Image - Miguel A. Jiménez Tenorio
The Calp biologist Josabel Benlliure is going to spend Christmas surrounded by more than 40 thousand penguins from Deception Island, in Antarctica, with a very particular objective: to study the effects that climate change has on these magnificent animals, so vulnerable to thawing and temperatures that tend to be higher and higher.
And he will do it within the »Pingufor» project to investigate three species: Pygoscelis Antarctica (chinstrap penguin), Pygoscelis adeliae (adelia) and Papuan Pygoscelis (Papua), as they are considered "sentinels of health" of the ecosystem in which they inhabit.
As the average temperature of Antarctica increases, major changes are taking place. For the moment, researchers have already found the existence of a declining chinstrap and adélie penguin populations as a consequence of the decrease in krill populations, which is the main food of the penguins.
On the other hand, and in parallel, they have verified that ticks have reached Antarctica. These parasites can transmit new diseases and, therefore, endanger the lives of more specimens.
Researchers at »Pingufor» are studying a penguin breeding colony made up of some 20 breeding pairs. The three biologists in charge of monitoring have to choose 200 nests to tag the chicks and, in addition, install transmitters to the adults. In this way, they can know the distance that parents who go in search of food travel each day.
The investigation will take place from December 2017 to March 2018 between the Gabriel de Castilla base and the penguin colony, which is about two hours away. For Benlliure, this is the fifth Antarctic campaign.
Undoubtedly, the more we know about the effects of climate change on the planet and its inhabitants, the more possibilities we will have to adapt to it.