Penguins live at the bottom of the world, where scientists expect the most drastic global warming changes. As such, the waddling birds have become beacons of environmental change, so much so that they've been strapped with identification bands so climate scientists can monitor their whereabouts (and health status).
But the harm caused by this method of flipper tagging may outweigh the benefits, a new study suggests. Over a 10-year period, banded penguins produced 39 percent fewer chicks and had a survival rate that was 16 percent lower than birds without bands.
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The researchers found that banding increased mortality in less-fit birds during the first 4.5 years. The banded penguins also had less time and energy to reproduce and care for their young, because they spent more time foraging and arrived more than two weeks late to breeding areas.
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Wearing the equipment forces penguins to expend 24 percent more energy while swimming, an amount similar to humans running with a heavy backpack, Wilson said, referring to research he has done on captive Adelie penguins. What's more, the gear could injure the flippers and attract the attention of predators, he added.
"Although at any one moment for any one day, the impediment is perhaps not that great, if you put on a band for the animal's life, then it's carrying that cost every hour of every day, and that could come to be quite a serious cost," [Swansea University ecologist Rory] Wilson told LiveScience.
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Meanwhile, thousands of penguins still carry bands, and because they’re cheap, durable and convenient, scientists may continue to use them in the future.
"The big question for scientists using flipper bands is how much and under what conditions is banding penguins justified," Wilson said. "I would say that if anyone puts bands on, there has to be a bloody good reason for it."
[LiveScience]
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