1975/10/01 by Courtland H. Ofelt · 5 citations
Environmental Science · #Fire effects on ecosystems #Rangeland and Wildlife Management #Avian ecology and behavior
paper · doi:10.2307/1366232
openalex publication_date 1975/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
visual stimulation from the mate may be reduced by marked lowering or raising of the head.In the crowded conditions of an Ad&lie Penguin breeding colony, a certain amount of interaction between penguins provides social stimulation that is probably necessary for successful breeding.Too much stimulation, however, may produce stress that could adversely affect reproductive performance.One way penguins overcome this is by avoiding visual contact with another penguin' s head, thus reducing the probability of interaction and increasing the probability of resting.Furthermore, by facing into inter-nest spaces, rather than directly towards another nest, a penguin probably increases its apparent individual area, and so reduces the impression of crowding.Such a response has also been noted in penned male Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) that faced the wire fencing so that their individual areas ranged outside the pen (McBride 1966), as well as in penned Ad&e Penguins ( Spurr 1972).This avoidance orientation of Ad&lie Penguins probably enables them to nest at high densities without undue stress.It is to be expected that familiarity with neighbors would also reduce aggression, but Ad&e Penguins reacted very readily to disturbances in neighboring territories.This further emphasizes the value of avoidance orientation.It would be instructive to determine if a similar adaptation exists in other colonial species.This work was done while I was a member of the