Incredible 'Penguincam' footage reveals how Gentoo species make distinctive calls to round up their friends for fishing trips in the Antarctic

  • Experts from South Korea recorded 598 offshore calls from ten individuals
  • Following almost half of the calls, penguins formed groups within one minute
  • They then swam towards the surface and away from their current fishing area
  • The researchers believe this shows calls are used to coordinate group efforts 

Incredible new footage has revealed how penguins round up their fellow creatures to join them on fishing trips to new territories.

Scientists made the discovery by strapping cameras equipped with microphones to the backs of Gentoo penguins in Antarctica, allowing them to capture the vocal calls of the birds on the open ocean for the first time. 

The researchers found that shortly after issuing an offshore call, the penguins would gather together and move on from their current foraging expedition.

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Incredible new footage has revealed how penguins round up their fellow creatures to join them on fishing trips to new territories. This image shows a Gentoo penguin with a tracking sensor on its head, captured by a camera attached to its back

Incredible new footage has revealed how penguins round up their fellow creatures to join them on fishing trips to new territories. This image shows a Gentoo penguin with a tracking sensor on its head, captured by a camera attached to its back

GENTOO PENGUINS' FISHING TRIPS

Experts from the Korea Polar Research Institute, in Incheon, South Korea, recorded the behaviour of Gentoo penguins from King George Island in Antarctica.

The team found that the penguins did not show any significant difference in the proportion of foraging dives or prey rate capture before and after producing an offshore call.

This could suggest that the call was involved in group contact more generally rather than relating to food specifically.

However, the team also observed that after producing the calls that the penguins undertook shallower, shorter dives.

They travelled to a new area instead of lingering in a particular spot.

This led them to believe that the calls may play a part in instructing the group to move on to find new sources of food.

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Experts from the Korea Polar Research Institute, in Incheon, South Korea, recorded the behaviour of Gentoo penguins from King George Island in Antarctica over two breeding seasons - 2014 to 2015 and 2015 to 2016.

During this time, they recorded 598 offshore calls from ten individuals, analysing the acoustic characteristics and behavioural contexts of their vocalisations.

The researchers found that following almost half of the calls (43.18 per cent), individuals formed groups within one minute.

This led the team to believe that the penguins were using the vocal communications for grouping purposes during these foraging trips.

Speaking to MailOnline, researcher Won Young Lee said: 'What I was surprised by is that the calls seemed to be functioning as a contact call to attract other individuals. 

'This kind of offshore call was not reported before. 

'There were previous studies on vocal communication of Gentoo penguins near the nest sites. 

'However, as far as I know, there are no reports on their vocal behaviour in the open ocean.

'I do not believe that penguins' communications are like dolphins or whales but they do form large groups like them. 

'It requires communicating tools among individuals and I found they have a certain strategy to make groups via vocal communication.' 

Scientists made the discovery by strapping cameras equipped with microphones to the backs of Gentoo penguins in Antarctica (pictured)

Scientists made the discovery by strapping cameras equipped with microphones to the backs of Gentoo penguins in Antarctica (pictured)

Gentoo penguins are found on sub-Antarctic islands and in the Antarctic region, and primarily prey in groups on krill and fish.

But the inaccessibility to researchers of their open-ocean fishing sites means there has been little study of their behaviour during these trips. 

The Korean team found that the penguins did not show any significant difference in the proportion of foraging dives or prey rate capture before and after producing an offshore call. 

They found that shortly after issuing an offshore call, the penguins would gather together (pictured) and move on from their current foraging expedition

They found that shortly after issuing an offshore call, the penguins would gather together (pictured) and move on from their current foraging expedition

Experts recorded 598 offshore calls from ten individuals, analysing the acoustic characteristics and behavioural contexts of their vocalisations. This clip is of one such recording 

This could suggest that the call was involved in group contact more generally rather than relating to food specifically.

However, the team also observed that after producing the calls that the penguins undertook shallower, shorter dives.

They travelled to a new area instead of lingering in a particular spot.

The researchers found that following almost half of the calls (43.18 per cent), individuals formed groups within one minute. This image shows a group of Gentoo penguins near the shore

The researchers found that following almost half of the calls (43.18 per cent), individuals formed groups within one minute. This image shows a group of Gentoo penguins near the shore

This led them to believe that the calls may play a part in instructing the group to move on to find new sources of food.

Further investigations are planned to provide a better understanding of the aquatic life of these penguins. 

Dr Lee added: 'We do not know what makes them produce calls and how they recognize the calls in the open ocean. 

Their findings led the team to believe that the penguins were using the vocal communications for grouping purposes during these foraging trips. This image shows a Gentoo penguin swimming

Their findings led the team to believe that the penguins were using the vocal communications for grouping purposes during these foraging trips. This image shows a Gentoo penguin swimming

Experts recorded the foraging behaviour of Gentoo penguins from King George Island in Antarctica (pictured) over two mating seasons

Experts recorded the foraging behaviour of Gentoo penguins from King George Island in Antarctica (pictured) over two mating seasons

'Also, we suspect that there would be possibly other mechanisms involved, including in the the vocal communication. 

'In addition, we have no idea how the group members are related.

'Further studies could help us answer these questions.' 

The full findings were published today in the Nature journal Scientific Reports.

GENTOO PENGUIN'S CALLS 

When compared with the display songs of Gentoo penguins, which include a series of syllables, the offshore calls were found to have a simpler structure.

This included only one or two syllables per call, which were shorter in duration.

Although the dominant frequency of the offshore calls was still within the range of the display songs, the researchers believe they are closer to the contact calls and aggressive calls of African penguins.

These are uttered as single, short notes.

Offshore calls were found to be simpler than display calls. This graph shows an oscillogram of a typical individual offshore call in the ocean. The call comprises two notes that have shorter note durations

Offshore calls were found to be simpler than display calls. This graph shows an oscillogram of a typical individual offshore call in the ocean. The call comprises two notes that have shorter note durations

The researchers believe they are closer to the contact calls and aggressive calls of African penguins. This graph shows a histogram of note duration of recorded offshore calls

The researchers believe they are closer to the contact calls and aggressive calls of African penguins. This graph shows a histogram of note duration of recorded offshore calls

After the offshore calls were produced, penguins often moved in the same direction, swimming near the surface.

Almost half of the total number of group associations occurred within a minute after a vocal behaviour was performed.

After producing ofshore calls, the penguins undertook shallower, shorter dives than those before the call.

The video data also showed that following their calls, the penguins travelled instead of lingering in a particular area.