Antarctic penguins may benefit from less sea ice, study says

New research indicates that penguins in Antarctica may actually benefit from less sea ice.

Researchers tracked penguins “in four seasons with contrasting sea-ice conditions.” During an ice-free season, the animals were able to swim more and walk less, which is more efficient because penguins swim faster than they walk.

Therefore, less sea ice enabled them to forage more quickly and over larger areas. They also didn’t have to search for cracks in the ice to come up for breath.

The findings were published this week in the journal Science Advances.