![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/13\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/penguin-underwater-300x185.jpg\" "\\"penguin-underwater-300x185\\"")
<\/a>Centre for Marine Science and Technology<\/a><\/strong> <\/strong>Research Fellow Miles Parsons says penguins can be noisy on land.<\/p>\nHowever, he says that research into what sounds, if any,\u00a0the streamlined creatures make under water has been\u00a0largely overlooked.<\/p>\n
Dr Parsons\u2019 project aims to shed light on how penguins communicate under water and how environmental\u00a0noise may affect their sound production\u00a0and reception.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe information will assist with better\u00a0management of the penguins\u2019 ocean\u00a0environment as well as educating\u00a0the scientific and general community\u00a0regarding underwater communication\u00a0in penguins,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Many species of marine fauna \u2013 including whales \u2013 communicate\u00a0under water.<\/p>\n
Little research has been conducted into the underwater warblings of penguins, but one study discovered that Macaroni\u00a0Penguins make sounds.<\/p>\n
To extend the range of knowledge in the field, Dr Parsons placed a large waterproof\u00a0microphone in the bottom of\u00a0the zoo\u2019s penguin pool.<\/p>\n
With 12\u00a0penguins and very few environmental\u00a0sounds to worry about, the zoo\u00a0seemed a perfect place for the research.<\/p>\n
The microphone was left in place\u00a0for a month, recording sounds\u00a0at frequencies of up to 10,000 Hz\u00a0for nine minutes of every 15-minute\u00a0period.<\/p>\n
At the end of the 30 days, Dr Parsons removed the microphone and started sifting through\u00a0data and recordings to find what he\u00a0needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a lot to go through and\u00a0unfortunately initial findings were\u00a0not positive,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
“In the penguin enclosure there is the sound of aeration which could mask quiet penguin calls.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe few sounds we did hear were mostly\u00a0keepers calling out to the penguins to\u00a0come for a feed.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Dr Parsons says researchers still have some way to\u00a0go before submarine penguin singing can be ruled in or out of the realms of possibility.<\/p>\n
He says anecdotal evidence suggests the Little Penguins may indeed call in the wild.<\/p>\n
Dr Parsons reasons that penguins in zoos may have little need to communicate under water because there are no threats\u00a0and no point in letting\u00a0others know where feeding grounds are.<\/p>\n
Perth Zoo\u2019s penguin and Australian wetlands exhibits are closed for renovations.<\/p>\n
The zoo\u2019s penguin colony has been transferred to Melbourne Zoo for the duration of the works and will return in December when their exhibit is due to reopen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I am hoping to do is rerecord\u00a0when the penguins return\u00a0from Melbourne after the Australian Wetlands and Penguin exhibit has been refurbished and [they] reacquaint\u00a0themselves with their environment,\u201d Dr Parsons says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we might hear some calling.\u201d<\/p>\n