Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




ICE WORLD
Penguin colonies may move and adapt to climate change
by Brooks Hays
Minneapolis (UPI) Jun 24, 2013


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

Scientists say that emperor penguin populations may be on the move, adapting their mating and migration habits to global warming.

In the 1970s, biologists noticed that the Pointe Géologie colony -- the group made famous by the "March of the Penguins" documentary -- had diminished in size. Scientists assumed that rising ocean temperatures and melting ice had killed off many of the penguins. But new evidence suggests members of the colony branched off and joined other groups.

In recent years, scientists have been better able to track the location of penguin colonies in Antarctica. Using satellite imagery scientists can quickly and easily pick out the stains of the species' dark fecal droppings against the pristine snow and ice.

"They are the only species living on the very white ice and they leave a very brown stain -- it's pretty obvious," said Michelle LaRue, researcher at the Polar Geospatial Center at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

LaRue is the lead author of a new study suggesting the emperor penguin's propensity for movement motivated by climate change.

Detailed satellite imagery revealed that several other colonies are closer to the Pointe Géologie colony than scientists knew. This new knowledge enabled LaRue and her colleagues to entertain the idea that penguins might abandon one colony and move to another in response to warming temperatures.

Penguins are philopatric, which means they meet every year in one spot to mate. But faced with warming temperatures and shrinking ice, LaRue suggests that they may abandon their favored spot for new lovers and new territory.

"It's possible that birds have moved away from Pointe Géologie to these other spots and that means that maybe those banded birds didn't die," LaRue said.

LaRue presented her findings at IDEACITY conference in Toronto last week, and her study will be published in the upcoming edition of the journal Ecography.

.


Related Links
Beyond the Ice Age






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








ICE WORLD
Japan considering new base on Antarctica
Tokyo (AFP) June 23, 2014
Japan is looking at building a new base on Antarctica so scientists can study air trapped in ice a million years ago, in a bid to better understand climate change, an official said Monday. Tokyo already has four stations on the frozen continent, two of which are currently in use - the Syowa Station on the coast and the Dome Fuji Station inland. Japanese research teams at Dome Fuji Stati ... read more


ICE WORLD
NASA LRO's Moon As Art Collection Is Revealed

Solar photons drive water off the moon

55-year old dark side of the moon mystery solved

New evidence supporting moon formation via collision of 2 planets

ICE WORLD
NASA Invites Comment on Mars 2020 Environmental Impact Statement

Opportunity is exploring the west rim of Endeavour Crater

Discovery of Earth's Northernmost Perennial Spring

US Congress and Obama administration face obstacles in Mars 2030 project

ICE WORLD
NASA Turns Down the Volume on Rocket Noise

Duo Tries on Spacesuits While Advanced Microgravity Science Continues

Five Things We'll Learn from Orion's First Flight Test

Coffee for cosmonauts! First 'ISSpresso' machine to arrive in space

ICE WORLD
Chinese lunar rover alive but weak

China's Jade Rabbit moon rover 'alive but struggling'

Chinese space team survives on worm diet for 105 days

Moon rover Yutu comes closer to public

ICE WORLD
D-Day for the International Space Station

US expects to continue partnership with Russia on ISS after 2020

Station Crew Wraps Up Week With Medical Research

Decontamination System to Up Research on Space Station

ICE WORLD
Arianespace A World Leader In The Satellite Launch Market

Airbus Group and Safran To Join Forces in Launcher Activities

European satellite chief says industry faces challenges

Payload fueling begins for nexy Arianespace Soyuz flight

ICE WORLD
Mega-Earth in Draco Smashes Notions of Planetary Formation

Kepler space telescope ready to start new hunt for exoplanets

Astronomers Confounded By Massive Rocky World

Two planets orbit nearby ancient star

ICE WORLD
3D Printers for Home-Use to Generate Hardware and Material Spending

A breakthrough in creating invisibility cloaks, stealth technology

Oracle adds Micros for $5.3 bn to boost cloud effort

Crowdsourcing the phase problem




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.