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King penguin brooding and defending a sub-Antarctic skua chick

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Abstract

Interspecific parental care is rare, conveys no ultimate evolutionary advantage, and is usually attributed to reproductive errors in species with analogous habitat, behaviour and diet. We report on interspecific parental care (brooding and “defence” of unrelated chick) provided by a king penguin to a sub-Antarctic skua chick on Marion Island, despite substantial risk of injury to the penguin due to the presence of the true parents.

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Acknowledgments

The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism supplied logistic support within the South African National Antarctic Programme. Financial support was provided by The Department of Science and Technology, through the National Research Foundation (NRF), in support of the Pinniped Monitoring Programme (PMP) of the MRI. The opportunistic observation presented here was recorded during the execution of the PMP, while during the compilation of this paper WCO benefitted from a NRF Grantholder-linked bursary within the project “Conservation of Seabirds, Shorebirds and Seals” led by L. Underhill of the Animal Demography Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Cape Town. Thanks to Céline Le Bohec, Marienne de Villiers and an anonymous referee whose comments improved the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Zoology and Entomology, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa

    W. Chris Oosthuizen & P. J. Nico de Bruyn

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  1. W. Chris Oosthuizen
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  2. P. J. Nico de Bruyn
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Correspondence to W. Chris Oosthuizen.

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Oosthuizen, W.C., de Bruyn, P.J.N. King penguin brooding and defending a sub-Antarctic skua chick. Polar Biol 32, 303–305 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-008-0566-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-008-0566-1

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