I was wondering why male Emperor Penguins look after the eggs whilst the females go fishing? Surely males would be better at fishing? Or is it because the males are stronger and can withstand the harsh winter more easily? 
:smack: :dubious:
Thanks,
Rubi
Because they are hen pecked.
Witty ^^
Why would males be better at fishing? Really, I’m curious as to why you think that- yes, they’re larger, but that’s not necessarily an asset in chasing fish.
The simple answer, aside from that, is that the female uses up a lot of her bodily resources in laying an egg, so is in greater need of food after laying. And, as you pointed out yourself, the males’ greater size makes them more capable of withstanding the winter.
It’s 2 months until the females return, at which point they take over baby minding and the males go fishing. Any difference in fishing ability would be pretty irrelevant when it comes to providing food for the chick, seeing as it’s unhatched for most of that time. After that point, they share fishing roughly equally.
Well, I was asking whether males were better at fishing. I thought that males would be stronger and therefore perhaps able to swim better or go under water for longer periods of time. The amount of fish they caught would still probably not be hugely dissimilar to women, so you’re right that it wouldn’t make much of a difference anyway.
Thank you for your help 
[moderator note]
There is a “sticky” thread at the top of the General Questions forum entitled “General Questions Rules & FAQs.” Please take a moment to read it, The Second Stone. The FAQ says:
[/moderator note]
Actually, male and female emperor penguins are of similar size. In many other bird species, the female is larger than the male.
You seem to be making some incorrect assumptions about sexual dimorphism.
Actually I think the OP had the right idea - the males are somewhat larger going into the incubation period, but by the time the female returns with food for the hatched chick they are on par with each other (at which point they take turns). This suggests (to me at least) that the males take care of the egg over the long Antarctic winter because they have the extra mass to do so.
The current Wikipedia entry puts it this way:
The adult Emperor Penguin stands up to 122 cm (48 in) tall. The weight ranges from 22.7 to 45.4 kg (50 to 100 lb) and varies by sex, with males weighing more than females.[5] The weight also varies by season, as both male and female penguins lose substantial mass while raising hatchlings and incubating eggs. A male Emperor penguin must withstand the Antarctic cold for more than two months to protect his eggs from extreme cold. During this entire time he doesn’t eat a thing. Most male penguins will lose about 12 kg (26 lb) while they wait for their babies to hatch.[6] The mean weight of males at the start of the breeding season is 38 kg (84 lb) and that of females is 29.5 kg (65 lb). After the breeding season this drops to 23 kg (51 lb) for both sexes.[7][8][9]
Also, the female used up quite a bit of her body’s reserves in producing the egg in the first place. So even if they started out equal in body mass (male and female), after laying the egg the female would be at a disadvantage and would need to go forage for food first anyway.