Penguins Expedition (III): Salvaging penguin eggs for research

We are on this expedition primarily to sample penguin species for genetic and dietary studies, but we have also requested and been granted permission to salvage samples.

Throughout the trip when the opportunity present themselves, I have been collecting penguin egg shells and eggs that have been abandoned or stolen and the contents eaten by birds called Skuas.

With these samples, we can study the morphological structure between species and populations of Gentoo and other penguin species on the Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia Island.

With mostly complete egg shells, we can compare size and shape differences between species and populations. These samples will be cataloged into the egg collections at two museums where we work in Chicago (Illinois) and St. Paul (Minnesota).

We have access to new research tools such as high resolution computed tomography (more commonly called ct-scanning) that we can use to look for structural differences in eggs shells across these samples.

Once in the museum collections, they can also be studied by researchers with other scientific questions far into the future (e.g., are penguin eggs changing over time or as climates change?).

I like to emphasize to people that eggs are part of "childhood" for birds and therefore an important part of life history to study just like babies are studied in humans.

John Bates is curator of birds at the Field Museum in Chicago, since it is winter there, he thought it would be a good time to head south based on his past experiences studying genetic structure and evolution in tropical South America and Africa. He is also using this opportunity to gather eggshell samples for studying the evolution of egg variation in penguins by studying shape and structure change within and between penguin species.