Climate change hits largest penguin colony
On remote Zavodovski Island, the number of occupied chinstrap penguin nests has fallen by 63 per cent since 2011.
The world’s largest penguin colony has lost its title after a sharp decline in chinstrap penguins on the Antarctic island of Zavodovski. Researchers link this to climate-driven changes in the Southern Ocean’s food chain.
Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey studied the colony using drones, aerial photographs, satellite imagery and transmitters attached to individual penguins. According to the study, published on Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Current Biology, the number of occupied nests fell by 63 per cent between 2011 and 2025.
The researchers estimate that more than half a million chinstrap penguins have disappeared. Zavodovski lies in the South Sandwich Islands, more than 2,000 kilometres from the nearest permanent human settlement. For years, the colony was regarded as the largest in the world; that title now goes to Cape Adare on the Ross Sea.
According to the researchers, the measurements show that the decline cannot be explained by a single sudden event. The island was hit by a volcanic eruption in 2016, but the decline had already begun before the eruption and continued afterwards at a similar pace.
Satellite data from tagged animals point to changes in their foraging area. Chinstrap penguins mainly seek cooler waters to the north-west of the island, where they find Antarctic krill. The researchers suspect that ocean warming and changes in the food chain are reducing the availability of this food.
The study does not prove that one specific temperature change caused the disappearance of each individual animal. The pattern does, however, fit earlier observations of declining chinstrap penguin numbers in other parts of Antarctica. The researchers point out that the species may become more vulnerable if feeding grounds change further.
The study does not automatically mean that the species’ global status will change immediately. That decision is made by the International Union for Conservation of Nature on the basis of broader population data. The new measurement could, however, lead to greater attention to protecting the Southern Ocean, fisheries management and long-term monitoring of remote colonies.
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The research findings and the publication’s status were confirmed by the British Antarctic Survey and Current Biology. Causal formulations have been kept cautious, distinguishing measurements from interpretation.
- confirmed The number of occupied chinstrap penguin nests fell by 63 per cent between 2011 and 2025. — Mentioned in the BAS summary of the study. source
- confirmed The study was published in Current Biology. — The DOI points to the publication. source
- confirmed More than half a million chinstrap penguins disappeared. — Reported by BAS and AFP. source
- confirmed The decline began before the 2016 volcanic eruption and continued afterwards. — BAS describes this conclusion from the time series. source
- confirmed Researchers link this to climate-driven changes in the food chain. — The study and BAS present this as a likely explanation. source
Editor's note
The population decline is based on a peer-reviewed study. The link with climate-driven changes in food supply is a scientific explanation, not a direct measurement of a single cause.Sources
- Penguin population collapse on volcanic island — British Antarctic Survey
- Population declines and changes in community composition at the world’s largest penguin colony — Current Biology
- Iconic penguin colony sees population collapse driven by climate change, study finds — CBS News/AFP