Galapagos Penguins

Matt HamiltonPeriod 34/27/12

What is a Galapagos Penguin?

The Galapagos Penguin is a very cool creature. •“The average Galapagos Penguin is 49 centimetres (19 in) long and 2.5 kilograms (5.5 lb) in weight. They have a black head with a white border running from behind the eye, around the black ear-coverts and chin, to join on the throat. They have blackish-grey upperparts and whitish underparts, with two black bands across the breast, the lower band extending down the flanks to the thigh. Juveniles differ in having a wholly dark head, greyer on side and chin, and no breast-band. The female penguins are smaller than the males, but are otherwise quite similar.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galapagos_penguin

Adult Juvenile

•There are 17 species of penguins, and the Galapagos Penguin is the third smallest species of penguin. http://www.penguins.cl It’s an endangered species, with only 1500-2000 left. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galapagos_penguin

What’s for Lunch?All Galapagos penguins are carnivores. They eat krill, which are microscopic shrimp, small crustaceans, squid, and various fish species. http://a-z-animals.com/animals/galapagos-penguin

Krill Squid

CrustaceansFishes

A Typical Penguin DayGalapagos penguins spend most of their day trying to stay cool, find food, and take care of their chick when they have one. They always stay near the archipelago, close to their breeding grounds. The penguins stay by the cool waters, both to lower their body temperature and to find food. Once the sun does down, they stop hunting and return to land. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galapagos_penguin

Staying cool and catching lunch

Loyal creatures, they mate for life, and usually lay one to two eggs, up to three times a year. If both hatch, the parents only raise one, which seems a bit harsh, especially if you’re the second baby. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galapagos_penguin

How does where the Galapagos Penguin live influence how it lives?

The Galapagos Islands are a part of Ecuador.

The Galapagos Islands are on the left. Penguins live in the red areas.

SurvivalGalapagos penguins are the only penguins that can live north of the Equator. Even though it’s a hot climate, they keep from getting too hot by the cool waters of the Cromwell Current, which flows by the islands.

Galapagos currents

The current cools the penguins and carries abundant food. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galapagos_penguin While they’re trying to stay cool and full, they have to watch out for crabs, owls, snakes, hawks, sharks, fur seals and sea lions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galapagos_penguin

AdaptationsBeing so close to the Equator, the biggest problem the penguins have is staying cool in the hot sun. Besides cooling off in the water, they stretch out their flippers to let heat escape and lean forward to keep the sun off their feet, because their feet lose a lot of heat. They also pant, using evaporation to cool them down. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galapagos_penguin

They also don’t breed during El Nino, because it heats the water and makes the amount of food in the water go down, and they only breed when there’s a lot of food available. Eggs and chicks are protected from the sun by keeping them in crevices in rocks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galapagos_penguin

I think the only reason they can survive so close to the Equator is because of the Cromwell Current. This is the only place where this combination of hot land and cold currents exist.

How Have People Interacted with the Galapagos Penguin and its Environment in a Positive Way?

Penguin Condos:Since one of the problems the penguins have is having their habitats destroyed, in September, 2010, a team of people from the University of Washington built 120 artificial nests for their young, away from predators. They used local lava so the nests felt natural. http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/475-endangered-galapagos-penguins-get-new-homes.html

Penguin Eggs

More Positive Ways to Help the Penguins

Habitat Preservation:

You can’t build penguin nests if there’s no land to put them on.•In 1959, Ecuador’s government declared 97.5 percent of the archipelago as a national park, aside from areas where people were already living. This meant no one would build houses on the penguin’s land. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galapagos_islands

•In 1986, 70,000 square kilometers of ocean surrounding the islands was made into a marine reserve, so the penguin’s food supply was safer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galapagos_islands

Land and sea are now protected

How Have People Interacted with the Galapagos Penguin and its Environment in a Negative Way?

Most of the human impact on the penguins has been negative. They disturbed nesting habitats, so the penguins had to move. Humans also introduced cats, dogs, pigs and rats, which harmed the ecosystem and killed penguins and their offspring. http://eebweb.arizona.edu/courses/galapagos/expert%20topics%202007%20(bonine)/Lauerman_galapagospenguin.pdf

Predators introduced by humans

Humans also hurt penguins when illegal fishermen disrupt nests and penguins are caught in their nets. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galapagos_penguin

Some penguins die in nets each year.

The Biggest Negative Human Impact on Penguins is…

…Global Warming!

Penguins don’t like it too hot.

Galapagos penguins won’t breed when it’s too hot and the Cromwell Current warms up, so as the earth gets warmer it hurts their populations. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Penguins-Are-Threatened-By-Human-Activity-40529.shtml

International Efforts to Help the Penguins

A group called the Galapagos Conservancy, based in Virginia, has been organized to help the penguins and other life on the Galapagos Islands. Their mission is to “advance and support the conservation of the unique biodiversity and ecosystems of Galapagos through directed research, informed public policy, and building a sustainable society.” www.galapagos.org

The penguins are over there… (from www.galapagos.org )

They've poured tens of million of dollars of private support into the Galapagos Islands and it’s wildlife, including the endangered penguins.

How do the Penguins Impact Humans?

Most of the impact of penguins on humans is positive, because penguins bring in eco-tourism revenue, since they have a lot of charisma. Bird-watchers and wildlife enthusiasts come to the islands and spend money. http://eebweb.arizona.edu/courses/galapagos/expert%20topics%202007%20(bonine)/Lauerman_galapagospenguin.pdf

Penguins are flightless birds, look down!!!

The penguins can have a negative impact on commercial fishing, because they can eat up to 3000 tons of fish a year.http://eebweb.arizona.edu/courses/galapagos/expert%20topics%202007%20(bonine)/Lauerman_galapagospenguin.pdf

The Galapagos Penguin!

I think you’ll agree, Galapagos penguins are pretty cool, as long as they can keep from getting too hot!

Sources

“Galapagos Islands,” Wikipedia, last modified April 25, 2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galapagos_islands

“Galapagos Penguin,” A – Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/galapagos-penguin

“Galapagos Penguin,” University of Arizona, http://eebweb.arizona.edu/courses/galapagos/expert%20topics%202007%20(bonine)/Lauerman_galapagospenguin.pdf

“Galapagos Penguin,” Wikipedia, last modified 4/24/2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galapagos_penguin

“Humans – A Threat to Penguin Life,” Softpedia, http://news.softpedia.com/Penguins-Are_Threatened-By-Human-Activity-40529.shtml

International Penguin Conservation Work Group Web Site, http://www.penguins.cl

“Mission and History,” Galapagos Conservancy, www.galapagos.org/about_us/us/mission-history

“New Homes Built for Endangered Galapagos Penguins,” Our Amazing Planet, October 22, 2010, http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/475-endangered-galapagos-penguins-get-new-homes.html

All pictures are from Google Images unless they list a source.