Penguin Prostitution
On the rocky shores of the Antarctic continent,
a female Adélie penguin has a large number of potential male partners to mate
with. I have often heard that these penguins are monogamous,  |
| Michael Van Woert, NOAA NESDIS, ORA, Feb 1998. Ross Sea, Antarctica |
According to TravelWild Expeditions, Adélie penguins arrive with their colony to their breeding grounds starting in early October. Penguins at the age three and older will attempt to breed during the season. Males will spend a lot of time and energy building a nest. The nest is a shallow depression that is lined with stones and pebbles. The stones are used to hold the egg up out of freezing ice water in the event of flooding. Keeping the egg out of cold water will ensure that the egg will not freeze. Often, males will grab stones from the shores of the continent, and are even known to steal pebbles from other nests. Once the male is finished, he will stand on top of the nest and call for a female. A wandering female will check out the nest he’s prepared. If she deems the nest suitable, the two will complete a series of calls and movements. Afterwards, the male will mount the female and the pair will mate.
On average, two eggs will be laid by the couple, and the parents will take turns incubating the egg over the course of roughly 35 day incubation period. According to the article Adélie Penguins, penguins will base their eating habits depending on if the young has been hatched. Before the egg hatches, adults will walk 50 miles away to gain access to food, but when the young penguin is born they will travel only 12 mile away for a meal. Since penguins are marine birds, and are better adapted at moving in water than the land, one mate can be without its partner for more than two to four days at a time.
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However, whether if both mates are present at the nest of not, some females have been caught by scientists participating in what appears to be acts of prostitution. According to an excerpt from Mating in a Material World, scientists have recorded a small number of individual females who will run off to a single males nest. She will lie down in the center of the nest, and he will mate with her. Once he copulates, the female will stand up, grab a stone with her beak and bring it to her nest. In certain cases, the female will “flirt” with the single male, and he will allow her to simply take stones from his nest. The female can take multiple stones from a single males nest during these events, and the male will not oppose or fight the female.
The behaviors of prostitution in these penguins have both positives and negatives impacts on both the male and female. The biggest negative to prostitution would be that sex requires a lot of energy; to gain energy you need resources. In the cold Antarctic, food can be hard to come by, especially if they had just experienced a harsh winter. The two most obvious benefits: The female gets additional stones for her nest, and the single male has a chance of getting his genes into the next generation. The more rocks in the nest, the better the nest will be at protecting the egg or young penguin from suffocating or drowning. If the single male successfully fertilizes the egg the female lays, he will be able to get his genes in the next generation, but not have to expend any time or energy in caring for the offspring. If by chance, the male dies in between breeding seasons, the new pair could mate in the next breeding season. However, the exact reason for the prostitution among Adélie penguins is not known.
Therefore, it appears that sexual behaviors vary from penguin to penguin. Although most females remain monogamous throughout the breeding season, and even throughout their lifetimes, prostitution has been documented taking place by some females in Adélie penguin breeding colonies. There are also some benefits which explain why both males and females would participate in such behaviors; such as trying to ensure that their genes make it to the next generation. On the other hand, some penguins may not follow the prostitution, because they cannot expend the energy that they have on sexual promiscuity. Overall, prostitution in Adélie penguins does actually occur, but is not a very common practice.
A short excerpt on Penguin Prostitution
For Further Reading on Adélie penguins
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/adelie-penguin/
Further Readings on Penguins
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/adelie-penguin/
Further Readings on Penguins
Further Readings on Animal Prostitution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_among_animals
References
"Mating in a Material World." McKee, Maggie. California Academy of Science and National Wildlife Federation. February 1, 2005. Web. http://www.nwf.org/news-and-magazines/national-wildlife/birds/archives/2005/mating-in-a-material.aspx
"Adélie Penguins." AdelTravelWide Expeditions. International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators. 2014. Web. https://travelwild.com/antarctica-wildlife/adelie-penguin/
Do other types of penguin partake in prostitution? Or is it mostly the Adelie penguin. Also, do other males steal pebbles from other nests if they aren't being guarded so they don't have to travel far to find pebbles for their own nests? Also, I know that some species of bird are able to notice if they are raising an egg that doesn't belong to them, and will sometimes get rid of it. Do you know if a male Adelie notices an egg in his nest that is a result of an affair? Or would he still raise it as his own?
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