The population of emperor penguins is declining rapidly due to global warming - research

The population of emperor penguins in Antarctica has decreased by almost a quarter due to global warming, which is changing their natural habitat. This is reported by AFP, according to UNN.

Details

According to scientists, based on the results of a new study published on Tuesday, June 10 in the journal Nature Communications: Earth & Environment, population losses are much greater than previously thought.

Scientists observing emperor penguins used satellites to assess sixteen colonies on the Antarctic Peninsula, in the Weddell Sea and the Bellingshausen Sea, representing nearly a third of the world's emperor penguin population.

What they found was "probably about 50% worse than even the most pessimistic estimate of the current population made using computer modeling," said scientist Peter Fretwell, who tracks wildlife from space at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

The study showed that "the number of monitored colonies decreased by 22% in 15 years - until 2024."

According to the publication, this can be compared to the previous estimate of a 9.5% reduction across Antarctica between 2009 and 2018.

Reasons for the decline in the penguin population

Warming thins and destabilizes the ice under the penguins' feet in their breeding grounds. In recent years, some colonies have lost all their chicks as the ice beneath them collapsed, causing hatched chicks to fall into the sea before they were old enough to cope with the icy ocean

According to Fretwell, the new study shows that the number of penguins has been declining since monitoring began in 2009, even before global warming began to significantly affect sea ice.

But he said that climate change is likely still to blame, as warming creates other problems for penguins, such as increased rainfall or increased predator invasion.

Emperor penguins are perhaps the most striking example of how climate change is really manifesting itself, the scientist emphasized.

There is no fishing here. There is no habitat destruction. There is no pollution that is causing their population to decline. It's just the temperature of the ice on which they breed and live, and it's real climate change. An alarming result

Researchers know that climate change is causing losses, but "the rate of this decline is of particular concern."

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Future research

The new study uses high-resolution satellite images taken during October and November 2024, before the region plunged into winter darkness.

Fretwell said future studies could use other types of satellite monitoring, such as radar or thermal imaging, to capture populations in the dark months, as well as extend them to other colonies.

We really need to look at the rest of the population to see if this alarming result extends to the entire continent

He said there is hope that penguins may move further south to colder regions in the future, but added that it is unclear "how long they will last there."

Computer models predict that this species will be on the verge of extinction by the end of the century if humanity does not reduce emissions that heat the planet. The latest research shows that the picture may be even worse.

We may have to rethink these models now, given this new data

But he stressed that there is still time to reduce the threat to penguins.

We have a really depressing picture of climate change and population decline even faster than we thought, but it's not too late. We will probably lose many emperor penguins along the way, but if people change, and if we reduce or change our emissions, then we will save emperor penguins

Let's add

According to a 2020 study, emperor penguins, also known as Aptenodytes forsteri, number about a quarter of a million pairs, and they all live in Antarctica.

An emperor penguin chick hatches from an egg that is warmed by the male in winter, while the female from the breeding pair goes on a two-month fishing trip. When she returns to the colony, she feeds the chick by regurgitating the accumulated food, and then both parents take turns looking for new prey.

To survive on their own, chicks must develop waterproof feathers. This process usually begins in mid-December.

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