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Only a relatively small number of emperor colonies have been studied across Antarctica [1], [12], [22], [24], with the longest study based at Pointe Géologie, which has been continually monitored since the 1950s [1], [4], [5], [24]. The behaviour of breeding on ice-shelves, as reported here, has only been reported once at a small colony in East Antarctica [15]. That this behaviour is not the exception but is apparently more common among emperor penguins is a surprising result. The reasons why this behaviour has not been recorded before are unclear, possible explanations include: Turner J, Bindschadler RA, Convey P, Di Prisco G (2009) Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment. Cambridge; SCAR UK 526p. Due to their longer lifespan, penguins may take three to eight years to reach sexual maturity. Some smaller species may begin breeding at three or four, while the larger species do not reach sexual maturity until later. The study, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, observed the sea ice breaking apart from late October to early December at colonies at Verdi Inlet, Smyley Island, Bryant Coast and Pfrogner Point.
It’s almost certain that this year is going to be worse than even 2022,” Fretwell said. “It’s a rather depressing story for emperor penguins.” How long could you stand on Antarctic ice before your bare feet froze solid? A minute, maybe two? If you're an emperor penguin, you can do it for two months, and in wind chills as low as -75 degrees Fahrenheit (-59.4 degrees Celsius). Those naked bird feet may look positively frigid, but their special circulation acts as a kind of antifreeze to keep them just warm enough that they don't freeze. Stammerjohn SE, Martinson DG, Smith RC, Yuan X, Rind D (2008) Trends in Antarctic annual sea ice retreat and advance and their relation to El Nin∼o–Southern Oscillation and Southern Annular Mode variability. J Geophys Res 113, C03S90: It’s a record that seems likely to fall once again this year. The extent of Antarctica’s winter sea ice is smaller than it has ever been, with an area the size of Greenland simply missing from the coverage scientists expected. With less ice to start with, it’s very possible there will be less in the summer.Other fans lauded the bowling pin-shaped bird’s surprising athleticism on land, with one commenting, “flightless my ass this mf fly as hell.” An Adelie penguin Getty Images Recent studies suggest that emperor penguin populations will decline in future decades due to climate change [1]– [6]. Current projections suggest that the world population will halve before 2052 [3] with more northerly colonies, above 70°S being lost entirely [6]. This has led the IUCN to re-list the species from “Least Threatened” to “Near Concern” [7]. The primary reason cited for this predicted decline is the species’ reliance on sea-ice, a habitat that is expected to decrease in future years [8], [9]. Sea ice is important to the species in two ways; firstly as a breeding platform and secondly as a foraging environment. A decrease in sea-ice distribution will negatively impact food webs [10], reducing numbers of Krill ( Euphausia superb), and the higher trophic levels which feed on Krill such as glacial squid ( Pleuragramma antarcticum); two species which compose the majority of the emperors diet [11]. A decrease in food availability may negatively affect survival, breeding success, recruitment and therefore population size.
The ability of emperor penguins to change their breeding platform when fast ice conditions deteriorate may be an important adaptation that could help the species survive in a warming environment. Although regional warming has led to loss of ice-shelves around the Antarctic Peninsula [21] ice-shelves are less sensitive to a warming environment and react to warming on slower timescales than sea-ice, the extent, stability and seasonality of which can change rapidly with warming temperatures as already seen in the Arctic [25], [26], [27], [28] and in the west Antarctic Peninsula [8]. The phenomenon may be recent phenotypic plasticity as regional climate change affects parts of the Antarctic coastline. Van Lipzig NP, Van Meijgaard E, Oerlemans J (2002) The spatial and temporal variability of the surface mass balance in Antarctica: results from a regional atmospheric climate model. Int J. Climatol. 22, 1197–1217.
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Kooyman G (1993) Breeding habitats of emperor penguins in the western Ross Sea. Antarct. Sci. 5, 743–148. Until the advent of satellite imagery powerful enough to spot remote patches of ice with the telltale stains of penguin droppings, most of their colonies were entirely unknown to humans. Nearly half of today’s identified colonies were discovered in the last 15 years by Fretwell, who pioneered the science of penguin census-taking by satellite. There are 18 species of penguins that live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere, with only one species, the Galápagos penguin, found north of the Equator. The waters around and beneath the sea ice are important to the penguins as an area for feeding and the ice itself is essential as a place for the animals to rest, to shelter during their annual molt and to escape from predators. But the loss of sea ice, due to global heating, threatens the habitat of these penguins, while ocean acidification is diminishing the supply of krill, a key food source. A 1,500km region in length has lost almost all its sea ice. We have no real idea what happens if there’s no ice.”
They’re a window on the sea ice ecosystem,” Fretwell said of the emperor penguins. The birds’ future is directly tied to a warming sea and diminishing ice, both of which are happening faster than scientists predicted.Penguins live in diverse environments, from Antarctica's icy waters to the Atacama Desert's dry shores in Chile and Peru. Emperor’s are well adapted to thrive in the freezing conditions of the Antarctic. To preserve heat, they have a dense double layer of feathers – about 70 feathers per square inch – large fat reserves and, proportionally, smaller beaks and flippers compared to other penguins. This all helps prevent heat loss. They also work together to keep warm by huddling up in large groups, shuffling round so each gets a turn in the warm centre. These sort of disasters are set to cause a 99% decline in the total emperor penguin population by the end of this century, compared with its historical size, should planet-heating emissions not be drastically reduced, researchers have found. The penguins are not able to adapt in time to the pace of change in their environment.
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