Our November 15, 2023 BVAS Monthly Program was "Journeys with Emperor Penguins" by Gerald L. Kooyman.
The second largest Emperor Penguin colony lies 3,500 kilometers south of New Zealand. Located on a narrow band of sea ice attached to the Antarctic continent, it is remote and difficult to reach; but Dr. Gerald Kooyman’s research team was able to access it. Close to the ice edge, they lived with the birds, observing penguins raising chicks, watching their foraging journeys, and witnessing interactions with predators such as killer whales and leopard seals. Valuable insights into behavior and physiology emerged, highlighting deep dives for food and the challenging post-molt survival.
Gerald L. Kooyman is professor emeritus and a research physiologist in the Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. He has made about fifty trips to the Antarctic; and from 1985 to 2013 his work was concentrated on studies of Emperor Penguins. He is coauthor of Penguins: The Animal Answer Guide and soon-to-be-released Journeys with Emperors.
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