Aptenodytes forsteri is one of the most well-known species, and research on this species is relatively thorough. But emerging technologies pose a huge challenge to old knowledge: a new study led by the University of Minnesota shows that emperor penguins' ability to adapt to the environment should be much stronger than previously thought.
Emperor penguins have long been thought of as homeloving creatures who return to the same nesting sites every year to breed. But a new study based on satellite image data shows that emperor penguins don't care so much about the location of their nesting sites. During the three-year study, scientists found at least six instances of emperor penguins not returning to their breeding grounds. One of the most striking events was the discovery of a new colony of emperor penguins on the Antarctic peninsula.
The Pointe Geologie colony, described in the documentary march of the penguins, has been studied for more than 60 years by scientists who count the birds each year. In recent years, concerns have been raised about the impact of declining sea ice on breeding emperor penguins, noting that in the late 1970s, as sea temperatures in the southern ocean warmed for five years, the population of geologically isolated penguins halved (from 6,000 breeding pairs to 3,000). Scientists believe that global warming will have an adverse effect on the survival of the species.
However, high-resolution satellite images have changed the way scientists think about this - because they can now see the entire coastline with all the sea ice. Emperor penguins are the only species that live in the Antarctic sea ice, and scientists can determine their presence from fecal traces on the ice.
Previously, it was thought that the emperor penguins in the geological archipelago were isolated communities, but with the application of satellite imaging, scientists realized that the community was not isolated at all. The emperor penguins here can easily move to many other communities. .
"The 'lost' penguins may not have died, but simply moved away from the geological archipelago to other breeding grounds," said Michelle LaRue, the lead scientist who led the study. "We've just discovered something unexpected, so we need to rethink how we explain this fluctuation in emperor penguin population."
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