Ukrainian polar explorers counted a record number of subantarctic penguins on Galindez Island, where the Akademik Vernadskyi station is located. There are more than seven thousand of them there — 500 penguins for each researcher.
The National Antarctic Science Center writes about it.
The record number of penguins in Galindez is a sign of warming and shrinking sea ice in the Antarctic, which is causing the animals to migrate and occupy new territories.
Until 2007, subantarctic penguins did not nest near the Vernadskyi station. Scientists believe that the main reason for the changes is the late thawing of the waters around Galindez Island. Previously, frosts in this area reached -20 C⁰ and below, and the ice prevented the penguins from hunting.
In the same season, Ukrainian biologists counted on the island:
- nine colonies of thermophilic subantarctic penguins with a total number of 35 thousand;
- three colonies of cold-loving Adélie penguins with a total number of up to five thousand;
- more than 50 individuals of Antarctic penguins that prefer the transit zone between the Subantarctic and the Antarctic.
It is important for researchers to monitor the dynamics of changes in penguin populations. This is one of the signs of climate change in the Antarctic. In addition, penguins fertilize the icy continent with their droppings, creating soil for Antarctic vegetation, and predators such as leopard seals and skunks follow penguins toward the Arctic Circle.
Subantarctic penguins come to Galindez for the mating season in September-October. Now they nest here.