Emperor penguin at serious risk of extinction due to climate change

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

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

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

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

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

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

Once there, they rely, weigh, and measure the chicks, collect geographical coordinates, and take blood samples. In addition they conduct aerial evaluation.

The scientists' findings level to a grim future for the species if local weather change will not be mitigated.

"[Climate] projections suggest that the colonies which might be located between latitudes 60 and 70 degrees [south] will disappear within the subsequent few decades; that is, within the subsequent 30, 40 years," Dr Libertelli stated.

The emperor's distinctive 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 remaining plumage.

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

The emperor penguin's disappearance may have a dramatic affect all through Antarctica, an excessive environment where food chains have fewer members and fewer links, Dr Libertelli mentioned.

In early April, the World Meteorological Organization warned of "more and more excessive temperatures coupled with uncommon rainfall and ice melting in Antarctica" — a "worrying trend", stated Dr Libertelli, with Antarctic ice sheets depleting since not less than 1999.

The rise of tourism and fishing in Antarctica have also put the emperor's future at risk by affecting krill, one of the important sources of meals for penguins and other species.

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

"It will be important that there is better management and that we take into consideration the future."

Reuters