Follow that krill! Or where have all the penguins gone? All ecosystems rely on producers for all the energy that will flow through each trophic level.
So the largest animals in a food chain are reliant on the smallest organisms. PhytoplanktonSmall or microscopic aquatic plants that float or drift in fresh or salt water. and their blooms follow the sun and the sun is quickly disappearing from this land. PhytoplanktonSmall or microscopic aquatic plants that float or drift in fresh or salt water., zooplankton, and krill are so important to where you will find many of the carnivores, especially the penguins, and because of this I have seen only one Gentoo penguin and none others in my time here at Palmer Station.
I may not see many others, but in the end, just knowing I have boated in waters often occupied by penguins is just alright with me. If I were here in warmer, sunnier times, I would see three types of penguins, the Gentoo, Chinstrap and the ever-decreasing Adélie.
With the ever warming climate, this area is getting too hot for Adélie penguins, whose conservation status is already at near threatened, and they are having to migrate further south down the West Antarctic Peninsula.
Luckily, inside the boating area there are two islands that are nesting sites for this ever diminishing penguin, but peak egg season is in December and all the babies and parents are fledged and out at sea right now. The warming temperatures and opening of niches in this area have allowed the Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins to become more abundant around the boating area. And in the end, if you are ever in need of a penguin, all you have to do is call haw, haw, haw, three times and "Phil" our lounge comfort pillow will be there right by your side where you need him.
Today's question comes from Cory G. "What is your favorite animal in Antarctica"
Gentoo!
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