(CNN) - Satellite imagery revealed that there are almost 20% more emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica than previously thought.
However, while the discovery was well received, these animals will act as "canaries in a coal mine" when it comes to studying the impact of global warming, according to experts.
Scientists discovered 11 new colonies, which means that there are now 61 colonies across the continent.
The study, which used satellite mapping technology, "will provide an important benchmark for monitoring the impact of environmental change on the population of this iconic bird," the researchers said.
Satellite images revealed the existence of the colonies.
In an article in the journal Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation , the authors explained that they used images from the European Commission's Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite mission to locate the birds. The satellite is part of a program to observe the earth and any changes in the environment.
Emperor penguins, which need sea ice to reproduce, are difficult to study because they live in remote and often inaccessible areas with temperatures as low as -50 degrees Celsius.
- READ: Most polar bears could have a hard time surviving in the Arctic by 2100, study finds
Climate change is a real threat to the species, as the loss of sea ice will devastate its habitats. According to the report released Tuesday, the new colonies "are located on the fringes of the emperors' breeding area," making them vulnerable as global temperatures rise.
Phil Trathan, head of Conservation Biology at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), has been studying penguins for the past three decades. He said in a statement: "While it is good news that we have found these new colonies, breeding sites are located in places where emperors will decline, recent model projections suggest."
"The birds at these sites are therefore probably 'the canaries in a coal mine', we must monitor these sites carefully as climate change will affect this region," he explained.
Climate change threatens the natural habitat of emperor penguins.
Three of the new colonies had been previously identified, but had not been confirmed so far, the authors said.
In the last 10 years, scientists have been looking for new colonies by studying the guano spots - droppings - from penguins on ice. The researchers studied the images manually, looking for brown pixels that marked the stained areas.
"This is an exciting discovery," said Peter Fretwell, a geographer and lead author of the study, in a statement released by BAS.
- READ: What is it like to live today in the frozen and dark Antarctica, now "the safest place in the world" without coronavirus?
Although he welcomed the news, he said that the discovered colonies only increase the population count by 5-10% to just over 500,000 penguins, about 265,500 to 278,500 breeding pairs.
Several colonies were found in the sea ice formed around icebergs in shallow water, up to 180 kilometers from the coast. Scientists described this finding as "surprising."
The images are from the European Commission's Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite mission.
In the past 10 years, scientists have relied on Landsat satellite data to detect penguin colonies, but the Sentinel-2 has a much higher resolution, according to Fretwell, who said they will now deploy much more high-powered satellites. focused to count number of birds.
Fretwell told CNN that the population of all emperor penguins is expected to decrease by 80% by the end of the century.
"The only real threat to emperor penguins is climate change," he said. Once the sea ice melts, you can't put it back. There is nothing we can do locally in each colony to help penguins, it really is a global problem, "he explained.
Earlier this year, it became known that penguin colonies in some parts of Antarctica had declined by more than 75% during the last half of the century, largely as a result of climate change.
Penguins in Antarctica