adapt & dive
African Birdlife|September/October 2022
Penguin evolution and conservation
adapt & dive

Penguins are one of the most dis-tinctive and charismatic bird orders. Supremely adapted for flipper-propelled diving, they are the most aquatic of all birds and hold the records for the deepest and longest dives. A new study by Theresa Cole and a large team of researchers (Nature Communications, doi: 10.1038/ s41467-022-31508-9) provides unprecedented insights into how they adapted to a life at sea.

Thanks to their dense bones and aquatic habitats, penguins are well represented in the fossil record. In addition to the 19 extant species, nearly 50 other penguin species are known from fossil or sub-fossil remains. Cole’s team combined data from fossil species with genomic evidence from all extant and recently extinct penguins to infer their evolutionary history.

By comparing the genomes of penguins with those of other birds, the researchers were able to identify the genes responsible for a suite of marine adaptations. These include genes that enhance dive duration by promoting oxygen storage in the muscles and by improving tolerance to low blood oxygen concentrations. Penguins also have

lost the gene for green cones in their retina and have blue-shifted their colour vision to enhance visual acuity in extremely low light levels.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September/October 2022-Ausgabe von African Birdlife.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September/October 2022-Ausgabe von African Birdlife.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS AFRICAN BIRDLIFEAlle anzeigen
EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
African Birdlife

EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS

Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
May/June 2024
footloose IN FYNBOS
African Birdlife

footloose IN FYNBOS

The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
May/June 2024
Living forwards
African Birdlife

Living forwards

How photographing birds helps me face adversity

time-read
10 Minuten  |
May/June 2024
CAPE crusade
African Birdlife

CAPE crusade

The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge

time-read
5 Minuten  |
May/June 2024
water & WINGS
African Birdlife

water & WINGS

WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.

time-read
1 min  |
May/June 2024
winter wanderer
African Birdlife

winter wanderer

as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.

time-read
1 min  |
May/June 2024
when perfect isn't enough
African Birdlife

when perfect isn't enough

Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race

time-read
5 Minuten  |
May/June 2024
Southern SIGHTINGS
African Birdlife

Southern SIGHTINGS

The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
May/June 2024
flood impact on wetland birds
African Birdlife

flood impact on wetland birds

One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
May/June 2024
a star is born
African Birdlife

a star is born

It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
May/June 2024