Emperor penguin colonies are hard to locate because they are distributed over huge swathes of sea ice, much of which is present only in the most inhospitable months of the year.
Peter Fretwell and Philip Trathan of the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, UK, have found a way to spot breeding colonies without clambering around in the cold; they look at satellite images for the large faecal stains (pictured) created by the emperors (Aptenodytes forsteri).
Their survey has located 38 colonies, including 10 new sites and 6 that were recorded as being in the wrong place. Six other previously recorded colonies were missing.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ecology: Evidence of emperors. Nature 459, 754 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/459754c
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/459754c
