Where do penguins live and why do they live there?

Answer 1

Four of the 17 species of penguins live along the coast of Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula. None are able to venture far inland on the Antarctic. Others are found elsewhere within the Antarctic Circle to temperate regions further north, including New Zealand, southern Australia, the Falkland Islands, the Galápagos Islands and the Coastlines of South America and southern Africa.

Penguins are specially adapted to live in these colder areas, because they have blubber which can protect them from the cold. Cold water can remove heat from the body much faster than air, so a good insulator is required.

Penguins need to live where they do (in and near the ocean) because they eat fish. They have special adaptations that allow them to live in the water. They cannot fly in air because their wings are too small for their body weight. The penguin is simply unable to create enough energy to take off. Penguins' wing bones are fused straight, rather than angled like a flying bird's, and this has the effect of making the wing rigid and powerful, like a flipper. The small wings and a streamlined body shape are ideal for diving in water.

Unlike the majority of other birds, penguins do not have hollow bones, so are much heavier and harder to support with their small wings. The solid, as opposed to hollow, bones act as ballast to help them dive. Also, being solid, they are less prone to breakage from the stresses of swimming. Some (but not all) flying birds have hollow bones to be lighter.

Penguins also have higher levels of myoglobin and feathers optimized for the aquatic environment. Myoglobin is the main way penguins store oxygen during their long dives. The muscles of flying birds are filled with mitochondria and enzymes to power flight, and there is no space left-over for myoglobin. So, flying birds cannot spend us much time underwater as penguins because they have less myoglobin (less oxygen per body mass) and lower body mass (less over oxygen).

Another reason why penguins live where they do is because they are able to optimise their feathers for the aquatic environment. Penguin feathers are short and tight to keep water away from the skin and to create a smooth surface to lower drag. Flying birds have very different feathers that are fluffy to trap air for insulation.

Oddly, penguins only come to land to breed. Otherwise, they live their lives in seawater.

Answer 2

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