NATURAL WONDER: Gary Miller preparing to capture an adult Emperor Penguin. Picture: Robyn MundyWA scientist's penguin puzzle
Article from: PerthNow
Narelle Towie, science reporter
April 11, 2009 06:00pm
A WA scientist has returned from an Antarctic expedition of a lifetime, working with emperor penguins, but it wasn't all Happy Feet.
University of WA microbiologist Gary Miller has the task of solving an important biological puzzle and also collecting sound for the sequel to the hit film.
Dr Miller hopes to uncover who or what is to blame for infecting the penguins with a deadly bird disease that is widespread in domestic chickens.
For 14 months, he and his wife have worked in a red fibreglass caravan on skis on floating ice at the Auster rookery, surrounded by more than 20,000 waist-high, 35kg penguins.
In -30C conditions, the team collected hundreds of blood, faecal and saliva samples, as well as thousands of sound recordings from the penguins.
Now back on dry, warm land, Dr Miller is working with fellow UWA microbiologist Geoff Shallom to determine if people transmitted the bug - infectious bursal virus (IBV) - to Antarctica by taking poultry to some of the 65 research stations.
Blood tests from previous expeditions revealed that emperor penguins had antibodies to the disease, but scientists have not isolated the virus's DNA to determine what strain the birds had.
IBV depletes white blood cells important for the immune system, and some strains are more lethal than others. Different countries house different strains.
Dr Miller hopes to pinpoint where in the world the disease has come from. At present, people from 30 countries work in Antarctica.
``There is a possibility they have contracted this virus from polar skuas (scavenging birds), they may get it from their parents, they may get it from the environment, but at any rate they have been exposed to it if they have an antibody,'' Dr Miller said.
The penguins appeared healthy, but changes to the environment, including those caused by climate change or a simple mutation in the virus's DNA, could have a devastating impact on the penguin rookery, he said.
Dr Miller witnessed some spectacular events. ``During the middle of winter when the males were on their own with the eggs, the colony decided to go for a walk,'' he said. ``There was a single-file line that stretched for about 1.5km. They have the egg on their feet, so they have to shuffle along with their toes up.''
The Happy Feet sequel is due out next year.
Source:
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,25320675-2761,00.html
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