King
penguins,
Aptenodytes patagonicus, molting, Grytviken, South Georgia.
I did not know that there was anything called the Scotia Sea before
I started on this projecdt.
Fauna
in and around the Scotia Sea.
Now I know, and a lot more, and I have found it so interesting, that
I just have to share with anybody else visiting my site.
And first of all - here there are penguins. Lots of penguins. Thousands
of them.
Adelie
penguins colony, Hope Bay, Antarctic Peninsula..
The Antarctic Convergence - a well-defined borderline between the
cold Antarctic and relatively warm South Atlantic waters -
crosses the Sea, while constant western winds create strong upwellings
along the shores of its islands. All that, combined with
dramatic relief above and below the surface, makes the Sea and its
islands one of the most productive and scenic parts of
the World's oceans.
Iceberg,
off South Georgia Island.
.
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Scotiahavet is also
known for bad weather.
Fierce storms roll,
over almost nonstop,
but you can get
a sunna day
once in a while....
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Weddell's
seal, Leptonychotes weddelli,
Hope Bay, Antarctic Peninsula. |

Antarctic
fur seals, Arctocephalus
gazella,
Grytviken, South Georgia. |

Antarctic
minke whale
Balaenoptera bonairensis,
is the species currently targeted
by Japanese whaling industry.
Off South Georgia. |
Some countries still have what
they call'scientific fishing of whales'
in the ocean here south.
It is said to be more of a political
cause than commercial, but still
is damaging to the environment.
We are not going to discuss the
problem involved to hunting
whales. That belongs to another
forum. Let us instead apprecdiate
what we can
still find in the Scotia Sea.
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Southern
right whale
Eubalaena australis
is still recovering from near-
extermination
by whalers.
Off South Georgia. |

Antarctic
king crabLithodes antarcticus. |

Emperor crab,
Peltarion spinosulum. |

Tractor crab,
Peltarion spinosulum. |
To come to see those
wild and beautiful places
ville og vakre stedene isn't
easy or cheap, but it is
possible. The commercial
mass-tourism has increased
enormously, and pepaps one should start giving questions about
this new trend?
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Antarctic
spider crab, Eurypodius latreillei. |
.

Three
meter-long nemertine (giant predatory
marine worm), Hope Bay, Antarctic Peninsula.
Nemertine
are cylindrical or more-or-less flattened acoelomate Bilateralia
with
a nerve-less cephalic lobe. The body is not segmented, although
the internal organs
mayh show pseudometamerism.
Most of them lives on the bottom of the sea, some are just
pelagic, but a few also live
in lakes or even ashore (in warmer climate). The length
from a few millimeters to
some tens of meters. Some specimens of Lineus longissimus
have reached 50 meters
according to reports from the North Sea.
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Sunset,
Scotia Sea.
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Penguins
To many people, penguins are a symbol of the Antarctic,
and, indeed, they are the most joyful part of any trip to the shores
and seas of the Far South. Although some of them occur all the way
to the Equator, and the highest species diversity is found in
New Zealand region, Scotia Sea is probably the best place to see
them. Its islands have some of the world's largest penguin colonies.
Eight
species breed here, and at least five others visit regularly
or occasionally.

King
penguin chicks molting into juvenile plumage.
Grytviken, South Georgia. |

Juveniles
differ from adults (bird to the left)
by paler yellow ear patches. Grytviken . |
There are in all 17 penguinspecimens
on the Earth.. 8 of those are breeding here in the Scotia Sea.s
You will find both Emperorpenguin,
Aptenodytes forsteri, which are the largest, so follows Aptenodytes
patagonius,
or kingpenguin. Then
comes the rock-hopperpenguin,
Eudyptes chrysocome,
Macaronipenguin,
Eudyptes chrysolophus, gentopenguin,
Pygoscelis papua, chinstrap
penguin , Pygoscelis antarctica,
adéliepenguin,
Pygoscelis adeliae and finally magellanpenguin,
Spheniscus magellanicus

King penguins,
Grytviken, South Georgia. |
King penguin is the largest breeding species
of the Scotia Sea. Its even larger relative, emperor penguin
(A. forsteri), breeds further south and visits the area during
non-breeding season, but is very rarely seen here. King penguins
usually breed on flat snow-free beaches and adjacent level
areas. They are less migratory
than some other species, but feed on fish and squid
40-1,000 km from the colony. They can dive to almost 300 m
and are fast swimmers, but not as good at porpoising as some
smaller penguins.
|

Small king
penguin colony,
Gold Harbour, South Georgia.. |

King penguins
swimming. Gold Harbour, South Georgia. |

King penguin
chicks sharing their beach with
Antarctic fur seals. Gold Harbor. South Georgia.. |

King penguin,
Grytviken,
South Georgia. |
King penguins breed in colonies of up to
40,000 pairs on South Georgia (200,000 pairs in 32 colonies)
and Falkland Islands (400 pairs), but are extinct on Tierra
del Fuego. Another subspecies forms much larger colonies
in other parts of the Southern Ocean. They have extended breeding
season, with birds present at colonies at any time of the
year. Chicks take 10-13 months to fledge, so each pair only
breeds twice every three years. Their population is currently
slowly rising.
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Part of king
penguin colony,
Gold Harbour, Syd Georgia.. |

Macaroni
penguin colony,
Elsehul, South Georgia |

Macaroni
penguins, Eudyptes chrysolophus,
Elsehul, South Georgia. |

Macaroni
penguin,
Elsehul, Syd Georgia. |
Macaroni penguin prefers steep rocky slopes.
About half of the world's population breeds in Scotia Sea
area, with 3 million pairs in sixty colonies at South Georgia,
and smaller colonies on all other island groups. On the Falklands
and Tierra del Fuego it is rare, but its close relative, small
rockhopper penguin (E. chrysocome), is very common (2.5 million
pairs on the Falklands, 175,000 on Tierra del Fuego). The
latter is even better at rock climbing and porpoising.
|

Macaroni
penguins,
Elsehul, Syd Georgia. |

Macaroni
penguin chicks,,
Elsehul, Syd Georgia. |
Both macaroni and rockhopper penguins feed
mostly on krill, but partially switch to fish and squid when
they feed their chicks, or when krill populations crash. They
usually dive to 10-80 m, and are are more migratory
than king penguins. Their breeding season is highly synchronized
breeding season, with all eggs in a colony laid within 2-3
weeks. Birds start arriving to colonies in October, and leave
in late February-March. Unlike king penguins, they build nests
of grass and pebbles and lay two eggs. The first egg is usually
smaller and seldom hatches. The numbers of both species are
apparently stable at the moment.
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Rockhopper
penguin,
Gypsy Cove,
Falkland Islands. |
Molting
Magellanic penguin chicks, San Julian.
Rookery
of King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) - South Georgia
Photo:
Serge Ouachée
Part 2: More penguins
All
pictures, unless otherwise stated, Copyright © Vladimir
Dinets
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