These scientists actually believed that the Emperor Penguin, which has been around for millions of years, never had to deal with melting ice before. Bloomberg:
Penguins in four colonies bred during 2008, 2009, and 2010 on sea ice, their preferred terrain because it’s easier to reach the fish they eat, according to a paper in the journal PLOS ONE. In 2011 and 2012, years when the sea ice formed only after the birds’ breeding season had begun, the penguins moved to the ice shelf, where continental ice floats out over the sea.
“What’s particularly surprising is that climbing up the sides of a floating ice shelf, which at this site can be up to 30 meters high, is a very difficult maneuver for emperor penguins,” Peter Fretwell, the lead author and a scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, said in an e-mailed statement.
The finding is significant because it shows the emperor penguin is capable of adapting from year-to-year to cope with changing conditions, according to the statement. That means it may be more resilient against the effects of global warming.
The rest here.