A team of scientists from the University Erlange-Nuremberg (Germany) has discovered the mechanism used by emperor penguins ( Aptenodytes forsteri ) to avoid freezing to death at very low temperatures. Specifically, as described in the journal PLoS One , these Antarctic animals form a compact group and every 30 or 60 seconds those that are outside begin to move in an imperceptible and coordinated way to penetrate inside the group, which creates a kind of wave within the colony.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers observed the behavior of the penguins with cameras that captured images of the colony every 1.3 seconds for several hours. According to scientists, the coordinated movement of emperor penguins is so harmonious and subtle that it can hardly be observed with the naked eye.
Emperor penguins breed during the Antarctic winter, with males grouping together to store body heat and incubate their eggs at temperatures that can be below minus 45 degrees.
