Will little penguins survive climate change?

This video from Australia is called Little Penguins Return to the Open Ocean.

From Wildlife Extra:

Penguins‘ personalities could help them cope with climate change

According to a new study, the individual personalities of birds could be one of the key factors that improve its chances of coping with environmental stressors, especially in times of rapid weather changes due to climate change.

John Cockrem from the Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedial Sciences at Massey University in New Zealand was behind the study. He studied differences in levels of the stress hormone corticosterone in Little Penguins when they were exposed to stressful stimulus. He found that there was ‘considerable individual variation in corticosterone responses’.

“Corticosterone responses and behavioural responses to environmental stimuli are together determined by individual characteristics called personality,” Cockrem explains. “Birds with low corticosterone responses and proactive personalities are likely to be more successful (have greater fitness) in constant or predictable conditions, whilst birds with reactive personalities and high corticosterone responses will be more successful in changing or unpredictable conditions.”

Birds are thought to be particularly at risk from the effects of climate change, and these findings could be helpful in predicting the adaptability of species of birds as they face a ‘new normal’.

Related articles

• Penguins Use Their Personalities to Prepare for Climate Change