Here’s a summary of the provided text about penguin navigation:
Researchers studied Magellanic penguins at the San Lorenzo colony in Peninsula Valdรฉs, Argentina, to understand their navigation strategies. They equipped 27 adult penguins with GPS and IMU loggers for a foraging trip.
The study revealed that penguins don’t just fight strong ocean currents; they adapt their behavior. In calm waters, they swim a straight path to their colony. However, when currents are strong, they swim with the current, even though it increases their travel distance. This is a clever energy-saving tactic, as penguins recognize when currents push them off course and adjust their headings accordingly. They use tidal currents to drift, saving energy and allowing them to find food along the way.
This strategy proved highly effective, with 85% of the penguins returning within approximately 300 meters of their starting point, demonstrating remarkable accuracy even without seeing land. This behavior is compared to terrestrial animals drafting in air, with marine animals like penguins, sea turtles, and whales leveraging water currents for movement.
While the findings are significant, the study was based on a single trip from a limited number of penguins.Future research aims to replicate these results in larger penguin populations and other marine animals, and to uncover the specific mechanisms penguins use to sense and adapt to ocean currents. The findings were published in the journal PLOS Biology.