New Antarctic research shows that Adélie penguins must balance the benefits and costs of riding on sea ice during their long-distance migration

by Zachary Warnow, Point Blue Conservation Science
January 11, 2024

Newly published research by Petaluma-based non-profit, Point Blue Conservation Science, shows how Adélie penguins within the Ross Sea, Antarctica use sea ice in their annual migrations. The results were published in the journal Ecology, a publication of the Ecological Society of America.

Adélie penguins, though flightless, can undertake extraordinary migrations like their flying relatives, traveling thousands of kilometers out to sea from their on-land breeding colonies in Antarctica, tracking daylight and food during the long Antarctic winter. Many other species are known to use wind or ocean currents to help them save energy as they travel but, until now, relatively little has been known about if and how Adélies might use the movement of sea ice to support their travels. Understanding this interaction can provide new ecological and conservation insights, especially as long-term monitoring has revealed record low levels of sea-ice extent and concentration in Antarctica and within the Ross Sea over the last 10 years.

Keep reading: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1031096

Read the Ecology paper: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.4196