Climate change has brought a marked change to the breeding season of penguins in Antarctica. A new study has found that some penguin species have brought their breeding schedule forward by more than three weeks, which poses a serious risk to their survival. Researchers fear that if this continues, the Antarctic bird will soon head towards extinction.

The study, carried out over nearly a decade by Penguin Watch and led by researchers from the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University, found evidence of major changes in penguin behaviour.

It analysed when penguins began breeding between 2012 and 2022, covering three species: Adélie, chinstrap and gentoo.

The study's lead author, Dr Ignacio Juárez Martínez, said: "We are very worried because penguins are bringing their breeding season forward so fast that it is breaking all existing records. Such a rapid change has never been seen before. This change could seriously disrupt penguins' food supply."

"If their prey is still not sufficiently available at breeding time, the chicks will face a food shortage in the first few weeks of life, which could be fatal," he added.

In his view, penguins may be able to adapt to the environment for a while, but they cannot survive like this for long.

The biggest change was seen in gentoo penguins, whose breeding time moved forward by 13 days on average over the past decade, and by as much as 24 days in some cases.

According to the researchers, this is the fastest shift in timing recorded so far for any bird, and possibly for any vertebrate.

Source cited in the report: The Guardian.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.