Antarctic environment.

Antarctic penguins are subject to extremely low temperatures, high winds and profound changes in daylight. They have developed complicated biological systems to regulate temperature and store energy for long-term fasting.

Most studies have focused on the physiological and behavioural aspects of their biology, but an international team of researchers has now analysed the DNA of the two Antarctic penguins relative to other bird species, revealing the genetic basis of their adaptations and their evolutionary history in response to climate change.