The Emperor Penguin

Adaptations:

·         The emperor penguin is large, so that the surface area:volume ratio is less, meaning that there is less relative are for heat to be lost

·         When it gets very cold, penguins can puff their feathers out to trap more air for even better insulation. When it gets too hot they fluff their feathers out even more so that the trapped warm air can escape and enable the penguin to cool down.

·         Penguins rely mostly on a thin layer of fat beneath their skin to keep warm on land

·         Emperor penguins have developed a social behaviour that when it gets cold, they huddle together in groups that may comprise several thousand penguins. That way for most of the group, where their feathers end, instead of all of them having to face the cold wind and general low temperatures, most of them have another warm penguin blanket to shield them instead. The surface area of the group is greatly reduced and a great deal of warmth and body fat conserved

Where they're found:

• The Emperor penguins habitat is limited to the Antarctic and the surrounding sea, and unlike many other penguin species the Emperor penguins can rarely be found anywhere else in the world