Emperor penguin at critical threat of extinction due to climate change

The emperor penguin is at extreme risk of extinction within the next 30 to 40 years on account of climate change, according to research by the Argentine Antarctic Institute (IAA).

The emperor, the world's largest penguin and one in all solely two penguin species endemic to Antarctica, provides delivery in the course of the Antarctic winter and requires strong sea ice from April by means of to December to nest fledgling chicks.

If the ocean freezes later or melts prematurely, the emperor family can't complete its reproductive cycle.

"If the water reaches the new child penguins, which are not able to swim and do not need waterproof plumage, they die of the cold and drown," stated biologist Marcela Libertelli, who has studied 15,000 penguins throughout two colonies in Antarctica at the IAA.

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

Each August, in the midst of the southern hemisphere winter, Dr Libertelli and other scientists at Argentina's Marambio Base in Antarctica journey 65 km each day by bike in temperatures as low as -40 degrees Celsius to reach the closest Emperor penguin colony.

Once there, they depend, weigh, and measure the chicks, gather geographical coordinates, and take blood samples. In addition they conduct aerial analysis.

The scientists' findings point to a grim future for the species if climate change just isn't mitigated.

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

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

After a chick is born, one mother or father 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 or not small or large, plant or animal — it does not matter. It is a loss for biodiversity," Dr Libertelli said.

The emperor penguin's disappearance might have a dramatic affect throughout Antarctica, an extreme atmosphere where food chains have fewer members and fewer hyperlinks, Dr Libertelli said.

In early April, the World Meteorological Organization warned of "increasingly excessive temperatures coupled with uncommon rainfall and ice melting in Antarctica" — a "worrying pattern", said 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 at risk by affecting krill, one of the essential sources of meals for penguins and other species.

"Tourist boats typically have varied detrimental results on Antarctica, as do the fisheries," Dr Libertelli said.

"It is crucial that there's higher management and that we think about the long run."

Reuters