Iconic penguin colony sees "population collapse," study finds
Summary
A research study found that the chinstrap penguin population on Zavodovski Island near Antarctica has dropped by nearly two-thirds between 2011 and 2025. Scientists think this decline is mainly due to climate change affecting the availability of krill, their main food, rather than the 2016 volcanic eruption on the island.Key Facts
- Zavodovski Island lost about 680,000 chinstrap penguins from 2011 to 2025, a 63% decrease.
- The island’s macaroni penguin population increased during the same time, rising from around 338,000 to 433,000.
- Climate change is pushing krill, the tiny creatures chinstrap penguins eat, into colder waters where chinstraps cannot survive well.
- The volcanic eruption in 2016 on Mount Curry did not significantly affect the penguin population, as the ash blew away from their habitat.
- Chinstrap penguins have been declining at about 7% per year on the island.
- The population change on Zavodovski may signal a shift in the Antarctic ecosystem caused by warming temperatures.
- The International Union for Conservation of Nature may change chinstrap penguins’ status to “endangered” due to their sharp population decline.
- Other penguin species like Adelie have become the largest colony at different Antarctic locations.
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