Scientists discover penguin colonies in places never seen before because of climate change

By Lauren Beavis via SWNS

Scientists have discovered new penguin colonies in the Antarctic - revealing the devastating impacts of the climate crisis.

The families of the birds not previously known to science were found by researchers from Stony Brook University in New York.

They say the discovery means the penguins are continuing to move south as the climate crisis impacts the continent.

It includes a first recording of a new Gentoo penguin colony at Andersson Island on the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula.

They also found the first-ever recorded findings of Gentoo penguins just off the Antarctic Peninsula’s northern tip.

These are some of the southmost records for Gentoo penguins breeding on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Until recently it was far too icy for the more temperate Gentoo penguin to successfully raise chicks.

Before this discovery, only one solitary Gentoo nest had been found this far south, but researchers have now discovered a colony of 75 Gentoo chicks on Andersson Island.

The scientists, sailing on a Greenpeace expedition to the region, found new evidence of Gentoo penguins - a species most abundant in the warmer sub-Antarctic - continuing to move south as the climate crisis impacts the continent.

Louisa Casson, from Greenpeace’s Protect the Oceans campaign and onboard the Arctic Sunrise, said: “This is the climate crisis happening right in front of our eyes.

"In the Antarctic, one of the most remote places on Earth, we are seeing a 'gentoofication' process where this species of penguin is spreading into new habitat and breeding further south: a biological manifestation of sea ice loss.”

"This has to be a year for action.

"Governments need to agree a new Global Ocean Treaty to deliver protection for at least 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 - and they must get to work by protecting the Antarctic’s waters.

"Penguins and people across the world can’t wait: we need politicians to get ocean protection done now.”

Penguins are a sentinel species and a great indicator of the health of the Antarctic ecosystem.

They are experiencing significant changes in the Antarctic due to the rapidly changing climate and industrial fishing.

A recent expedition to the Antarctic found that chinstrap penguin colonies at Elephant Island had collapsed, some by as much as 77% in the last 50 years.

Dr Heather J. Lynch, Professor of Ecology & Evolution at Stony Brook University, one of the expedition’s leads, said: "Mapping out these remote archipelagos will give us a better understanding of how the region’s penguins are responding to rapid climate change.

"As expected, we’re finding gentoo penguins nearly everywhere we look - more evidence that climate change is drastically changing the mix of species here on the Antarctic Peninsula.”

Governments have repeatedly failed to create ocean sanctuaries in these Antarctic waters, leaving these important penguin habitats unprotected.

Ocean sanctuaries are a key tool to help marine life cope with the rapid changes and more must be done.