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IUB biology professor Benno Meyer-Rochow awarded for uncovering penguin defecation dynamics
The 2005 Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded on Thursday evening,
6 October 2005, at the 15th Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, at Sanders Theatre of Harvard University. One of the 17 awardees was V. Benno Meyer-Rochow, who received this most prestigious of the tongue-in-cheek science honors together with his Hungarian co-worker Jozsef Gal from Loránd Eötvös University in the field of fluid dynamics by calculating defecation pressure of Antarctic Chinstrap and Adélie Penguins.
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Oct
10, 2005]
The two biologists found that adult penguins generate a pressure up to 60 kPa (450 mm Hg) to expel their faeces, which equals about twice the pressure of an ordinary car tire and is considerably higher than that of other birds. The three constants to estimate defecation pressure, distance the faecal material travels before it hits the ground, density and viscosity of the material, and shape, aperture, and height above the ground of the orificium venti, are based on observations made during an Antarctic expedition in 1993 led by the Bremen scientist Meyer-Rochow. Main source of information were photos taken from “decorated” nests and penguins “in action”, which allowed the measurement of the relevant parameters. The forces involved, lying well above those known for humans, are high, but do not lead to an energetically wasteful turbulent flow. Whether a bird chooses the direction into which it decides to expel its faeces, and what role the wind plays in this, remain unknown. Particulars on methods and results are published in Polar Biology (2003) 27: 56–58.
“Of course the matter for which we received the Ig Nobel Prize was not the main objective of the expedition. Rather, calculating the pressures involved in penguin defecation was triggered by the question of a Japanese student during a slide show on the expedition years later,” says the freshly baked Ig Nobel Prize laureate. Meyer-Rochow interprets the high defecation pressure strategy of the penguins as an ecological adaptation to keep their nest sites clean as flightless ground breeding birds.
Apart from the uncountable amused reactions from the general public Meyer-Rochow, who recently was awarded with the highly serious Doctor of Science for his life’s research in the Antarctica and as ethnoentomologist, also received some serious scientific interest for his results: “A palaeontologist, studying dinosaur biology, wondered if our calculations could be applied to streaks found around fossil dinosaur nests. Some Engineers for electric power lines in an African country inquired if our research could help solving a problem they encountered with vultures: power lines near the nests of vultures often experienced short-circuits when the vultures and their young were expelling their faeces. And also several zoo-operators and bird-park rangers inquired about "safe" distances for visitors to bird cages.”
More Information on the project can be found at www.meyer-rochow.com/penguinpoo.htm.
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The Ig Nobel Prize |
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The Ig Nobel Prizes are a tongue-in-cheek parody of the Nobel Prizes and are awarded for achievements that »first make people laugh, and then make them think.« They are given each year in early fall around the time when the recipients of the genuine Nobel Prizes are announced. Sponsored by the scientific humor journal Annals of Improbable Research (AIR), they are presented by genuine Nobel Laureates at a ceremony in Harvard University's Sanders Theatre. The first Ig Nobels were awarded in 1991. The name is a pun on the word »ignoble« and the name Nobel Prize. The official pronunciation used during the ceremony is »ig no-BELL«, not »ig-noble«.
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Prof. Dr. Dr. V. Benno Meyer-Rochow |
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The New Zealander V. B. Meyer-Rochow came to IUB from the Institute of Arctic Medicine at The University of Oulu, Finland. His university positions and participation in research expeditions took him around the world, including The Arctic and Antarctica. His teaching and research activities as well as an extensive number of publications cover vast areas of zoology, physiological and cellular research, electron microscopy and understanding animal (and human) behavior. A special interest of his is ethno-entomology, the use of various insects in different cultures and ethnic groups.
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