Chasing Guano: The Discovery of a Penguin Supercolony (How Nature Works)

Book excerpt: When scientist Heather Lynch came across a satellite image of the Antarctic Peninsula's remote Danger Islands streaked with pink, she knew exactly what she was looking at. . . . Poop—guano, to be more specific—and a lot of it. The culprit, she suspected, was a previously unnoticed colony of penguins. A big one. And their favorite food appeared to be pink krill. For a closer look, Heather built a team for an expedition to the Danger Islands, an area notorious for its unpredictable sea ice. Their mission was to count the penguins, determine how long ago the colony was established, and make a case for protecting their habitat from overfishing and other threats. Penguins are particularly important to study because, as indicator species, they can alert scientists to issues affecting the larger ecosystem. Join Heather and her team on a fascinating exploration of these remote islands as they discover a “supercolony” home to one of the world’s largest populations of Adélie penguins. Features team photos from the expedition!