The Weather Outside is Frightful

An Adélie penguin hunches down over its nest as icy winds whip across Cape Royds. Nearly 80 percent of Adélie chicks do not survive their first year, according to researcher David Ainley, who allowed WHOI staff to follow his work in Antarctica. But some adults Ainley calls them “superbreeders” are incredibly good at raising chicks. About three of every 10 penguins in a colony rank as superbreeders, yet they account for nearly all of the chicks produced. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)