Penguins do far more than make us smile, however; they also play important roles in ecosystems both in the ocean and on land. Penguins—adults, young and eggs—serve as food for predators such as leopard seals and seabirds in cold areas, along with foxes, leopards, and even crabs in warmer climates.
As a species that lives both on land and sea, spending 75% of their lives in the ocean, penguins affect two type of environments. By swimming out to sea to do their hunting for fish, squid, and krill (a shrimp-like crustacean) they bring back with them the unique nutrients of the ocean to the land.
What can we do to help Penguins?
If we know that a healthy penguin population indicates a healthy marine ecosystem (e. g. the presence of a healthy food chain and plenty of sea ice for habitat), focusing on protecting the areas most important to penguins is a good way to protect as many species as possible within these marine ecosystems.
What do penguins eat?
Penguins eat krill, squids, and fishes. Various species of penguins have slightly different food preferences, which reduces competition among species, which means penguins do not kill each other for food since they all eat different food. Penguins feed at sea, the location where they feed can change seasonally or even daily.
Another frequent question is “What role do Penguins play in the food chain?”.
Important part of the food chain: Penguins make a very important part of the food chain and the ecosystem. They act as food for a lot of living creatures and maintain the balance of an ecosystem food chain by also eating other creatures. This balance can be disrupted if they are not conserved.
Various species of penguins have slightly different food preferences, which reduces competition among species, which means penguins do not kill each other for food since they all eat different food. Penguins feed at sea, the location where they feed can change seasonally or even daily.
What is the habitat of a penguin?
Habitat and Ecosystem. Major populations of penguins are found in Antartica, Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, and South Africa. Life in the Arctic includes organisms living in the ice, fish, marine animals, birds, land animals, plants, and some human societies containing researchers, and also esquimos.
-Availability of food. They usually settle in places near ocean currents that carry cold, nutrient-rich water, which means that krill and other prey are also there. Many colonies of penguins live near the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the Benguela Current,.