News Climate

Look to penguins to track Antarctic changes

Shifts in food webs and climate are written in penguin feathers and eggshells

Gentoo penguin

FOOD TRACKER A new tool could help scientists distinguish between dietary changes in Gentoo penguins and changes that originate lower in the food web.

Kelton McMahon

By Carolyn Gramling

- More than 2 years ago

PORTLAND, Ore. — Penguins preserve records of Antarctic environmental change. The birds’ feathers and eggshells contain the chemical fingerprints of variations in diet, food web structure and even climate, researchers reported February 12 at the American Geophysical Union’s 2018 Ocean Sciences Meeting.