Emperor penguin at serious danger of extinction due to climate change

The emperor penguin is at extreme danger of extinction in the next 30 to 40 years because of climate change, according to research by the Argentine Antarctic Institute (IAA).

The emperor, the world's largest penguin and one among solely two penguin species endemic to Antarctica, provides start during the Antarctic winter and requires stable sea ice from April by means of to December to nest fledgling chicks.

If the sea freezes later or melts prematurely, the emperor household can not full its reproductive cycle.

"If the water reaches the new child penguins, which are not ready to swim and shouldn't have waterproof plumage, they die of the cold and drown," said biologist Marcela Libertelli, who has studied 15,000 penguins throughout two colonies in Antarctica at the IAA.

This has occurred on the Halley Bay colony within the Weddell Sea, the second-largest Emperor penguin colony, where for three years all the chicks died.

Each August, in the course of the southern hemisphere winter, Dr Libertelli and other scientists at Argentina's Marambio Base in Antarctica travel 65 km every day by bike in temperatures as little as -40 degrees Celsius to achieve the nearest Emperor penguin colony.

As soon as there, they count, weigh, and measure the chicks, gather geographical coordinates, and take blood samples. They also conduct aerial analysis.

The scientists' findings level to a grim future for the species if climate change is just not mitigated.

"[Climate] projections counsel that the colonies which are situated between latitudes 60 and 70 levels [south] will disappear in the next few a long time; that is, in the subsequent 30, 40 years," Dr Libertelli said.

The emperor's unique features embody the longest reproductive cycle amongst penguins.

After a chick is born, one guardian continues carrying it between its legs for warmth till it develops its final plumage.

"The disappearance of any species is a tragedy for the planet. Whether small or large, plant or animal — it doesn't matter. It's a loss for biodiversity," Dr Libertelli mentioned.

The emperor penguin's disappearance may have a dramatic affect all through Antarctica, an extreme surroundings where food chains have fewer members and fewer hyperlinks, Dr Libertelli said.

In early April, the World Meteorological Organization warned of "more and more extreme temperatures coupled with uncommon rainfall and ice melting in Antarctica" — a "worrying trend", mentioned Dr Libertelli, with Antarctic ice sheets depleting since at the very least 1999.

The rise of tourism and fishing in Antarctica have also put the emperor's future in danger by affecting krill, one of many major sources of meals for penguins and different species.

"Tourist boats often have varied negative effects on Antarctica, as do the fisheries," Dr Libertelli said.

"It is important that there is better control and that we take into consideration the future."

Reuters