But penguins did not originate in Antarctica, as scientists have believed for years – they first evolved in Australia and New Zealand, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
The study, conducted in collaboration with museums and universities around the world, analyzed blood and tissue samples from 18 different penguin species. They used this genomic information to look back in time, and to trace the movement and diversification of penguins over millennia.
Penguins originated 22 million years ago in Australia and New Zealand, researchers suggest; then the king’s ancestors and emperor penguins split up and moved to Antarctic waters, probably attracted by the abundant food supply there.
These findings also support the theory that king and emperor penguins are the “sister group” to all other penguin lines – adding another piece to the long-discussed puzzle of where exactly these two species sit on the family tree.
About 12 million years ago, the Drake Passage – the body of water between Antarctica and the southern tip of South America – opened completely. This allowed penguins to swim across the Southern Ocean, spreading more to sub-Antarctic islands than the warmer coastal regions of South America and Africa.
Today, the flightless birds are still found in Australia and New Zealand – such as Antarctica, South America, the South Atlantic Ocean, southern Africa, the sub-Antarctic, Indian Ocean islands, and subtropical regions.
During the study, researchers also discovered a new strain of penguin that has yet to be given a scientific description.
Penguins are adaptable – but not enough for climate change
The study sheds light on the penguins’ adaptability to changing climates – and on the danger they now face in the modern climate crisis.
“But we want to make the point that it will take millions of years for penguins to occupy such diverse habitats, and at the rate at which oceans are warming, penguins will not be able to adapt quickly enough to cope with changing climates.”
The team was able to determine genetic modifications that allowed penguins to thrive in challenging environments; For example, their genes evolved to better regulate body temperature, allowing them to live in both subzero Antarctic temperatures and warmer tropical climbs.
But these steps of evolution took millions of years – time that the penguins do not have now, because their populations are disappearing.
“Currently, climate and environmental changes are going too fast for some species to respond to climate change,” said Juliana Vianna, associate professor at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, in the UC Berkeley statement.
The various elements of climate change culminate in a perfect storm. The disappearance of ice means less breeding and resting grounds for emperor penguins. The reduced ice and warming oceans also mean less krill, the main component of the penguins’ diet.
In the Galapagos, penguin populations decline as hot El Nino events – a weather phenomenon that sees warming of the eastern Pacific – occur more frequently and with greater seriousness. In Africa, warmer waters off the south coast have also caused penguin populations to drop dramatically.
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