Key questions
Distribution and abundance
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What factors determine where penguins live?
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Why do some colonies, especially smaller ones, grow at faster rates than others?
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Why do colonies differ in size?
Breeding success
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What factors determine breeding success at different colonies?
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Why do chicks grow fasterat some colonies than at others?
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How many chicks fledge at each colony?
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Breeding behaviour
- What are the social factors that influence Adélie breeding?
- Why do Adélies breed in colonies?
- How does an Adélie select a colony as its breeding site?
Foraging
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What factors determine what penguins eat?
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How much energy do penguins expend catching their food?
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How closely do changes in penguin population numbers reflect changes in the abundance of their prey species?
Bioindicators
- Can changes in Adélie population numbers be used as a yardstick for the environmental impacts of human (fisheries, pollution) and natural factors (climate change, weather patterns)?