Emperor penguin at serious threat of extinction because of local weather change

The emperor penguin is at severe danger of extinction in the next 30 to 40 years as a result of local weather change, in response to research by the Argentine Antarctic Institute (IAA).

The emperor, the world's largest penguin and considered one of only two penguin species endemic to Antarctica, gives delivery during the Antarctic winter and requires stable sea ice from April through to December to nest fledgling chicks.

If the ocean freezes later or melts prematurely, the emperor household cannot complete its reproductive cycle.

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

This has happened 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 middle of the southern hemisphere winter, Dr Libertelli and different scientists at Argentina's Marambio Base in Antarctica travel 65 km each day by motorcycle in temperatures as low as -40 levels Celsius to achieve the closest Emperor penguin colony.

Once there, they count, weigh, and measure the chicks, collect geographical coordinates, and take blood samples. They also conduct aerial analysis.

The scientists' findings point to a grim future for the species if local weather change is not mitigated.

"[Climate] projections counsel that the colonies which might be positioned between latitudes 60 and 70 levels [south] will disappear in the next few many years; that is, within the subsequent 30, 40 years," Dr Libertelli said.

The emperor's distinctive features embody the longest reproductive cycle among penguins.

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

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

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

In early April, the World Meteorological Group warned of "increasingly extreme temperatures coupled with unusual rainfall and ice melting in Antarctica" — a "worrying trend", mentioned Dr Libertelli, with Antarctic ice sheets depleting since a minimum of 1999.

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

"Vacationer boats usually have varied damaging results on Antarctica, as do the fisheries," Dr Libertelli said.

"It is necessary that there's better management and that we think about the future."

Reuters