Nature & Environment
Climate Change May be Causing Adelie and Gentoo Penguins to Overlap in the Antarctic
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Jan 08, 2016 11:24 AM EST
Could penguins be fighting for the same food source? As Gentoo penguins move into the West Antarctic due to climate change, scientists believe they may be competing with Adelie penguins for the same kinds of food.
In this latest study, the researchers set out to see whether or not these two species of penguin were actually competing for food. They tagged penguins with small satellite transmitters and depth recorders to track where the penguins went and how deep they were diving. The tags were attached to a different penguin every three days over the month-long 2011 study, which took place during the chick-feeding phase of the breeding cycle.
The researchers also used an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) called a REMUS to sample the water where the penguins were foraging. This provided important measurements on temperature, salinity and how much light was in the water. It also monitored how much phytoplankton and krill was in the water.
The researchers found that while gentoos foraged as deep as 150 meters when overlapping areas while Adelies foraged in the upper 50 meters of water. The researchers believe that this could be a strategy to limit competition.
"It was unexpected to see the Adelies foraging much shallower than the gentoos when we know they are capable of deeper dives," said Megan Cimino, one of the researchers, in a news release.
The researchers also found that the penguins seemed to be getting enough food, even though they were in the same area.
With that said, the researchers hope to conduct further research in the future in order to better understand how these two species interact in the wild.
The findings are published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.
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First Posted: Jan 08, 2016 11:24 AM EST
Could penguins be fighting for the same food source? As Gentoo penguins move into the West Antarctic due to climate change, scientists believe they may be competing with Adelie penguins for the same kinds of food.
In this latest study, the researchers set out to see whether or not these two species of penguin were actually competing for food. They tagged penguins with small satellite transmitters and depth recorders to track where the penguins went and how deep they were diving. The tags were attached to a different penguin every three days over the month-long 2011 study, which took place during the chick-feeding phase of the breeding cycle.
The researchers also used an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) called a REMUS to sample the water where the penguins were foraging. This provided important measurements on temperature, salinity and how much light was in the water. It also monitored how much phytoplankton and krill was in the water.
The researchers found that while gentoos foraged as deep as 150 meters when overlapping areas while Adelies foraged in the upper 50 meters of water. The researchers believe that this could be a strategy to limit competition.
"It was unexpected to see the Adelies foraging much shallower than the gentoos when we know they are capable of deeper dives," said Megan Cimino, one of the researchers, in a news release.
The researchers also found that the penguins seemed to be getting enough food, even though they were in the same area.
With that said, the researchers hope to conduct further research in the future in order to better understand how these two species interact in the wild.
The findings are published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.
Related Articles
Massive 'King Kong' Ape May Have Gone Extinct Due to Climate Change
How Climate Change Will Impact the Amazon Rainforest in the Future
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone