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Updated: May 4, 2026
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A Modified Mirror Test as a Visual Guide for the Self-awareness Trait in Wild Antarctica Penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae
Published on: July 8, 2025
942
Emperor penguins breeding on iceshelves
Peter T Fretwell1, Phil N Trathan1, Barbara Wienecke2
1British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Plos One
|January 14, 2014
Summary
Emperor penguins are adapting to climate change by breeding on ice-shelves when sea-ice is scarce. This new behavior in marginal habitats may offer some resilience against sea-ice loss.
Area of Science:
- Marine Biology
- Ecology
- Climate Change Adaptation
Background:
- Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) are considered a sea-ice obligate species, with most colonies historically found on sea-ice.
- Recent climate change and warming trends have raised concerns about the stability of Antarctic sea-ice, impacting emperor penguin populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To document and analyze a newly observed breeding behavior in emperor penguins utilizing ice-shelves.
- To investigate the factors influencing colony location between sea-ice and ice-shelves.
- To assess the habitat marginality of emperor penguin breeding sites in the context of climate change.
Main Methods:
- Utilized satellite and aerial-survey observations to identify and monitor emperor penguin colonies.
- Employed synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data to analyze colony relocation patterns in relation to sea-ice formation.
- Applied environmental variables to assess the habitat marginality of breeding sites.
Main Results:
- Four emperor penguin colonies were recorded on ice-shelves, with two being newly discovered.
- Colonies were observed to relocate to ice-shelves in years with late sea-ice formation.
- Three of the four studied colonies are located in warmer, northerly regions with often sub-optimal sea-ice conditions.
Conclusions:
- Emperor penguins exhibit adaptable breeding behavior, utilizing ice-shelves as an alternative platform when sea-ice is limited.
- This behavior in marginal habitats may offer a partial mitigation strategy against the negative impacts of sea-ice loss due to climate change.
- Further research is needed to understand the long-term implications of this behavior for population dynamics and conservation efforts.
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