dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaHuddling behavior in emperor penguins : dynamics of huddling
| Authors | C. Gilbert, G. Robertson, Y. Le Maho, Y. Naito, A. Ancel |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | q-bio/0701051 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0701051 |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.physbeth.2006.04.024 |
| Journal | Physiol. Behav. 88 (2006) 479-488 |
Abstract
Although huddling was shown to be the key by which emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) save energy and sustain their breeding fast during the Antarctic winter, the intricacies of this social behavior have been poorly studied. We recorded abiotic variables with data loggers glued to the feathers of eight individually marked emperor penguins to investigate their thermoregulatory behavior and to estimate their "huddling time budget" throughout the breeding season (pairing and incubation period). Contrary to the classic view, huddling episodes were discontinuous and of short and variable duration, lasting 1.6+/-1.7 (S.D.) h on average. Despite heterogeneous huddling groups, birds had equal access to the warmth of the huddles. Throughout the breeding season, males huddled for 38+/-18% (S.D.) of their time, which raised the ambient temperature that birds were exposed to above 0 degrees C (at average external temperatures of -17 degrees C). As a consequence of tight huddles, ambient temperatures were above 20 degrees C during 13+/-12% (S.D.) of their huddling time. Ambient temperatures increased up to 37.5 degrees C, close to birds' body temperature. This complex social behavior therefore enables all breeders to get a regular and equal access to an environment which allows them to save energy and successfully incubate their eggs during the Antarctic winter.
{
"annotation_id": "338c9593-9166-4625-a32e-88374d516ac1",
"date_created": "2026-03-02T18:01:35.413000Z",
"date_modified": "2026-03-02T18:01:35.413000Z",
"file_hash": "a4b35d3d52ae7c50259345160f72e8b3cf532ff33461e3a86b468a0021c94d3e",
"private": false,
"record": {
"abstract": "Although huddling was shown to be the key by which emperor penguins\n(Aptenodytes forsteri) save energy and sustain their breeding fast during the\nAntarctic winter, the intricacies of this social behavior have been poorly\nstudied. We recorded abiotic variables with data loggers glued to the feathers\nof eight individually marked emperor penguins to investigate their\nthermoregulatory behavior and to estimate their \"huddling time budget\"\nthroughout the breeding season (pairing and incubation period). Contrary to the\nclassic view, huddling episodes were discontinuous and of short and variable\nduration, lasting 1.6+/-1.7 (S.D.) h on average. Despite heterogeneous huddling\ngroups, birds had equal access to the warmth of the huddles. Throughout the\nbreeding season, males huddled for 38+/-18% (S.D.) of their time, which raised\nthe ambient temperature that birds were exposed to above 0 degrees C (at\naverage external temperatures of -17 degrees C). As a consequence of tight\nhuddles, ambient temperatures were above 20 degrees C during 13+/-12% (S.D.) of\ntheir huddling time. Ambient temperatures increased up to 37.5 degrees C, close\nto birds\u0027 body temperature. This complex social behavior therefore enables all\nbreeders to get a regular and equal access to an environment which allows them\nto save energy and successfully incubate their eggs during the Antarctic\nwinter.",
"arxiv_id": "q-bio/0701051",
"authors": [
"C. Gilbert",
"G. Robertson",
"Y. Le Maho",
"Y. Naito",
"A. Ancel"
],
"categories": [
"q-bio.PE"
],
"doi": "10.1016/j.physbeth.2006.04.024",
"journal_ref": "Physiol. Behav. 88 (2006) 479-488",
"title": "Huddling behavior in emperor penguins : dynamics of huddling",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0701051"
},
"schema_id": "dorsal/arxiv",
"source": {
"execution_id": "5ff0cc23-5d0d-45f9-9e76-7766200e4b36",
"id": "arXiv Dataset IDs",
"type": "Model",
"variant": "snapshot-2026-03-01",
"version": "0.1.0"
},
"user_id": 1000002
}