A new study from University of Delaware oceanographers shows a strong connection between climate changes and the weights of penguin chicks.
In a study published last week in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, scientists analyzed the weights of Adélie penguin chicks living on the West Antarctic Peninsula, recorded from 1989 to 2011. They noticed as time progressed, the weights of the penguins became more variable, meaning that the chicks might be heavy one year, then suddenly very light the next.
Researchers found the weight changes are most influenced by local weather. UD graduate student Megan Cimino, lead author of the study, says increasing humidity and rain in the penguins’ habitat is a problem for chicks that haven’t developed waterproof feathers yet. Without those feathers, the young become more wet and cold during the first 50 days of living in the nest.
“Heavier chicks are more likely to survive,” says Cimino. “What we found is during years of cold, wet, windy conditions, the chicks are more likely to weigh less because they’re having to expend more energy on staying warm. They end up having to burn those calories to stay warm instead of using those calories to grow bigger or stronger.”
Cimino adds the study indicates that wind also has a tendency to spread out the penguins' main food source, krill. The more spread out the krill is, the more time parents spend away from their nest to feed their young.
Cimino plans to head to Antarctica next month to study Adélie penguins further, using the help of a drone from the University of Delaware’s new robotics laboratory.
