The article I read was about the harm scientist may be doing when they put metal identification bands on a penguins flipper instead of electronic tags under the skin surface. These bands are designed to tell the penguins apart and information about the climate they live in. Studies have shown that these bands are affecting their reproduction and survival which also affects the scientist studies as well. A study of King Penguins on an Antartic Island showed 39% fewer baby chicks born and 16% less of their survival since the bands were placed on them over 10 years ago. Scientist also say that the bands may be dragging the penguin down while swimming. Slowing the penguins down makes it hard for them to get away from predators and to catch food to bring back home. A project that the scientist were studying is how the penguins react to climate change and studies have shown that the penguins with the bands take it more severely than the ones without bands.
Even though the electronic bands seem to allow the penguins to function better, they need a trasmitter to be within a certain distance to feed back information to the tag. The area the penguin lives in is so big, making it difficult for the electronic tag to be a good solution. Researchers are waiting for the development of a new tracking system that will help them continue the research but not harm the penguins. To read about this interesting article visit:
http://sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/68666
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