PENGUINS – Flying UnderwaterAmbience: Chinstrap and macaroni penguinsFew birds would find the icy waters off Antarctica a hospitable home. Well penguins have long thrived in this environment, but in order to do so, they’ve had to make a few sacrifices along the way – including the ability to fly. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.Dr. Don Croll is an assistant research biologist at the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of California in Santa Cruz.Croll: There are a number of things that penguins have had to adapt to. One is that their plumage is very dense compared to most other birds that you see. Because they have this dense plumage, they’re also fairly resistant to water penetrating down to the skin, which of course would increase the amount of heat loss.Evolution has forced penguins to forgo the luxury of flight. Short outer appendages such as their stubby wings, give them a low surface area. And that,along with with their thick body mass enables them to conserve heat. The penguins heavy weight also allows them to swim for longer periods of time without having to feed. And what they’ve lost in flight, they’ve gained in their ability to dive.Croll: There wing size has reduced dramatically in order to reduce drag under water. The density of water is so much greater than that of air that a wing that functions very well in air doesn’t function very well in the water.Thanks in part to the design of their wings, some species of penguins can dive up to a thousand feet.Croll: Penguins are essentially flying under water. That’s a very efficient way of swimming. Some researchers are starting to measure exactly the swimming speeds of some of these birds and they’re quite remarkable. So, they’re good swimmers and they’re excellent divers, and one of the reasons they are so good at it is because of these adaptations, the reduction of the wing.This archival program is part of our thirtieth anniversary celebration. If you want hear more, check out our podcast. Im Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.
PENGUINS-Underwater Flying
Penguins, in order to thrive in the icy waters off Antarctica, have had to make a few sacrifices - including the ability to fly.
Air Date:01/06/2000
Scientist:
Transcript:
PENGUINS - Flying UnderwaterAmbience: Chinstrap and macaroni penguinsFew birds would find the icy waters off Antarctica a hospitable home. Well penguins have long thrived in this environment, but in order to do so, they've had to make a few sacrifices along the way - including the ability to fly. I'm Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.Dr. Don Croll is an assistant research biologist at the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of California in Santa Cruz.Croll: There are a number of things that penguins have had to adapt to. One is that their plumage is very dense compared to most other birds that you see. Because they have this dense plumage, they're also fairly resistant to water penetrating down to the skin, which of course would increase the amount of heat loss.Evolution has forced penguins to forgo the luxury of flight. Short outer appendages such as their stubby wings, give them a low surface area. And that,along with with their thick body mass enables them to conserve heat. The penguins heavy weight also allows them to swim for longer periods of time without having to feed. And what they've lost in flight, they've gained in their ability to dive.Croll: There wing size has reduced dramatically in order to reduce drag under water. The density of water is so much greater than that of air that a wing that functions very well in air doesn't function very well in the water.Thanks in part to the design of their wings, some species of penguins can dive up to a thousand feet.Croll: Penguins are essentially flying under water. That's a very efficient way of swimming. Some researchers are starting to measure exactly the swimming speeds of some of these birds and they're quite remarkable. So, they're good swimmers and they're excellent divers, and one of the reasons they are so good at it is because of these adaptations, the reduction of the wing.This archival program is part of our thirtieth anniversary celebration. If you want hear more, check out our podcast. Im Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.