Yes. Penguin guano fertilizes green snow algae along the Antarctic Peninsula, and those green blooms absorb about 40% more solar energy than clean white snow, which speeds local snowmelt.
Researchers sampling coastal snow found that green-pigmented algae patches had far more phosphate—a nutrient abundant in penguin droppings—than red snow algae. Red snow still absorbs roughly 20% more energy than clean snow, but guano-fueled green blooms darken the surface more and intensify melt near colonies.
The study authors note that melt projections often omit this wildlife–algae link, so coastal ice-free expansion may be underestimated as penguin ranges shift.
Source: American Geophysical Union / EurekAlert! news release on Ryan and Khan, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (2026), DOI 10.1029/2026JG009918.
