#penguin

#penguin

Penguins May Find It Genetically Difficult to Survive Climate ChangeThe rise and fall of earth's temperatures over millions of years drives evolution by favoring those species that are able to adapt to changing conditions. Normally, this is a gradual change that shapes species over thousands or even millions of generations. By studying the fossil record, we can identify what kinds of plants and animals changed the quickest. Then there are penguins. Comparing living and fossil penguin species on the genetic level, it turns out that penguins have the lowest rate of evolutionary change of all bird types. That may be the price of becoming so well adapted to an extreme environment in Antarctica, but it doesn't bode well for the birds' futures. The history of penguin evolution tells us that they lost their ability to fly some 60 million years ago, before the polar ice sheets developed, which hints that they may have become trapped in an environment that became hostile, and they had to adapt or die out. Millions of years later, they are specialists, and their lack of ability to change may be deadly as the earth warms at a rapid pace. Read about the latest discoveries in penguin DNA at ScienceAlert. -via Damn Interesting(Image credit: Ben Tubby) #penguin #evolution #DNA

Brigadier Nils Olav III, Colonel-in-Chief in the Norwegian King's Guard, is a PenguinMeet Brigadier Nils Olav III, the mascot and colonel-in-chief of the Norwegian King's Army. He's a King Penguin in the Edinburgh Zoo - oh, and he's a knight, too.In this pic from 2008, Sir Nils inspected troops in the King's Guard following his knighthood ceremony. Notice the military insignia attached to his right flipper.The name 'Nils Olav' and ranks have been passed down since 1972. The current King Penguin is the third bird to have the honor.#penguin #KingPenguin #NilsOlav #EdinburghZoo #militaryImage: Mark Owens/wikimedia

This Antarctic Moss Depends on Penguin Poop to SurviveIndian biologist Felix Bast of the Central University of Punjab was on a mission to Antarctica where he stumbled upon a new species of moss.When he analyzed the moss sample back at his lab, Bast discovered that the moss only grew where it could find a source of nitrogen ... and in Antarctica, there was only one source: penguin poop!The new moss species was named Bryum Bharatiensis. Bharati is the Hindu goddess of learning and the name of one of India's Antarctic research stations.#moss #penguin #nitrogen #Antarctica #newspecies #poop #Bharati #HinduGod #goddess