Lazy birds 'love' because it is so hot

Warming in Antarctica caused the mating activity of penguins to plummet.

>>>Mysterious penguin disappears winter

During a comprehensive survey of the penguin breeding habits on Deception Island in Antarctica, the scientists found that the number of small birds plummeted since the 1980s, Livescience reported. For example, the number of the largest flock of birds on Deception Island belongs to the southern islands of Antarctica, down more than 50% after two decades. The cause, according to scientists, is climate change.

Flock of penguin straps on Deception Island in Antarctica. (Photo: Livescience)

In the article published in the journal Polar Biology, scientists tracked the number of penguin capsules on Deception Island to discover that more than a third of the penguins of the Colts have disappeared in the last 20 years.

Researcher Heather Lynch and colleagues at Stony Brook University in the US estimate about 79,800 pairs of penguin straps on Deception Island in reproductive age, including 50,400 pairs of the largest herd.

By comparing up-to-date data with previous estimates, the team found very clear evidence that the number of baby birds born was reduced by 50% compared to 1986-87.

The study also shows that the tourism industry is threatening the life of this animal, but this is not the main cause.

'The impact of the tourism industry on the number of penguins is a factor, but climate change is an important cause of a dramatic change here. Tourism is negatively impacting penguins, but that is nothing compared to the impact of climate change , "Lynch said.

In the 1990s, some people thought that melting ice would benefit the cone penguin, because the bird does not like ice like Adélie penguin. However, the decrease in ice volume in winter has reached the threshold of depleting favorite food sources, ie, mollusc and penguin.

This is part of the Antarctic survey project to collect and analyze penguin data on the Antarctic Peninsula since 1994.