Adélie and Emperor Penguins Doing Fine In New Locations

Biologists studying animal life on Antarctica believed that a particular species of penguin was in peril, undergoing precipitous population decline since the 1970s. However, new findings show a massive discovery of the black-and-white seabirds—mainly because researchers missed looking on one group of islands on the tip of the continental peninsula. ¹ Researchers discovered more than 750,000 nesting pairs of the Adélie penguin—or more than 1.5 million in all—on the Danger Islands archipelago, which consists of nine, small masses spanning 35 kilometers on Antarctica's northern tip, facing South America. ²

“Our estimate is more than three times the abundance estimated by an earlier survey,” wrote the study's authors. “The population find was more than the rest of AP region combined and include the third and fourth largest Adélie penguin colonies in the world. Not only do the Danger Islands hold the largest population of Adelie penguins on the Antarctica Peninsula, they also appear to have not suffered the population declines found along the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula that are associated with recent climate change.” ¹ Researchers added, “The wildest, most surprising and incredible thing is that, in this day and age, something so big can go unseen.” ³ The study also found the population of Adélie penguins on the Danger Islands has been stable since 1959, despite the effects of climate change. In an earlier study, the Adélie population on Antarctica's Beaufort Island increased 84 percent as the region's ice field retreated from 1958 to 2010. ⁴

Emperor Penguins

An international team of scientists studying Emperor penguin populations across Antarctica found the iconic animals in danger of dramatic declines by the end of the century due to climate change. The study found the Emperor penguin 'fully deserving' of endangered status due to climate change. ⁵

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“If sea ice declines at the rates projected by the IPCC climate models, and continues to influence Emperor penguins as it did in the second half of the 20th century, at least two-thirds of the colonies are projected to have declined by greater than 50 percent from their current size by 2100,” said one of the authors. “None of the colonies, even in the southern-most locations in the Ross Sea will provide a viable refuge by the end of the 21st century.” ⁵ Not so says Klaus Kaiser, “A research team led by the University of Minnesota has found evidence that the penguins are simply shifting their place. Sort of like you hiding in the shade of a tree or house when the sun is shining too hot or hiding behind a wind break when the breeze is too cold. In other words, they just moved to a more hospitable area. The scientists concluded that the penguins are more adaptable and smarter than previously thought.” ⁶ Kaiser adds, “Given the recent record advance of ice cover in Antarctic, it is more likely than not that the penguins were actually trying to get better shelter from the biting cold than any torching heat. Well, at 50 F below zero, I would be inclined to seek better shelter too and would tell the global warming believers to go the nearest expletive.”

References

1. Erik Liek, “Missed for decades, 1.5 million penguins found in Antarctica,” acsh.org, March 2, 2018
2. Alex Borowicz et al., “Multi-model survey of Adélie penguin mega-colonies reveals the Danger Islands as a seabird hotspot,” Scientific Reports 8, Article Number 3926 (2018)
3. Izzy Lyons, “Isolated super colony of 1.5 million penguins discovered by drones on Antarctic islands,” National Post, March 3, 2018
4. Michelle A LaRue et al., “Climate change winners: receding ice fields facilitate colony expansion and altered dynamics in an Adelie penguin population,” PLOS, April 3, 2013
5. “Study finds Emperor penguin in peril,” Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, June 29, 2014
6. Klaus L. E. Kaiser, “Sneaky Penguins,” Canada Free Press, June 22, 2014