New artificial satellite epitome challenge the longstanding feeling that emperor penguin always return to the same area to nest : It seems they ’re more willing to relocate than we previously thought . Being able to adapt to their changing environment would be a blessing for the long - term future of this beloved Antarctic metal money .
Emperor penguins ( Aptenodytes forsteri ) – of “ March of the Penguins ” fame – are n’t officially listed as endangered or even threatened , though scientists are increasingly interested that the receding sea methamphetamine hydrochloride may affect those who engender on it . The colony in the movie is called Pointe Géologie , and it ’s been meditate for more than 60 years . researcher have always thought that the razzing were philopatric , returning to the same location to nest every year – a problematic persistence should their home ground shrink .
scientist working at Pointe Géologie typically look for previously banded birds to return to the colony . But over five years in the previous 1970s as the Southern Ocean warmed , they find that the colony decline by half : from 6,000 fosterage pairs to 3,000 . The diminution was attributed to warming temporary negatively impacting the penguin ’ survival .
But now , high - resolution satellite imaging defecate it possible to take in the integral coastline and all the sea Methedrine . A squad led byMichelle LaRue from the University of Minnesotaexamined look-alike of nesting positioning , using revealing signaling of guano stain . The icon uncover that Pointe Géologie is not isolate at all : hatful of other colonies are within an promiscuous travel distance .
“ It ’s potential that birds have moved away from Pointe Géologie to these other spots and that means that possibly those band birds did n’t drop dead , ” LaRue says in anews dismissal . “ We need to revisit how we interpret population change and the causes of those changes . ”
The squad found six instances in three age where emperor penguin did n’t refund to the same space to cover . They come out to be moving among colonies . Additionally , the team also observe a new colony on the Antarctic Peninsula that may represent relocated penguins .
“ Our research render that colonies seem to appear and disappear throughout the year challenges behaviors we thought we understood about emperor penguins,”LaRue explains . “ If we assume that these birds arrive back to the same locations every year , without fail , these new colonies we see on planet images would n’t make any sentiency . These bird did n’t just appear out of thin air – they had to have occur from somewhere else . ”
Thefindingson dependency variation were presented at theIDEACITY conferencein Toronto this workweek and will be published in an approaching issue ofEcography .
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Image : Michelle LaRue , University of Minnesota
