Dr. Boersma, also co-chairwoman of the Penguin Specialist Group for the International Union for Conservation of Nature, agreed that finding penguins in some of the more remote spots on earth is crucial. Now, she said, researchers need to watch them over time to track how they’re faring.

“We expect many of these species are going to be severely harmed and some already have,” said Dr. Boersma, noting that half the known population of Magellanic penguin chicks were wiped out in one storm. Continued government funding for satellites and other technology to track the animals is essential, she said.

One of the surprises of the study, Dr. Lynch said, was that the Danger Islands penguins don’t nest in a circular pattern, as would be expected, to provide the best protection from predators. Instead, they seem to be faithful to individual nesting spots, prizing habit over safety, she said.

The Adélie are not recent migrants to the Danger Islands. Photos taken in 1957 by seaplane show colony boundaries in virtually the same locations — now that researchers know what they’re looking for.

The discovery of so many new animals has raised questions about how they’re finding enough food. “What it is about the ocean right in that region that makes it so productive, is something we’d like to figure out,” Dr. Lynch said.