Wildlife

New Colony of Penguins in Antarctica

A colony of about 500 emperor penguins was found in a nearly inaccessible area where the species is under threat from global heating. The British Antarctic Survey made the discovery by examining satellite images.

“Like many of the recently discovered sites, this colony is small and in a region badly affected by recent sea-ice loss,” said researcher Peter Fretwell. Emperor penguins are the only ones that breed on sea ice instead of land. If the seasonal ice breaks up before the end of the breeding season, chicks will tumble into the water, where they either drown or freeze.

Solar Confusion

Following the discovery that some birds can “see” Earth’s magnetic field through magnetoreceptors in their eyes, researchers say geomagnetic storms from solar flares and sunspots can cause some long-distance migrators to wind up at the wrong destinations.

By comparing records of 2.2 million birds captured and released from 1960 to 2019 with records of geomagnetic disturbances, a UCLA team found a strong correlation between birds found far outside their expected range and the geomagnetic storms during spring and fall migrations. They say the wayward migrations during such storms may help species survive as their traditional homes become uninhabitable due to climate change.