According to the researcher, emperor penguins must be able to adapt to changes in ice conditions.
A satellite study has identified four new colonies of emperor penguins in Antarctica, reports British broadcasting company BBC.
– It is good that we are still finding colonies, even though the changing ice situation affects the emperor penguins, says the doctor of the British Polar Research Institute Peter Fretwell.
Antarctic emperor penguins mate, incubate and raise their young on the sea ice connected to the coast. However, the ice has melted in recent years.
The size and remoteness of Antarctica support the use of satellites. Faecal traces on the surface of the ice or a sufficiently large number of seabirds can be identified with it.
Climate change forces us to adapt
Some of the newly discovered emperor penguins have had to abandon their old habitat in the hope of better living conditions.
– Birds have to adapt, move to new areas as the ice conditions change, and we see evidence of this, says Fretwell.
In 2016, one of the largest colonies was destroyed when the ice conditions of the habitat changed. As a result, thousands of young emperor penguins drowned or froze to death as the surrounding ice broke up.
Now a group of birds has settled in the area where there are icebergs to nest.
– When the ice disappears in the future, emperor penguins can and will change their habitat, it is part of their nature, Fretwell states.
An adult emperor penguin can move more than a hundred kilometers a day.