Abstract
The impact of climate change on animal habitats is reflected in their behavioural patterns. Little penguins (Eudyptula minor) are known to be affected by conditions in the inshore sea areas, where they perform their foraging activities. Prior surveys on this species’ behaviour and climate variability are mostly focusing on temperature-related meteorological parameters. The goal of this study is to explore the impact of multiple environmental factors on penguin behaviour through analysing the data on the nightly penguin counts collected daily over the last 42 years in the Summerland Peninsula, Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. To this end, a complete framework is developed that processes the penguin count data and evaluates the impact of multiple climate variables. The underlying methods include signal processing techniques, extracting breeding season characteristics, correlating them with multiple climate variables, and building predictable models by applying machine learning algorithms. We identified that variables, such as precipitation and wind speed during certain periods, directly affect penguin behaviour. The results also confirm the previous reports, particularly, showing the important role of sea surface temperature. In general, this study offers an additional perspective uncovering the risks of climate variability to animal behaviour.
Presenters
Abraham Isaac Camelo GuerreroStudent, Master of Arts in Information Systems & Technology (MAIST), York University, Ontario, Canada Peter A. Khaiter
Associate Professor, School of Information Technology, York University, Ontario, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2026 Special Focus—Unseen Unsustainability: Addressing Hidden Risks to Long-Term Wellbeing for All
KEYWORDS
Climate Change,Animal Behaviour,Little Penguins,Long-term Monitoring,Singular Spectrum Analysis,Time Series
