Scientists studying Antarctic penguin populations have recently noticed a trend in their numbers: While Ross Sea colonies like this one have grown, colonies on the Antarctic peninsula have shrunk. It is unknown whether the shift in distribution is due to migration or a simple balance of more die-offs in one region and more births in the other, but in either case, this colony's growth spurt seems to come at the expense of the peninsular colonies.

In the case of these Adelie penguins, it seems that the climate shifts that have helped the Ross Island colony thrive are harming colonies on the Antarctic peninsula; since warmer air can hold more moisture, snowfall has increased on the peninsula, limiting the penguins' ice-free breeding grounds.