biology

Murphy's petrel

Murphy's petrel is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Murphy's petrel rather than just read about it. In short: Murphy's petrel (Pterodroma ultima) is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. The bird is 38–41 cm length, with a 97 cm wingspan, and weighs about 360 g.

Key takeaways

Murphy's petrel belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Murphy's petrel to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Murphy's petrel from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Murphy's petrel (Pterodroma ultima) is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. The bird is 38–41 cm length, with a 97 cm wingspan, and weighs about 360 g. Its plumage is all dark sooty-grey, except for a pale chin, and pinkish legs; it does not exhibit sexual dimorphism. It was described by Robert Cushman Murphy in 1949, which is the source of the species' common name. Murphy's petrels take unusually long feeding trips during incubation.

Distribution Very little is known about this species of petrel. It occurs in the South Pacific, nesting on rocky islets and cliffs off tropical oceanic islands in the Austral, Tuamotu, and Pitcairn groups. It was not until the 1980s that it was determined that these petrels might be regular visitors far offshore of the west coast of North America. It has been recorded off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands and well off the Pacific Coast of the United States and in the southern Gulf of Alaska. Most reports of Murphy's petrels are over 64 km offshore and the species reportedly has one of the greatest foraging ranges of any breeding seabird

References

"National Geographic" Field Guide to the Birds of North America ISBN 0-7922-6877-6 Seabirds, an Identification Guide by Peter Harrison, (1983) ISBN 0-7470-1410-8 Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol 1, Josep del Hoyo editor, ISBN 84-87334-10-5 "National Audubon Society" The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley, ISBN 0-679-45122-6

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Murphy's petrel

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Murphy's petrel claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Murphy's petrel before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Murphy's petrel ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Murphy's petrel

In research: Murphy's petrel appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Murphy's petrel in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Murphy's petrel is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Birds described in 1949, Birds of the Pitcairn Islands, Birds of the Tuamotus, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Murphy's petrel outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Murphy's petrel in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Murphy's petrel means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Murphy's petrel out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Murphy's petrel in simple terms?

Murphy's petrel (Pterodroma ultima) is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. The bird is 38–41 cm length, with a 97 cm wingspan, and weighs about 360 g.

Why does Murphy's petrel matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Murphy's petrel?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Murphy's petrel.