# Climate Change Ends Zavodovski's Penguin Dominance

> Zavodovski island's chinstrap penguin colony shrinks to 402,000 as climate change reshapes Antarctic food chains.
- Title: Climate Change Ends Zavodovski's Penguin Dominance | Shortify
- Summary: Zavodovski island's chinstrap penguin colony shrinks to 402,000 as climate change reshapes Antarctic food chains. Climate change caused Zavodovski island's…
- Keywords: zavodovski, chinstrap penguins, macaroni penguins, krill, adelie penguins, iucn, british antarctic survey, current biology, climate change, penguin colony, news, world
- Source: The Straits Times — https://straitstimes.com/world/climate-change-strips-islands-title-of-largest-penguin-colony-study
- Published: 2026-10-07T15:50:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: zavodovski, chinstrap penguins, macaroni penguins, krill, adelie penguins, iucn, british antarctic survey, current biology, climate change, penguin colony, news, world
## Zavodovski loses penguin dominance
Climate change has cut Zavodovski island's chinstrap penguins by two-thirds since 2011, ending its status as the world's largest penguin colony.

> That’s a very rapid loss
## Population drops to 402,000
The British Antarctic Survey data show numbers fell from 1.09 million to 402,000 chinstrap penguins between 2011 and 2025.
## Macaroni penguins rise
Macaroni penguin numbers increased from 338,000 to 433,000 between 2011 and 2025, now outnumbering chinstraps.
## Krill decline drives change
Warming ocean temperatures pushed krill south, reducing chinstrap food sources while macaronis thrived on wider prey options.
## Volcano not main cause
The 2016 Mount Curry volcano eruption did not cause the decline, as chinstrap numbers fell steadily before and after the eruption.
## Penguin community shift
Climate change has caused the most significant shift in penguin community composition at a single Antarctic location, with chinstraps declining and macaronis rising.

> The observed numerical shift from chinstraps to macaronis on Zavodovski represents the most striking change in penguin community composition that has been observed at a single location in Antarctica to date
## Key takeaway

Climate change caused Zavodovski island's chinstrap penguin population to drop from 1.09 million to 402,000 between 2011 and 2025, ending its status as the world's largest penguin colony.