Responses of King penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) adults and chicks to two food-related odours

Increasing evidence suggests that penguins are sensitive to dimethyl sulphide (DMS), a scented airborne compound that a variety of marine animals use to find productive areas of the ocean where prey is likely to be found. Here we present data showing that king penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus are also sensitive to DMS. We deployed DMS on a lake near a king penguin colony at Ratmanoff beach in the Kerguelen archipelago. We also presented DMS to ‘sleeping’ adults on the beach. On the lake, penguins responded to the DMS deployments by swimming more, while on the beach, penguins twitched their heads and woke up more for the DMS than for the control presentations. Interestingly, penguins did not respond to cod liver oil deployments on the lake; mirroring at-sea studies of other penguins. Although at-sea studies are needed to confirm that king penguins use DMS as a surface cue that informs them of productivity under the water, this study is an important first step in understanding how these b...

越来越多的证据表明，企鹅对二甲基硫（dimethyl sulphide, DMS）具有敏感性——这是一类带有气味的空气传播挥发性化合物，多种海洋动物可借助其定位海洋高生产力区域，进而寻觅猎物。本研究证实王企鹅（*Aptenodytes patagonicus*）同样对DMS存在响应性。我们在凯尔盖朗群岛拉特马诺夫海滩的王企鹅繁殖群附近的湖泊中开展了DMS投放实验，同时向海滩上处于‘休眠’状态的成年企鹅施加DMS刺激。在湖泊环境中，企鹅在DMS投放后游泳频次显著提升；而在海滩环境中，相较于对照组，企鹅在接触DMS时更多出现头部抽动并苏醒的行为。有趣的是，企鹅并未对湖泊中投放的鳕鱼肝油产生响应，这与其他企鹅的海上野外研究结果一致。尽管尚需开展海上研究以证实王企鹅会利用DMS作为水面线索，以此指示水下的海洋生产力，但本研究为理解这类……迈出了至关重要的第一步。