To our knowledge there are no studies concerning UV-B effects on penguins. As their eyes are exposed to a lot of UV due to the high reflectivity of snow and a marked enhancement during the ozone hole, investigation into the impact on penguins is desirable. The fact that penguins are visual predators, eating krill or fish in the water column, would make any eye damage an important issue for survival. Amphibian populations are in serious decline in many areas of the world, and scientists are seeking explanations for this. Most amphibian population declines are probably due to habitat destruction or habitat alteration.
Some declines are probably the result of natural population fluctuations.
Other explanations for the population declines, as well as the reductions in range of habitation, include disease, pollution, atmospheric changes and introduced competitors and predators. UV-B radiation is one agent that may act in conjunction with other stresses to adversely affect amphibian populations. Field studies in which embryos of frogs, toads, and salamanders were exposed to natural sunlight or to sunlight with UV-B radiation removed have shown conflicting results. Biotic factors, such as jelly capsules around eggs, melanin pigmentation of eggs, and colour of larvae and metamorphosed forms, further reduce the effects of UV-B exposure. Most organisms in aquatic ecosystems, such as phytoplankton, live in the illuminated euphotic zone close to the water surface where exposure to UV-B can occur.