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Emperor penguins have displayed some unexpected breeding behaviour in the Antarctic that could mean they are much more resilient to environmental change than previously recognised.
Satellite images show colonies moving their locations in years when the thin sea ice on which they habitually breed forms late or is absent.
Scientists report the observations in the online journal Plos One.
They reveal the birds travelling long distances to find alternative sites.
These are further in towards the coast, up on the ice shelves - the thick slabs of glacier ice that jut out over the ocean.
It is a surprise because these shelves are frequently faced with cliffs that may be tens of metres high in places. But somehow, the emperors find a way up to breed, and also to come and go as they forage for the seafood that will sustain their chicks.
"We thought that in years when the sea ice was bad, they just didn't breed, but they're clearly more adaptable than that," said lead author Peter Fretwell from the British Antarctic Survey.
The emperor is the most southerly of the Antarctic penguin species and the only one to breed on sea ice in the southern winter.
Their reliance on these thin seasonal marine floes as a reproductive platform, coupled with concern about how the patterns of Antarctic sea ice could change in a warming world, has led to the species being designated as "near threatened" on the IUCN red list.
Full article here.
Satellite images show colonies moving their locations in years when the thin sea ice on which they habitually breed forms late or is absent.
Scientists report the observations in the online journal Plos One.
They reveal the birds travelling long distances to find alternative sites.
These are further in towards the coast, up on the ice shelves - the thick slabs of glacier ice that jut out over the ocean.
It is a surprise because these shelves are frequently faced with cliffs that may be tens of metres high in places. But somehow, the emperors find a way up to breed, and also to come and go as they forage for the seafood that will sustain their chicks.
"We thought that in years when the sea ice was bad, they just didn't breed, but they're clearly more adaptable than that," said lead author Peter Fretwell from the British Antarctic Survey.
The emperor is the most southerly of the Antarctic penguin species and the only one to breed on sea ice in the southern winter.
Their reliance on these thin seasonal marine floes as a reproductive platform, coupled with concern about how the patterns of Antarctic sea ice could change in a warming world, has led to the species being designated as "near threatened" on the IUCN red list.
Full article here.
