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A superbreeder?

During a 2007 expedition to Antarctica, scientists travelled to Ross Island to study the biology of the frigid, bountiful Ross Sea through the eyes of Adélie penguins. Small aluminum identification bands, which do not cause the penguins any pain, help scientists learn more about them. Over the past 12 years, the bands revealed that 80 percent of penguin chicks never survive their first year at sea. But the bands also revelealed that some adults are “superbreeders” — incredibly good at raising chicks. They nearly always manage to produce one chick per year, and sometimes can raise two in the same year. Learn more on the Polar Discovery website.

(Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)