Penguins originated in Australia and New Zealand -- not the Antarctic, new study finds
Penguins didn't originate in Antarctica, as scientists have believed for years -- they first evolved in Australia and New Zealand, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
The study, which was conducted in collaboration with museums and universities around the world, analyzed blood and tissue samples from 18 different species of penguins. They used this genomic information to look back in time, and trace the penguins' movement and diversification over millennia.
Penguins are adaptable -- but not enough for climate change
The study also sheds light on the penguins' adaptability to changing climates -- and the danger they now face in the modern climate crisis.
"We are able to show how penguins have been able to diversify to occupy the incredibly different thermal environments they live in today, going from 9 degrees Celsius (48 Fahrenheit) in the waters around Australia and New Zealand, down to negative temperatures in Antarctica and up to 26 degrees (79 Fahrenheit) in the Galapagos Islands," said Rauri Bowie, one of the lead researchers and a professor of integrative biology at UC Berkeley, in a statement from the university.
"But we want to make the point that it has taken millions of years for penguins to be able to occupy such diverse habitats, and at the rate that oceans are warming, penguins are not going to be able to adapt fast enough to keep up with changing climate."
The team was able to pinpoint genetic adaptations that allowed penguins to thrive in challenging environments; for example, their genes evolved to better regulate body temperature, which allowed them to live in both subzero Antarctic temperatures and warmer tropical climes.
But these steps of evolution took millions of years -- time that the penguins don't have now, as their populations dwindle.
"Right now, changes in the climate and environment are going too fast for some species to respond to the climate change," said Juliana Vianna, associate professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, in the UC Berkeley statement.
The different elements of climate change culminate in a perfect storm. Disappearing sea ice mean fewer breeding and resting grounds for emperor penguins. The reduced ice and warming oceans also mean less krill, the main component of the penguins' diet.
Link to news report:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/18/aust ... vzVbYNwwjALink to paper:
https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/08/17/pe ... hey-kiwis/