Parenthood can be a struggle, particularly for families with multiple children in need of care, nurturing, protection and attention.
Parenthood can be a struggle, particularly for families with multiple children in need of care, nurturing, protection and attention. But a weary mom or dad may find solace in the reassurance that all parents with several offspring face a similar challenge — even the non-human variety.
Researchers at the University of Washington wanted to know how Magellanic penguin parents in South America balance the dietary demands of multiple chicks. As they report in a paper published Jan. 23 in the journal Animal Behaviour, when a Magellanic penguin parent returns to its nest with fish, the parent tries to feed each of its two chicks equal portions of food, regardless of the youngsters’ differences in age or size.
This finding surprised the team, since parents across the animal kingdom, including other penguin species, often allocate resources unequally to their chicks based on factors like offspring age, body condition, health and behavior, said senior author P. Dee Boersma. Boersma, a UW professor of biology and director of the Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, has for more than three decades studied penguins at Punta Tombo, a coastal region in Argentina that hosts one of this species’ largest breeding colonies.
“This is an exciting finding because, among animals, it is very unusual for parents to divide food equally among their offspring,” said Boersma. “This makes Magellanic penguin parents stand out not just among penguins, but also animals in general.”
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Image via University of Washington.
