Happy Feet and the climate

Professor Michelle LaRue studies Emperor Penguins in Antarctica as a way of looking at the effects of climate change and how to better conserve the species for future generations. Her research has benefitted from philanthropic support from the generosity of the wider community.

More than just an iconic upright bird with bright yellow ears and a striking tuxedo, Emperor penguins are also a species whose behaviour reflects changes in the environment, due to their status as both prey and predator.

UC Associate Professor Michelle LaRue has been studying Emperor penguins since 2009, studying their global populations, distribution, and environmental factors that may influence change or fluctuations in their populations.

Her work has been greatly aided by philanthropic support, including the proceeds of the auction of ‘Moana’, a sculpture of a Hoiho | Yellow Eyed Penguin donated by artist Claire Cowles of Wild In Art.

Emperor penguins are a ‘meso-predator’ species, which means they are a predator of certain species of fish and krill, but they’re also hunted by apex predators such as leopard seals and possibly orcas.

“Because of that, they’re an important part of the food web and we also tend to use them as an indicator species for climate change because they rely on fast ice.”

‘Fast ice’ refers to the large ice platforms ‘fastened’ to the coastline. “As climate changes, we would expect ice distribution to decrease so, by understanding what happens to Emperor penguins, what they’re doing, how they’re changing behaviours and moving locations, we can learn a little bit about how the environment is changing.”

She is also conducting new research into their foraging ecology and space usage in comparison to other species in Antarctica such as Weddell seals and Adélie penguins.

In 2024, Professor LaRue will be leading a team of UC students in conducting research on Emperor penguin diving behaviours. “By tracking them, we can figure out if birds in certain locations are diving shallower or deeper, how far away from colony are they going, and what’s going on in those different spots.” Currently, she is looking for funding to help with the research, including purchasing tags and other equipment, and paying for the students’ expenses. Each tag costs approximately $4,000.

“We’re hoping take as many tags as we can possibly afford down to Scott Base and, after some training, we’ll take a helicopter to Cape Crozier, the most easterly point of Antarctica’s Ross Island, where there’s an Emperor Penguin colony. We’ll capture some birds, make sure they’re safe, put a tag on their backs and let them go. Because these tags have the ability to transmit their locations, we can watch in real time and see what they’re doing and where they’re going, which is really exciting.”

On top of that, Emperor Penguins have “been around forever”, said Professor LaRue. “Just having a species that’s been evolving for 25 million years is quite incredible and I think we should learn as much as we can and preserve them for future generations.”