Alongside Patagonia’s edge on the southern tip of South America, completely different populations of penguins act as beacons for the way ecosystems are responding to the local weather disaster.

Penguins come on land to breed and nest, however additionally they spend a variety of time within the ocean, foraging for meals.

Rey has studied their swimming behaviors, like the place penguins go to forage and what they feed on, in addition to the demographics of penguin populations. Collectively, this knowledge creates parameters to assist biologists perceive how penguins are reacting to the altering surroundings round them.

“It is the right animal to get to know the ocean higher,” Rey stated. “It is like an early alert for the way the ocean is struggling. All of the marine surroundings threats are threats for penguins, too, like local weather change, air pollution, delivery, oil exploration and exploitation.”

Patagonia’s penguins

Patagonia is residence to a number of varieties of penguins that reside throughout the area’s numerous environments, together with gentoo penguins, Magellanic penguins and king penguins.

Rey research the 50 pairs of gentoo penguins that reside on south Argentina’s Hammer Island, a harsh and distant place the place the one residents are marine birds. She checks on the well being of the birds and collects blood samples to verify the inhabitants — thought of secure in the intervening time — stays wholesome.

Attaching a small digital camera to the again of every grownup penguin permits Rey to study extra about how they feed once they depart on hours-long foraging journeys. The penguins swim for miles and might dive down 200 toes (61 meters) or extra throughout a single food-finding expedition.

Magellanic penguins populate Hammer Island in addition to the seashores alongside Patagonia’s desert coast at El Pedral.

Air pollution has been a menace to Magellanic penguins on the desert coast, however conservationists have labored onerous to wash up the trash and create a protected space. These efforts allowed the colony to develop from six pairs of penguins to greater than 3,000 pairs.

The king penguin can also be making an sudden comeback in Patagonia. Tons of of hundreds of king penguins had as soon as lived in Tierra del Fuego, however European settlers hunted them, wiping out the colony.

Monitoring populations

Whereas some penguin colonies are rising, the most important ones are lowering in Patagonia, Rey stated. Intently monitoring completely different penguin teams can reveal if sure varieties of inhabitants interferes with different penguins which might be pushed out of their typical surroundings, just like the susceptible southern rockhopper penguin.

Nest cameras enable researchers to trace stressors for penguin colonies, like microplastic air pollution or warmth waves able to killing penguin chicks.

If penguins disappear from Patagonia, it may trigger an enormous environmental shift as a result of penguins are prime predators in marine meals webs and ecosystems, Rey stated. Penguins assist regulate these meals webs, each on land and within the ocean, and their key function cannot be crammed by one other animal.

Raya research the colonies by going to the distant environments the place the penguins reside within the far south. She desires the wild components of Earth to stay wild. She hopes that people can reside in concord with animals, moderately than inflicting the stressors that may lower their populations.

And there is a form of peace that comes from finding out the penguins who reside in remoted locations that automobiles, smartphones and computer systems cannot attain.

“I actually take pleasure in being in the midst of nowhere simply with the penguins in these virtually untouched locations,” Rey stated.