Want To Monitor Climate Change Pick Up A Penguin

CLIMATE SCIENCE

King penguin. Credit: Lewis Halsey

by Staff Writers
Glasgow UK (SPX) Apr 09, 2007
We are used to hearing about the effects of climate change in terms of unusual animal behaviour, such as altering patterns of fish and bird migration. However, scientists at the University of Birmingham are trying out an alternative bio-indicator - the king penguin - to investigate whether they can be used to monitor the effects of climate change.

"If penguins are travelling further or diving deeper for food, that tells us something about the availability of particular fish in regions of the Antarctic. We may be able to assess the pressure exerted by king penguins on this ecosystem, and look at the effects of both climate change and overfishing in this region of the world", says Dr Lewis Halsey who will present his results on Wednesday 4th April at the Society for Experimental Biology's Annual Meeting in Glasgow.

A new way of using animals as bio-indicators is to ascertain their energy requirements. Dr Halsey and co-workers measured the heart rate and energy expenditure of king penguins whilst walking on a treadmill and whilst swimming in a long water channel, and obtained relationships between these two variables.

They then implanted heart rate loggers in penguins going to sea such that they could infer the energy expended by these birds from the recorded heart rate. Researchers were then able to find out if there was a correlation between the energetic costs of foraging at sea and the levels of fish available to the penguins i.e. did penguins have to work harder when food was scarce.

King penguins are good candidates as bio-indicators for several reasons. Firstly, while at sea foraging, they cover hundreds of kilometres and are able to dive to depths of several hundred metres, so they explore a relatively large portion of the expansive Southern Oceans. Secondly, the diets of several populations of king penguins are well known. Thirdly, while foraging for food is done at sea the penguins also come ashore to breed and moult, making them accessible to researchers.

Email This Article

CLIMATE SCIENCE

Trans Atlantic Rift Not That Great On Global Warming

Brussels (AFP) April 4, 2007
The gap between the United States and European Union over how to tackle global warming is narrower than many might think, the US ambassador to the EU said on Tuesday.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT Empty Homes Signal New Aceh Tsunami Hurdle Northrop Grumman SAROPS Software Supports US Coast Guard Rescue Mission Disease Hits As Aid Trickles Into Solomons Disaster Area David And Goliath Battle Against Mud Volcano	CLIMATE SCIENCE Want To Monitor Climate Change Pick Up A Penguin Trans Atlantic Rift Not That Great On Global Warming US Pollution Cop Defends Bush Greenhouse Gas Record Environmentalists Hail US Supreme Court Ruling As Bush Says Issue Serious
EARTH OBSERVATION USGS Defines Roles For New Satellite Mission ESA Signs Arrangement With New Zealand On Tracking Station DMCii To Launch New Higher-Resolution Satellite Imaging Service First Greenhouse Gas Animations Produced Using Envisat SCIAMACHY Data	ENERGY TECH Africa Great Lakes Gas Project Will Defuse Underwater Timebomb Florida To Build Strongest Magnet Yet For Neutron Scattering Experiments Biodiesel Study Targets Cleaner Air And Cleaner Engines Equipment Failure At Top Particle Accelerator
EPIDEMICS UN Says Bird Flu Still A Threat Has Russia Declared War On Migratory Birds Antibiotic Resistance In Plague Researchers Find Best Way To Detect Airborne Pathogens	FLORA AND FAUNA Trends In Bird Observations Reveal Changing Fortunes For Different Species Researchers Help Find Master Switch In Plant Communication Tibetan Microbe Mats How Arthropods Survive The Cold Using Natural Anti-Freeze
FROTH AND BUBBLE DHS Rolls Out New Chemical Plant Regulations Lenovo Tops Eco-Friendly Rating For Computers EcoMafia Brings Toxic Terror To Naples World Mayors Consider Perils Of Growing Urbanisation	ABOUT US Why The Rich Get Richer It's Never Too Late To Interrupt The Aging Process The Mother Of All Tooth Decay Man's Earliest Direct Ancestors Looked More Apelike Than Previously Believed

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement