Nearly a million king penguins disappeared without a trace. A group of ecologists embarked upon a journey to a remote Antarctic island in search of an answer. ScienceMagArchives
Where on Earth, wondered Henri Weimerskirch, were all the penguins? It was early 2017. Colleagues had sent the seabird ecologist aerial photos of Île aux Cochons, a barren volcanic island halfway between Madagascar and Antarctica that humans rarely visit. The images revealed vast areas of bare rock that, just a few decades before, had been crowded with some 500,000 pairs of nesting king penguins and their chicks.
In all likelihood, they would never be able to return."We knew this was going to be a one-shot expedition," recalls conservation biologist Adrien Chaigne, an expedition organizer who works for the National Nature Reserve of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories, which manages the island."It was a real kind of pressure."have long faced biologists seeking to understand life at the remote bottom of the planet.
King penguins should be relatively easy to study. Unlike their ice-bound cousins, such as emperor penguins, king penguins live on islands dotting the subantarctic region. That means they can be reliably and repeatedly counted in satellite images over time, and scientists can camp alongside their breeding colonies to observe them.
"The first 2 days were intense," Chaigne says."We knew it was possible that bad weather could end the expedition any day." Luckily, they avoided serious storms, and by the end of their fifth day the researchers had tagged the penguins and gathered the samples they sought.remain to be digested. But the researchers have already ruled out some possible explanations for the massive penguin decline. Land predators, for instance, don't seem to have played a role.
Not disease, apparently. The team is waiting on final blood analyses, but they saw few ailing birds or fresh corpses."We thought we'd see carrion, individuals in bad condition," Chaigne says. But the birds looked healthy.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Why the Bitcoin ‘mid-halving’ price slump will play out differently this timeSantiment believes that the traditional market cycle for Bitcoin is no longer in play, and suggests that 'mid-halving' on April 11 will be different from those that came before it.
Read more »
Why experts are 'not concerned' SF's COVID rate is highest in Calif.'I don’t think it’s any reason to go back to putting the brakes on and our masks back on.'
Read more »
Eboni K. Williams Shares Her Theory on Why RHONY Was Split Into 2 Shows'You can't close when parties involved in the negotiation are unwilling to give, even an inch.' (via TooFab)
Read more »
Why Underused Hotels, Motels Could Be The Faster Path To Easing L.A’s Affordable Housing GapA new report by the RAND Corporation spotlighted the potential of adaptive reuse.
Read more »
BBQ restaurants feel the heat of inflation, one explains whyMeat prices are at a record high right now, sticking customers with bigger bills for beef, pork, and chicken at the grocery store. Inflation is also hitting barbecue restaurants, with one in Kentucky explaining how it works.
Read more »