Wildlife

What types of wildlife live in Antarctica?   

There are many different varieties of marine wildlife but not so many on land animals. In shallow waters it is very hard to survive as there is a crust of ice on the sea bed. However, in deeper waters it is much easier to survive, but it is much colder. There is a much more wide variety under water in the Antarctic Ocean than in the Arctic Ocean. There are many corals and anemones anchored to the sea bed and more than 300 varieties of sponges! Many of the inhabitants feed on each other or dead plankton! Food is scarce most of the year and therefore the animals function slower because of this and also because of the temperature. The creatures produce a lot fewer, but larger, eggs and look after them with care. Many animals live longer than their equivalents in warmer waters. Some sponges have been known to live for several 100 years! Around about 71% of Earth is covered in water, whether that is lakes or oceans. The average ocean depth is 4 km and so there is around about 300 times more inhabitants of marine life than there is land animals and humans. Here is some information on various animals that can be found underwater, on land or in the sky:

Sea Urchins (Sterechinus neumayeri)

Sea Urchins have spines on them that can be very dangerous and poisonous. They can come in colours from very bright red to a dull purple and they can grow to 5cm in diameter. Their spines are positioned in vertical rows and they are very strong, long and are white-tipped. In between them are smaller spines that densely cover the skeleton (test). This enables the animal to move along the ground and also to defend itself against predators.

Penguins

There are 3 different types of penguins that live in Antarctica all year round. These are: Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus least concern) and the Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae near threatened). Here is some information on the most well known and populated species of penguin:

Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) Near Threatened)

Adults and juvenile penguin

Emperor penguins are the largest and heaviest penguins of them all. The adults can be 110 - 130 cm tall and weigh from 22.7 to 45.4 kg. However, this varies as the males can weigh more than the females. The weight can also vary between seasons as they will weigh much less when they are raising chicks and incubating eggs. Male penguins must stand to incubate their eggs for two months and during this time they don't eat anything. Many male penguins can lose up to 12 kg whilst they wait for the eggs to hatch. The average weight of a male at the start of the breeding time is around 38 kg and for the females, around 29.5 kg. However, afterwards it drops to around 23 kg for both sexes.

Like all penguins, Emperors have a streamlined body to minimize drag while swimming, and their wings have become stiff, flat flippers. On the tongue, there are rear-facing barbs so prey cannot escape once caught. Males and females are similar in size and colour. The adult has deep black dorsal feathers, covering the head, chin, throat, back, dorsal part of the flippers, and tail. The black plumage sharply defines it's border from the light-coloured plumage elsewhere. The underparts of the wings and belly are white, becoming pale yellow in the upper breast, while the ear patches are bright yellow. The upper jaw of the 8 cm long bill is black, and the lower jaw can be pink, orange or lilac. In juveniles, the ear patches, chin and throat are white, while its bill is black. The Emperor chick is typically covered with silver-grey down and has a black head and white mask. Chicks weigh around 315 g after hatching, and fledge when they reach about 50% of adult weight.

Emperor Penguin's dark plumage fades to brown from November until February, before the yearly moult in January and February. Moulting is very fast compared with other birds, taking only around 34 days. Emperor Penguin feathers emerge from the skin after they have grown to a third of their total length, and before old feathers are lost, to help reduce heat loss. New feathers then push out the old ones before finishing their growth.

Adaptations to cold

The Emperor Penguin breeds in the coldest environment of any bird species; air temperatures may reach −40 °C, and wind speeds may reach 89 mph. Water temperature is a very cold −1.8 °C, which is much lower than the Emperor Penguin's average body temperature of 39 °C. The species has adapted in several ways so they don't suffer from heat loss. Feathers provide 80–90% of its insulation, and it also has a layer of sub-dermal fat which may be up to 3 cm thick before breeding. This effective blubber layer hinders the mobility of these penguins when they are on land compared to its less well fat-insulated cousin, the Magellanic Penguin. Its stiff feathers are short, spear-shaped, and densely packed over the entire skin surface. With around 15 feathers per cm², it has the highest feather density of any bird species. An extra layer of insulation is formed by separate shafts of downy filaments between feathers and skin. Muscles allow the feathers to be held erect on land, reducing heat loss by trapping a layer of air next to the skin. On the other hand, the plumage is flattened in water, this then helps to keep the skin and the downy under layer dry. Preening is vital to assist the progress of insulation and in keeping the plumage oily and water-repellent.

The Emperor Penguin is able to maintain its core body temperature without altering its life, over a wide range of temperatures. Known as the thermo-neutral range, this extends from -10 to 20 °C. Below this temperature range, its life rate increases significantly, although an individual can maintain its core temperature from 38 ° down to −47 °C. At temperatures above 20 °C, an Emperor Penguin may become agitated as its body temperature and life rate rise to increase heat loss. Raising its wings and exposing the undersides increases the exposure of its body surface to the air by 16%, facilitating further heat loss.

Other Penguin Species that Inhabit Antarctica

Chinstrap penguin from the front

Adélie Penguin

Penguin Chick

Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) Least Concern

The Southern Giant Petrel, also known as the Antarctic Giant Petrel, Giant Fulmar, Stinker, and Stinkpot, is a large sea bird of the southern oceans.

More common Dark Southern Giant Petrel

This petrel is the largest of the Procellariidae and measures 86–99 cm, with a wingspan of 185–205 cm. The male weighs approximately 5 kg and the female 3–8 kg. They have a considerably large yellow bill, with a green tip and greyish-brown legs. 

There are two different morphs; the dark which resembles the Northern Giant Petrel, and the more distinct light morph. On the dark morph, the upper breast, head and neck are light with the remainder of its plumage being mottled brown. The leading edge of its wing is lighter as is the base of the inner primaries, on the underside.

A rarer Light Southern Giant Petrel

The light morph is rarer and very distinct with only slight black speckles on an otherwise all white look. As juveniles, the dark morph starts off more sooty brown and pales as it ages. Both Giant Petrels have legs that are stronger and therefore can move around on land rather effectively. Finally, when in flight this species has a somewhat hunchbacked appearance.

It, like all members of the Procellariiformes have certain features that set them apart from other birds. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called naricorns. Although the nostrils on the Petrels are on the top of the bill. The bills of all Procellariiformes are also unique in that they are split into between 7 and 9 horny plates. Finally, they produce a stomach oil made up of wax esters and triglycerides that is stored in the proventriculus. This is used against predators as well as an energy rich food source for chicks and for the adults during their long flights. They also have a salt gland that is situated above the nasal passage and helps desalinate their bodies, due to the high amount of ocean water that they imbibe; it excretes a concentrated saline solution from the nostrils.

Other animals found there and whether they are endangered:

• Weddell Seal (Least Concern)
• Leopard Seal (Least Concern, )
• Crab-Eater Seal (Least Concern)
• Antarctic Fur Seal (Least Concern)
• Southern Elephant Seal (Least Concern)
• Ross Seal (Least Concern)
• Orcas (Near Threatened)
• Blue Whale (Endangered)
• Black-Browed Albatross (Endangered)
• Wandering Albatross (Vulnerable)
• Antarctic Shag (Least Concern)

Black-Browed Albatross

Crab-Eater Seal

Antarctic Fur Seal

Southern Elephant Seal

Ross Seal

Blue Whale

Antarctic Shag

Wandering Albatross

Orca

Leopard Seal

Weddell Seal

The Food Chain
This is an example of Antarctica's food chain. It shows the producers, predators and consumers.

PRODUCERS - Phytoplankton

CONSUMERS – Sea birds, Crab-eater Seals, Penguins, Blue Whale, Fish, Squid, Krill.

PREDATOR – Killer whale, Leopard seal

PRIMARY CONSUMER – Krill, Small Fish and Squids

SECONDARY CONSUMER – Sea birds, Crab-eater Seals, Penguins and Blue Whale

HERBIVORE - Krill

CARNIVORE – All, but Krill

Killer Whale --- Leopard Seal

Sea Birds --- Penguins --- Crab-eater Seals --- Blue Whales

Fish --- Squids --- Krill

Phytoplankton

Animals that are Hunted and Why
Here is the list of animals that was shown above, but with the reason of why they are or aren't hunted:

• Seals - Hunted -  Fur seals had been virtually wiped out since the industry started in 1800 when 112'000 skins were taken. By 1822 James Weddell estimated that 1.2 million seals had been slaughtered. From 1870 the industry was uneconomic because so few seals were left, and when commercial sealing finally ended in 1912, around 3 million fur seals had been killed. Elephant seals were the next target as they were harvested for their blubber rather than their skins. By the 1950s when that industry also failed, over 1 million seals had died. Crabeater, Weddell, Ross and leopard seals have never been the subject of commercial slaughter in modern times. They are mainly hunted for their fur, especially to sell fur coats in the black market bit also there blubber can be used.
• Whales - Hunted -  In the 20^th century, whalers entered the South Ocean. After many years of hunting in the north, there wasn't enough whales any more and the Southern Ocean became the world's major whaling ground. Since Antarctic whaling began in 1904, 1.3 million whales weighting 70 million tonnes have been killed. Whale meat is eaten in Japan, their fat is used for soap and whale vomit is very expensive as a perfume.
• Birds - Not hunted
• Marine Life (eg. krill, fish, etc.) - Hunted -   In the late 1960s commercial fishing began in the South Atlantic, mainly by Russian Trawlers. Not only fish were taken, also krill.

  

  A Russain Trawler harvesting fish and krill

  They have a shorter live span, but they breed twice yearly. So they are much more productive and can sustain a higher yielding fishery. The fishing followed the same results as sealing and whaling. Fish catchers have fluctuated widely as each species was exploited. The main reason for this is that Antarctic fish are long-lived, grow slowly and take a long time to reach maturity and breed. This means they cannot be as heavily harvested as quicker growing and breeding species like krill. But harvesting krill means taking the food of many Antarctic species, as krill is at the centre of the Antarctic marine ecosystem.

This is a Japanese diagram of what the different parts of a whale is used for and how it is eaten