Penguins offer varied clues to Antarctic climate change

Penguins have become far more than an iconic symbol of the earth’s frozen south. Scientists now use them as key indicators for understanding climate change near the South Pole.

The birds have become far more than an iconic symbol of the earth’s frozen south. Scientists now use them as key indicators for understanding climate change near the South Pole – with certain western regions like the Antarctic Peninsula having undergone rapid warming, while East Antarctica remains cold and capped in ice.

"We are counting penguin nests to understand how many penguins are in a colony, producing chicks every year, and whether that number is going up or down with the environmental conditions," said Borowicz, of Stony Brook University in New York.

For climate researchers, nothing is easy in the remote and icy reaches of Antarctica. But penguins are easier to track than other species because they nest on land and their black feathers and their waste can be spotted against the white expanse.

"We can use penguins as a bioindicator to see how the rest of the ecosystem is operating," said Wethington, also of Stony Brook.