Penguin divorce more than humans

Penguin is not a symbol of eternal love as many people often think. Scientists discovered a group of small penguins (Eudyptula minor), the smallest penguin in the world, on Phillip Island, Australia, has many times the divorce rate is many times higher than humans, Science Alert On 1/2 reported. New research published in magazines Ecology and Evolution.

Through 12 breeding seasons, scientists from Monash University counted nearly 250 divorce cases in a group of nearly 1,000 pairs of penguins. This is equivalent to about 21 cases per year in the period of 2000 – 2013. While in the US, the annual divorce rate of humans is about 2.4 of 1,000 couples, nearly 10 times lower than the winged bird species This dead.

In the study, a divorce was calculated when a penguin tagged from the previous breeding season reappeared with the new partner. The small penguin population on Phillip Island consists of more than 37,000 heads, but according to the research team, their sample size is a good indicator of the situation on a wider scale.

The decision to leave or stay in a penguin relationship is often based on the children. “In a favorable period, they often retain their partners, although there may be a bit of acts outside the thread. But after a poor reproductive season, they can find a new partner for the next season to increase fertility ability Success, “said Ecologist Richard Reina at Monash University explained.

Small penguins are not the only species that breaks human delusions of fidelity in nature. For example, Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) and Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis Adeliae) Sometimes there are acts outside the stream even when they are paired, they are not really loyal sexually. A study since 1999 showed that only 15% of the Emperor’s penguin was still with his partner in consecutive breeding seasons.

Divorce may be a sign of a difficult period, but it is not always a bad choice. In some cases, this becomes a necessary risk, especially after a failed breeding season.

“Divorce can be an adaptive tactic to increase the ability to successfully reproduce in the long term, especially when the previous reproductive success is low, a higher quality partner appears, environmental events stopped. Blocking or delaying the restoration, ”said marine scientist Andradadia from Monash University, one of the authors of the new research, explaining.

The problem here is to consider short -term risks with long -term benefits. The team said that the new discovery showed the importance of considering social dynamics when it comes to animal conservation.