Antarctica's Newest Emperor Penguin Colony Discovered From Space

Scientists have discovered a new emperor penguin colony in Antarctica using satellite mapping technology, according to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

With the addition of this colony, there are now 66 known emperor penguin colonies across Antarctica's coastline, with exactly half having been found through satellite imaging.

The birds' guano stains, which are dark in colour and simpler to distinguish next to the ice and rock, helped the researchers locate the colony. There are about 500 birds living at the new location in West Antarctica's Verleger Point.

As per the release, Emperor penguins need sea ice to breed and are located in areas that are very difficult to study because they are remote and often inaccessible and can experience temperatures as low as -60 degree Celsius. For the last 15 years, British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists have been looking for new colonies by searching satellite imagery for their guano stains on the ice.

Dr. Peter Fretwell, the lead author, who studies wildlife from space for BAS, stated that, "This is an exciting discovery. The new satellite images of Antarctica's coastline have enabled us to find many new colonies. And whilst this is good news, like many of the recently discovered sites, this colony is small and in a region badly affected by recent sea ice loss."

Sea ice loss, which threatens their preferred nesting habitat, is known to put emperor penguins at risk. This habitat is predicted to diminish given current climate change estimates. The most recent estimates predict that by the end of the century, 80% of colonies will be all but extinct due to present warming trends.

The study was a component of the Wildlife from Space project, which was financed by UKRI-NERC with support from WWF.