PREVIEW

New Emperor Penguin Colonies Discovered In Antarctica From Space As Scientists Spot 'Poo Stains' In The Snow. Four new emperor penguin colonies have been discovered from space by scientists who spotted their poo stains in the snow. Satellite imagery led to the discovery of new colonies by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) while they were exploring potential new colony locations in Antarctica. Their habitat was easily spotted due to the contrast of penguin 'guano', or faeces, stains against the white snow. The newly-discovered colony brings the total number of known breeding sites around the coastline of Antarctica to 66. Due to the harsh conditions of most breeding sites, scientists use satellite technology to discover and monitor emperor penguin colonies. Changing sea conditions have resulted in some colonies moving 30-40km in search of new breeding grounds. Lead author Dr Peter Fretwell at BAS sayid: “This is an exciting discovery. Although the number of penguins found does not increase the global population significantly, knowing the locations of all the breeding colonies is very important as we track their response to climate change.”