Home · Science · Oct 7 archive
Penguin poop is melting Antarctic snow by keeping algae green
Confirmed
In Short: Meanwhile, a surprising discovery was made regarding Antarctic krill, the primary food source for penguins, seals, and whales.
Scientists from the Australian Antarctic Programme confirmed that the H5 bird flu strain, likely introduced by infected wildlife from the Crozet Islands, has caused a high mortality rate among southern elephant seal pups, with some seal colonies losing up to 97 percent of their population.
The outbreak has also affected penguins and other birds, marking the first detection of the virus in one of Australia’s external territories.
Meanwhile, a surprising discovery was made regarding Antarctic krill, the primary food source for penguins, seals, and whales. Krill were found at hydrothermal vents, an unexpected habitat.
Kim Bernard, a biological oceanographer at Oregon State University, observed krill at these vents during an expedition in late 2024.
Bernard noted that the krill were heavily laden with eggs, suggesting they were reproducing in this unusual environment.
The finding challenges previous assumptions that krill primarily inhabit the upper layers of the ocean.
Krill are crucial to the Antarctic ecosystem, and their presence at hydrothermal vents could indicate a shift in their habitat due to environmental changes.
Hydrothermal vents release metals and sulfides, potentially offering a new food source for krill.
The discovery raises questions about the krill's adaptation to warmer waters and their role in the changing Antarctic food web.
Bernard's observations, published in the journal Communications Biology, highlight the need for further research into krill behavior and their impact on the Antarctic ecosystem.
What's confirmed
- Scientists from the Australian Antarctic Programme confirmed that the H5 bird flu strain, likely introduced by infected wildlife from the Crozet Islands, has caused a high mortality rate among southern elephant seal pups, with some seal colonies losing up to 97 percent of their population.
- The outbreak has also affected penguins and other birds, marking the first detection of the virus in one of Australia’s external territories.
- Meanwhile, a surprising discovery was made regarding Antarctic krill, the primary food source for penguins, seals, and whales. Krill were found at hydrothermal vents, an unexpected habitat.
- Kim Bernard, a biological oceanographer at Oregon State University, observed krill at these vents during an expedition in late 2024.
- Bernard noted that the krill were heavily laden with eggs, suggesting they were reproducing in this unusual environment.
- The finding challenges previous assumptions that krill primarily inhabit the upper layers of the ocean.
- Krill are crucial to the Antarctic ecosystem, and their presence at hydrothermal vents could indicate a shift in their habitat due to environmental changes.
- Hydrothermal vents release metals and sulfides, potentially offering a new food source for krill.
- The discovery raises questions about the krill's adaptation to warmer waters and their role in the changing Antarctic food web.
- Bernard's observations, published in the journal Communications Biology, highlight the need for further research into krill behavior and their impact on the Antarctic ecosystem.
What's still developing
- SYDNEY – A pathogenic strain of bird flu killed more than 13,000 elephant seal pups after infecting a breeding colony on a sub-Antarctic volcanic island, Australian scientists said on June 18.
- Krill also recycle nutrients that allow tiny algae called phytoplankton to grow.
- "While having a little tea break upstairs in the galley," she recalls, "I was watching the big screens showing in real time what was happening."
- "It just looks like pirouetting. I pretty much threw the tea in the air and ran down to the control room, screaming, 'There's krill, there's krill!'" Krill had never been spotted at a hydrothermal vent before.
- So Bernard found herself with a single basic question: "Why on earth are they down there?," she says.
- Antarctic krill are the lifeblood of the South Pole.
- "It's one of the most rapidly warming areas on the planet," says Bernard.
- "You can photograph them from airplanes." They can also be found at the sea floor at different depths, but she says these deeper observations have been sparse and anecdotal.
- Then, in late 2024, Bernard was in Bransfield Strait off the Antarctic Peninsula while aboard the National Geographic and Rolex Perpetual Planet Southern Ocean Expedition in collaboration with the Schmidt Ocean Institute.
- "And if they don't, they feed on something else that feeds directly on Antarctic krill. So they are absolutely fundamental to the functioning and health of that ecosystem."
- "and it's bringing with it metals and sulfides and all sorts of other chemicals that form almost like a tower."
- "very heavily laden with eggs. Should be releasing them any moment."