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Antarctica — Snow Hill Island
Disrupted food chain
Emperor Penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) like it cold. Now, scientists have determined that the penguins’ susceptibility to climate change accounts for a dramatic decline in their number over the past half century.
Over the past 50 years, the population of Antarctic Emperor Penguins has declined by 50%. Using the longest series of data available, researchers have shown that an abnormally long warm spell in the Southern Ocean during the late 1970s contributed to a decline in the population of Emperor Penguins at Terre Adelie, Antarctica.
Warmer air and sea surface temperatures in the Antarctic reduce the amount of ice in the sea. This, in turn, leads to smaller populations of krill, a shrimp-like crustacean that is a staple of the Emperor Penguin’s diet. With less food to eat, Emperor Penguins will die. |
