Penguins feel the heat of climate change
Pastor Dale Morgan
Penguins feel the heat of climate change*
By Sugita Katyal in Bali
December 11, 2007 05:03pm
Article from: Reuters
ANTARCTICA'S penguin population has slumped because of global warming as
melting ice has destroyed nesting sites and reduced their sources of
food, a WWF report says.
The Antarctic peninsula was warming five times faster than the average
in the rest of the world, affecting four penguin species - the emperor
penguin, the largest and the grandest in the world, the gentoo,
chinstrap and adelie, the report said.
"The Antarctic penguins already have a long march behind them," said
Anna Reynolds, deputy director of WWF's Global Climate Change Program.
"Now it seems these icons of the Antarctic will have to face an
extremely tough battle to adapt to the unprecedented rate of climate
change."
The report - Antarctic Penguins and Climate Change - said sea ice
covered 40 per cent less area than it did 26 years ago off the West
Antarctic Peninsula, leading to a fall in stocks of krill, the main
source of food for the chinstrap and gentoo penguins.
On the northwestern coast of the Antarctic peninsula, where warming had
been fastest, populations of adelie penguins had dropped 65 per cent
over the past 25 years, it said.
The number of chinstraps decreased by 30 to 66 per cent in some
colonies, as less food made it more difficult for the young to survive.
The emperor penguin had seen some of its colonies halve in size over the
past half century.
Warmer temperatures and stronger winds mean the penguins had to raise
their chicks on increasingly thinner sea ice which tends to break off
early while many eggs and chicks have been blown away before they were
able to survive on their own.
Scientists have predicted that global temperatures could rise sharply
this century, raising world sea levels and bringing more extreme weather.
A 2005 study showed that most glaciers on the Antarctic peninsular were
in headlong retreat because of climate change - and the speed was rising.
Scientists say most of the rest of the ice on the giant continent seems
to be stable.
"The food web of Antarctica, and thus the survival of penguins and many
other species, is bound up in the future of the sea ice," said James
Leape, director general of WWF International.
"After such a long march to Bali, ministers must now commit to sharp
reductions in carbon emissions for industrialised countries, to protect
Antarctica and safeguard the health of the planet."