User talk:HRCraig
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Hello, HRCraig, and welcome to Wikipedia! My name is Ian and I work with the Wiki Education Foundation; I help support students who are editing as part of a class assignment.
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If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me on my talk page. Ian (Wiki Ed) (talk) 03:38, 11 March 2016 (UTC)
Editing Adélie Penguin Article
I'm considering editing the information on the Wikipedia article for the Adélie Penguin. Specifically, I believe that the addition of a section on internal fluid regulation would help to improve the article greatly. I am currently in possession of two articles which will help me to write a detailed section for the article. Aside from the addition of this article, I believe that there are a number of changes which could be made to the information already posted in the article. The many references to Adélie penguins in popular culture does not seem necessary, and does not serve to expand upon the more biological information available in the article. I would like to remove this information if possible. The Behavior section also does not seem to be based upon factual information. Instead, the bulk of that section is dedicated to a personal account of encounters with Adélie penguins. This does not seem like a credible source for information on Adélie penguins, and could most likely benefit from edits to narrow the section. HRCraig (talk) 02:42, 28 March 2016 (UTC)
There comes a time when Happy Feet just doesn't explain the full life history of the penguin. I think you'd serve the article well by adding more biological/physiological information. Some facts about salt load and regurgitation would look nice. Gavetern (talk) 15:57, 1 April 2016 (UTC)
- Howard, you need to move your draft from your sandbox to your talk page, here, along with citations and references, so we can see how the contribution will look when it is published. you need at least one more reference for full credit.Rico.schultz (talk) 17:25, 26 April 2016 (UTC)
- Done with additional reference. Sorry it took so long, but I had a difficult time fixing the citations. I wanted to get that done before I moved it to the talk page HRCraig (talk) 18:22, 26 April 2016 (UTC)
Osmoregulation
Adélie penguins are faced with extreme osmotic conditions, as their frozen habitats offer little fresh water. Such desert conditions are known to force birds such as Adélie penguins to intake excess electrolytes through their diets[1]. They manage to circumvent this problem by eating krill with internal concentrations of salt at the lower end of their possible concentrations, helping to lower the amount of ingested salts[1]. The salt load imposed by this sort of diet is still relatively heavy, especially when considering the less tolerant chicks. Adult Adélie penguins feed their chicks by regurgitating the predigested krill, which can impose a heavy salt load on the chicks. Adult penguins address this problem by altering ion concentrations while the contents are still in their stomachs. By removing a portion of the sodium and potassium ions, adult Adélie penguins manage to protect their chicks from heavy salt loads[1]. The issues of salt loads is resolved even further by the ability of these penguins to concentrate their excretions to a much higher degree than most other birds. This ability is present regardless of ontogeny in Adélie penguins, meaning that both adults and juveniles are capable of extreme levels of salt ion concentration[1]. However, chicks do possess a greater ability to concentrate chloride ions in their cloacal fluids[1].
Salt glands also play a major role in the secretion of excess salts in Adélie penguins. Due to the relatively inefficient kidneys of aquatic birds, the salt gland takes on most of the responsibility of salt removal. Aquatic birds such as the Adélie penguin have highly developed salt glands which are capable of handling their intense salt loads[2]. As a result, the avian salt gland is capable of excreting fluids even more concentrated than seawater, helping the Adélie penguin to remove large amounts of excess salts through its nares[3]. Specifically, the salt gland works to pump out and concentrate large quantities of sodium chloride[3]. These excretions are crucial in the maintenance of Antartic ecosystems. Penguin rookeries can feature thousands of penguins, all of which are concentrating waste products in their digestive tracts and nasal glands[4]. These excretions will inevitably drop to the ground. The concentration of salts and nitrogenous wastes helps to facilitate the flow of material from the sea to the land, serving to fertilize the otherwise nutrient poor Antarctic landscape[4].
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Janes, Donald (July 1997). "Osmoregulation by Adélie Penguin Chicks on the Antarctic Peninsula". The Auk. 114 (3).
- ^ Schmidt-Nielsen, Knut (1980). "The Salt-Secreting Gland of Marine Birds". Circulation. 21.
- ^ a b Eckhart, Simon (1982). "The Osmoregulatory System of Birds with Salt Glands". Comparative Biochemical Physiology. 71: 547–566.
- ^ a b Andrzej, Myrcha; Anderzej, Tatur (1991). "Ecological Role of the Current and Abandoned Pengiun Rookeries in the Land Environment of the Maritime Antarctic". Polish Polar Research. 12 (1): 3–24.