Antarctica's melting sea ice is making Adélie penguins 'happier': Study

Scientists have discovered that Adélie penguins in Antarctica preferred  reduced sea-ice conditions as y are "pretty slow waddlers overland" and can access food more easily in ice-free conditions, hence, happier in melted ice due to global warming. With continent’s sea ice depleting fast, scientists have found that iconic polar predators’ population increases due to sparse sea ice. se findings have been published in Science Advances Journal on June 24, 2020.  

Researchers with Japan's National Institute of Polar Research electro attached at least 175 penguins with GPS devices and video cameras to record ir behaviour across four seasons prevalent in Antarctic region. Ranging from categorised walking, swimming and resting behaviour to estimate amount of prey captured during dives, data samples accumulated by researchers proved that  reduced sea ice was a thrilling condition for survival of se penguins. In an ice-free season, according to paper published, "penguins travelled by swimming rar than walking, leading to larger foraging areas, shorter trip durations and lower energy expenditure." 

It turns out that se penguins are happier with less sea ice. This may seem counter-intuitive, but underlying mechanism is actually quite simple— National Institute of Polar Research 

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Dive for longer, catch more krills

According to research, with less ice, penguins could just waddle over to water next to ir breeding grounds and search for cracks in ice to brea. Additionally, y could dive for longer periods and catch more krill. Lead researcher Yuuki Watanabe at National Institute of Polar Research said, “For penguins, swimming is a whopping four times faster than walking,” adding, “y may be sleek in water but are pretty slow waddlers overland.” 

Speaking about ir increased resting behaviour, Dr. Watanabe furr said, “It turns out that se penguins are happier with less sea ice. This may seem counter-intuitive, but underlying mechanism is actually quite simple.” According to published research, less sea ice also meant more sunlight entering water, leading to larger blooms of plankton that krill feed on, which enhanced availability of food for penguins. 

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