Journal Entries

2005-06

 

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Click here to access journal entries by Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez or Luke Sandro.

 

February 1, 2006 — Palmer Station, Antarctica

What's black and white and pink all over? Penguins!

Gotta love these penguins, but someone has to discuss hygiene and cleanliness with them — especially the "chicks/adults". These half-child half-adult little ones need to molt and lose their baby down because it’s not a pretty picture. They are all having bad hair days and need a bath badly!

Any idea what that pink stuff is that's all over them? Think this through. Their diet consists of mainly krill, which is pink. That's why they need a bath! But they seem quite content sitting in this pink smelly mess. Guess it all depends on your point of view. The penguins sure don't seem to mind, so it must be my issue.

Take a look at what these little Adélies looked like just a few weeks ago and see the changes they have made as they have grown from chicks to juveniles.

They are now known as juveniles and are losing their baby down-like feathers. The time when birds begin to fly is called fledging. Since penguins don't fly, the stage at which they learn how to forage for their own food and can take care of themselves is their fledging. They now look similar to the adults, except for their white chins and remaining fuzz. Next year they will molt (lose their feathers) and then they will become adults.

The chicks are almost the same size as their parents and hungrier than ever. They can become quite a pest as they constantly beg for food. At this stage of penguin development, the chicks eat most of the food the parents catch. The parents have lost weight trying to satisfy their hungry chicks' demands for food, while the chicks keep getting chubbier and chubbier.

There comes a point when the parents can no longer keep up with the ravenous appetite of their harassing chicks and the parents know that the time is right to let the chicks become independent. Eventually, the adults leave the nest and colony, leaving the chicks to fend for themselves and to learn how to find food on their own. For about four days, the chicks will hang around colony waiting for food — until one day they are so hungry they somehow find their way to the water's edge.

There are seals in the water waiting for a tasty Adélie snack — but there is safety in numbers. When enough Adélies have gathered together, they enter the water en masse, instinctively swimming and finding food.

The adults must tend to their own needs at this time and put some weight on themselves. Sometime in mid-February to March, they will undergo a molting period. This will take some energy from the adults, so they focus on storing up food for themselves as they undergo this molt. During this molt, they find an area that is well-protected from the wind and just stand around and lose their feathers. If the adults did not stop feeding their chicks, they would not be able to survive the winter themselves. This is true not only of the Adélies, but also of the chinstrap and gentoo penguins.

I spoke to Brett Pickering, a biologist (scientist who studies living things) who has been working at Palmer Station for about five years. Before that he worked at the South Pole.

Recently, he has been working on a project involving sea birds with Bill Fraser, an ornithologist (scientist who studies birds). Bill has been around Palmer for over 20 years and seen many changes in the environment and also bird populations.

In order to collect data, the "birders" go out onto the islands surrounding Palmer Station where the penguin colonies are located. They carefully and painstakingly count the number of adults and chicks in each of the colonies and record the data. Then they closely examine the data to look for trends and changes. Over the past 30 years, there has been a drastic decline of almost 70% in the Adélie population in the areas around Palmer Station. The gentoo population around Palmer has increased dramatically each year. What would cause one species to decline and another to increase? What are some of the things a species needs to thrive and reproduce?

Brett believes that the best evidence for the penguin population changes is the increasing temperature of the Antarctic Peninsula, on which Palmer Station is located. Over the past 30 years, the average winter temperature has increased around 9° F. These increasing temperatures may be causing less sea ice. Less sea ice + warmer temperatures = more snow. More snowfall can be devastating for penguin nests. Penguins return to the same nest each year in their colony to lay their eggs. The snow melts in the spring and floods their nests, killing the eggs. In addition, an Adélie food source called the Antarctic silverfish has diminished. Less food = less penguins. Click here for a lesson plan on this topic.

Nature has a delicate balance and when one part changes, other areas change to maintain balance.

There’s a new feeling creeping into me and it’s bittersweet. The Laurence M. Gould is expected to arrive at Palmer Station in just a few short days. I’m not ready to leave this place I have come to call home. Even though I miss my family, I want them to come here.

We are expected to board the LMG on Saturday and then leave Palmer Station on Sunday. Leaving is such a difficult thought and is the bitter part because I have fallen in love with Antarctica and I don't want to leave my new friends. I find myself desperately trying to burn the images I have become so familiar with into my memory. Walking up in my tent greeted by bright sun glistening on the water while the seals burp. Zipping along in our Zodiac amidst the towering icebergs, only slowing to make our way through thick brash ice. Walks with friends through the rocky backyard — stopping to admire and appreciate the wonders of Antarctica. There are so many sights that I never want to forget, for I know that I will probably never return here.

I have been gone a long time now — over five weeks — and I know it's time for me to return home. Back to my friends, students, colleagues, daughters, and husband who have all been so patient and supportive. The reunion will be the sweet part.

I wonder if my Christmas tree and other decorations are still up. Will my dog remember me, or bark as if I was a stranger?

 

- Kaput-on-Ice

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