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A new study warns that the emperor penguin population in Antarctica is shrinking faster than expected, with numbers falling by 22% over 15 years due to climate change and unstable sea ice.
Emperor penguins, the largest penguin species and a vital part of Antarctica's ecosystem, are experiencing a population collapse “worse than the worst-case projections,” according to new research published Tuesday by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
The study, based on satellite imagery analysis, found that emperor penguin numbers in a key sector of Antarctica have declined by 22% between 2009 and 2023, dropping at an average rate of 1.6% annually.
“This is worse than the worst-case projections we have for emperors this century,” said Peter Fretwell, a wildlife-from-space expert at BAS, expressing deep concern about the findings.
Emperor penguins are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to their heavy dependence on stable seasonal sea ice for breeding. “Unfortunately, the recent trend has seen sea ice in many parts of the continent become patchy and unreliable, likely harming breeding success,” the study noted.
Beyond sea ice loss, the penguins also face mounting challenges from changing weather patterns, food competition due to shifting wildlife ranges, and increased predation and disturbance by species like petrels.
“The fact that we're moving to a position faster than the computer models project means there must be other factors we need to understand,” said co-author Phil Trathan, emeritus fellow at BAS.
Trathan emphasized that curbing greenhouse gas emissions is critical to reversing the decline. “If we don't, we'll probably have relatively few emperor penguins left by the turn of this century,” he warned.
Currently, the World Wildlife Fund estimates the global emperor penguin population at around 270,000 breeding pairs, making them the least common Antarctic penguin species.
Scientists are now working to determine whether similar declines are occurring across other regions of Antarctica.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
A shooting in Nice, southeastern France, left two people dead and five injured on Friday, authorities said.
Snapchat will start charging users who store more than 5GB of photos and videos in its Memories feature, prompting backlash from long-time users.
As Hurricane Melissa barrels towards Jamaica as a powerful Category 4 storm, questions often arise about how these tempests get their names.
The U.N. weather agency plans to cut some posts and is reviewing its priorities as dozens of countries, including the United States, are late with their fees, a spokesperson said on Friday.
A general strike and mass demonstrations paralysed the southern Tunisian city of Gabes on Tuesday, as tens of thousands of people demanded the closure of a state-run chemical plant blamed for a worsening pollution crisis.
Global investors managing more than $3 trillion in assets have urged governments to halt and reverse deforestation and ecosystem destruction by 2030, according to a joint statement released on Monday ahead of next month’s U.N. climate conference in Brazil.
A team of Argentine paleontologists has uncovered one of the oldest known dinosaurs, a nearly complete skeleton of a long-necked herbivore that roamed Earth 230 million years ago in what is now La Rioja province.
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