Emperor penguins adapting to climate change: Study

WASHINGTON: Emperor penguins may be adapting to climate change better than expected, according to a new study which offers insights on the future of the species. The study led by the University of Minnesota used satellite images to show that emperor penguins are more willing to relocate than previously thought.

Researchers have long thought that emperor penguins were philopatric, which means they would return to the same location to nest each year. The study found six instances in three years in which emperor penguins did not return to the same location to breed. Researchers also report on one newly discovered colony on the Antarctic Peninsula that may represent relocation of penguins.

The ‘March of the Penguins’ colony is called Pointe Geologie and it has been studied for over 60 years. Over five years in the late 1970s, the Southern Ocean warmed and the penguin colony at Pointe Geologie declined by half — 6,000 breeding pairs to 3,000 breeding pairs.

“It’s possible that birds moved away from Pointe Geologie to other spots and that means that maybe the banded birds didn’t die,” the new study’s lead author Michelle LaRue said.