Scientists use penguins to help track climate change

Climate scientists use various methods of measuring changes on Earth.

These include checking sea temperatures, extreme weather patterns and changes in vegetation across continents.

But another helpful method of keeping an eye on climate change has emerged in Antarctica - tracking colonies of penguins!

The team from Stony Brook University in New York, United States have been following the waddling birds in order to keep an eye on environmental changes near the South Pole.

"We are counting penguin nests to understand how many penguins are in a colony, producing chicks every year, and whether that number is going up or down with the environmental conditions," Alex Borowicz told Reuters news agency.

The ecology researchers say penguins are easier to keep tabs on compared to other animal species for many reasons.

They nest on land and their black feathers can be spotted easily against the white icy land on satellite images.

Plus, penguin poo is easy to spot from a distance as it is also a contrasting colour to the snowy landscapes.

Amazingly, different types of penguins also give the scientists different indications of the ever-changing environment.

As the amount of sea ice has decreased due to warming temperatures, Gentoo penguins have thrived, but the same conditions are not as good for Adelie penguins, who rely on sea ice for breeding and feeding.

"When we find Adelie penguins, we typically know that sea ice is nearby," another ecology researcher Michael Wethington said.

"And whenever we've seen sea ice declining or disappearing altogether, then we're seeing corresponding Adelie penguin populations decline substantially."

So, not only are penguins super cute, they are also helping us understand climate change!