COSEE Ocean Systems: News
King penguin population threatened by Southern Ocean warming
Description: Seabirds are sensitive indicators of changes in marine ecosystems and might integrate and/or amplify the effects of climate forcing on lower levels in food chains. Current knowledge on the impact of climate changes on penguins is primarily based on Antarctic birds identified by using flipper bands. Although flipper bands have helped to answer many questions about penguin biology, they were shown in some penguin species to have a detrimental effect. Here, we present for a Subantarctic species, king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus), reliable results on the effect of climate on survival and breeding based on unbanded birds but instead marked by subcutaneous electronic tags. [Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]
URL: http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0712031105v1?etoc
Availability: Summary
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Publish Date: 2/15/2008
Reading Level: Expert
Page Length:  

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