- August 14, 2024 - Biodôme : Behind the scenes at the Biodôme
Written on July 7, 2012
The Biodôme tries to reproduce the different ecosystems of the Americas as faithfully as possible by respecting many factors – the photoperiod and temperatures in the Sub-Antarctic Islands, for example. Those factors are essential for the animals’ well-being. As a result, it’s possible to see the penguins’ habitat in darkness for a number of hours a day in the summer months.
Photoperiod and reproduction
The photoperiod represents the duration of day and night. As the Sub-Antarctic Islands are located in the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are the opposite of those in the Northern Hemisphere. While we’re experiencing the longest days of the year, in the summer, penguins are enjoying winter with much shorter days. The photoperiod is very important for penguins. Like a number of other bird species, they coordinate their reproductive cycle with ideal environmental conditions. Summer months offer long periods of light and a great availability of food, favorable factors in terms of caring for offspring. Currently it’s winter in the Sub-Antarctic Islands, with as little as four and half hours of brightness a day.
Molting period
Once a year, penguins will completely replace their feathers. The molting period, lasting from two to four weeks, comes right after the breeding season for most penguin species. Once again, the availability of food is indispensable. Penguins have to build up large reserves of body fat before the molt, because they won’t go into the water to feed during this period. Once molting is over, winter arrives and the colony leaves the breeding ground to spend many months at sea.
Back to the colony
After those months spent at sea, the days begin to get longer, the signal for the penguins that it’s time to return to their birthplace to re-form the colony and begin the mating season. The Biodôme can’t offer its penguins winter sea trips, but controlling the photoperiod nevertheless allows them to synchronize their life cycle with nature’s and to reproduce successfully in captivity.
