IF there is one species in the world benefitting from global warming, it is the king penguin of Antarctica. A new study of 19,000 king penguins found their breeding is starting 19 days earlier than it did 25 years ago, when the earth was roughly half a degree cooler than...
IF there is one species in the world benefitting from global warming, it is the king penguin of Antarctica.
A new study of 19,000 king penguins found their breeding is starting 19 days earlier than it did 25 years ago, when the earth was roughly half a degree cooler than it is now.
Mating earlier in the season has increased the penguins’ breeding success rate by 40%, according to a study published in Science Advances.
Having a species like the king penguin adapt so well to seasonal shifts and timing changes “is unprecedented,” said study co-author Celine Le Bohec, a seabird ecologist at French science agency CNRS.
However, what researchers do not know is how long the penguins will be able to remain adapted to changing temperatures, she said, as the earth continues to warm.
