Climatic crisis threatens emperor penguins of Antarctica

The emperor penguins of Antarctica are set to receive new protections under the Endangered Species Act, or ESA. This is because the climate crisis is a threat to these flightless seabirds. Global warming results in melting of sea ice and the penguins depend on the sea ice for their survival. As a result, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has categorized the species as threatened. The federal agency lists “imperiled species as endangered or threatened regardless of their country of origin.” The latest announcement came more than a year after an initial proposal by the service to protect emperor penguins under the ESA. Emperor penguins depend on sea ice to form their breeding colonies, avoid predators in the ocean and forage for food. However, the temperature of the Earth is rising because of increase in emission of greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide. The sea ice is at risk of disappearing. When this happens, entire penguin colonies can decline or disappear. The presence of emperor penguins is important to maintain the ecological balance because they forage for krill, fish and squid in the sea and serve as prey for leopard seals and killer whales. Antarctica’s emperor penguins at risk of extinction due to the climate crisis. As an expert says - climate change is having a profound impact on species around the world and addressing it is a priority for the (Biden) Administration. The listing of the emperor penguin serves as an alarm bell but also a call to action.

Emperor penguins are the tallest and heaviest of the 18 penguin species. They can weigh up to 40 kilograms and stand 1.1 meters tall. A female emperor lays one egg per breeding season, then passes it over to her male partner to incubate while she forages for food for about a two-month period. Listing the species as threatened now could help save them from becoming endangered or extinct in the future. The polar bear was the first species listed as threatened due to climate change under the Endangered Species Act in 2008. Since then, many of the world’s polar bear populations have stabilized, but they remain vulnerable as the climate crisis continues.

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Climate change could rob the Antarctica of half its penguins by 2099

The sudden climate change being witnessed could rob the Antarctica of half its penguins by 2099 - this is the finding of a research carried out by oceanographer Megan Cimino. The study has found that around 60% of the Adelie Penguin habitat in Antarctica could soon disappear in next four decades as the weather will eventually become unfit for their survival.
Needless to say that climate change is wreaking havoc all over the world and Antarctica is no exception.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 30 June 2016.

Adelie Penguin is one of the two natives of Antarctic penguins and the other is the emperor penguin but Adelie penguins inhibit the full extent of the continent. In the opinion of environmentalists, climate change will hamper the two crucial and primary pathways of these penguins namely, the quality and availability of food and nesting habits.
As a result of climate change and global warming, the warm sea temperature will destroy most of the fish populations and krills which is a vital diet of Adelie penguins. The hardest hit colonies may be in the West Antarctic Peninsula and surrounding islands, which have already witnessed declining penguin populations.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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