Animal Sciences Commons^™

Responses Of King Penguin Aptenodytes Patagonicus Adults And Chicks To Two Food-Related Odours, Gregory B. Cunningham, Sarah Leclaire, Camille Toscani, Francesco Bonadonna

Biology Faculty/Staff Publications

Increasing evidence suggests that penguins are sensitive to dimethyl sulphide (DMS), a scented airborne compound that a variety of marine animals use to find productive areas of the ocean where prey is likely to be found. Here we present data showing that king penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus are also sensitive to DMS. We deployed DMS on a lake near a king penguin colony at Ratmanoff beach in the Kerguelen archipelago. We also presented DMS to ‘sleeping’ adults on the beach. On the lake, penguins responded to the DMS deployments by swimming more, while on the beach, penguins twitched their heads and …