Fewer penguins survive warming Antarctic climate

ENN News, April 12, 2011

Two of the most well-known penguin species in Antarctica -- chinstraps and Adelies -- are under pressure because a warmer climate has cut deeply into their main food source, shrimp-like creatures called krill. Fewer of the juvenile penguins survive what scientists call their "transition to independence" because there isn't enough krill to go around, according to a study published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academic of Sciences.
The study found only 10 percent of young penguins survive the first independent trip back to their colonies from their winter habitat. Read more...

Parks that can move when the animals do

ENN, March 05, 2009

When scientist Dee Boersma first arrived to Punta Tombo, Argentina, in the early 1980s, the colony of Magellanic penguins there was 300,000 breeding pairs strong. Since then, they’ve declined by more than 20 percent. Dr. Boersma faults competition from fishermen, pollution in the form of oil dumped at sea, and climate change for the decline.
But while the Punta Tombo colony is shrinking, others farther north are growing. The penguins’ shifting range underscores how climate change isn’t always a drop-dead-from-the-heat affair. And it raises questions about how to protect threatened — and mobile — marine species as they adjust. Read more...

Emperor penguins face extinction

BBC News, January 26, 2008

Emperor penguins, whose long treks across Antarctic ice to mate have been immortalised by Hollywood, are heading towards extinction, scientists say. Based on predictions of sea ice extent from climate change models, the penguins are likely to see their numbers plummet by 95% by 2100.
That corresponds to a decline to just 600 breeding pairs in the world.
The research is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read more...