Everyone loves penguins, right? So here's a little better video, I think, of the penguin colony on Torgersen Island, which is only a few minutes' ride from Palmer Station on Anvers Island, in the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula.
No music this time, just the braying of the penguins and my own rather anemic interjections ... one qualifier, however: I mention that the colony has shrunk due to climate change but I don't offer any explanation in the video.
The short story: The ambient temperature has warmed significantly. In addition, the deep ocean water that comes up on the shelf is also much warmer. The changes have reduced the duration of sea ice in the region, which is not only a key habitat for the penguins during the winter but also for its main prey, the shrimp-like krill. All this means that chick survival and recruitment to these colonies has been drastically reduced.
I'll have more on this story when I go out with the seabird researchers next week.
There's also some new articles on The Antarctic Sun Web site, including a couple on different aspects of this trip.
I love the sound of Penguins! Thanks for the vid. Wondering, is your Flip SD or HD? Picture looks cropped. Is that because your blog page only takes 4x3? Also wondered if you were cutting using the Flip software? Or are you using something else? Flip stuff is actually pretty easy to use!
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Hi, Lisa. It's the SD, and I am using the software. Yup. Pretty easy to use, though learning the best ways to edit is a bit more subject, as you know. Not sure why it looks clipped ... I actually upload it to YouTube and embed in the blog. Blogspot doesn't seem to play well with Flip camera.
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