Climate change is having a dangerous effect on baby penguins according to a new study, as heavy rainstorms and unusual heat waves have killed off a number of young penguins at the bottom of the tip of South American, according to AFP.
The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE on Jan. 29.
"It's the first long-term study to show climate change having a major impact on chick survival and reproductive success," said lead author Dee Boersma, a biology professor at the University of Washington, according to AFP.
Over the last 27 years or so, on average 65 percent of baby penguins died annually, according to the study.
Around 40 percent of the penguin chicks starved to death, though climate change is killing off an average of seven percent of baby penguins a year.
During two extreme weather years, the study said 50 percent of all new chicks were killed due to climate change.
"We're going to see years where almost no chicks survive if climate change makes storms bigger and more frequent during vulnerable times of the breeding season as climatologists predict," said co-author Ginger Rebstock.
Baby penguins were most susceptible between nine to 23-days-old and were too large to be protected by their parents anymore, yet too young to have waterproof feathers.
The study took place in Punta Tombo, Argentina, known as the world's largest breeding location for Magellanic penguins.
A separate study took place in Antarctica to study Adelie penguins, according to AFP.
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