Eudyptula minor
The little “cheating” penguins are very strong when it comes to divorce. In cases where they do not separate from their partner, they end up cheating.
Os cheating penguins love divorce. When they are not satisfied with what they have, they continue their journey in search of “better conditions”.
However, when this does not happen, little penguins (Eudyptula minor) “jump the fence” on the quiet. Yes, they also love adultery.
Scientists believe that penguins get divorced for several reasons, including reproductive failures and environmental stresswhich can make penguin pairs less stable.
However, a new study, recently in Ecology and Evolutionconcluded that these divorce rates are a good indicator of general health of the colonies.
In the long term, separation can increase reproductive successallowing penguins to find more compatible or “higher quality” mates, the study authors wrote.
But calm down…
According to the study, the divorce (or lack thereof) was, however, the best predictor of the reproductive successwith more offspring produced during times with low divorce rates.
But that doesn’t mean that committed couples are faithful. As , if it can’t be done through divorce, the cheating penguins have to find other ways of “wet your beak” on the other side.
“In good times, couples remain faithful to their partners, although there is often a little joke aside“, said the research team, in .
The problem is that “good times” are often fleeting. As the saying goes, what is good ends quickly. And the problems return.
When there is a large wave of “unstable” penguins during the same season, problems arise in the colonies, which delays playback.
The study authors also warn of the risk of “lack of reproductive familiarity” and of “reduced reproductive efficiency” during the early stages of a new couple.
In other words, new couples are not as good at reproducing and producing offspring as couples who have spent more time together.
As Live Science details, the research was led by researchers from Monash University (Australia), who analyzed how environmental and social factors, including divorce, influenced reproductive success over 13 breeding seasons on Phillip Island, in Australia, where they live 37,000 little penguins – the largest colony in the world.
