A major issue currently in the marine science world is global warming. Colonies of King penguins in Crozet, Kergeulen and Marine sub-Antarctic islands may eventually be nothing more than a memory in a few decades. Global warming could lead to the King penguins moving south or even worse, disappearing completely.
According to Robin Cristofari, the main issue
is that there are not very many islands in the Southern Ocean and not all of
them are conducive to support large breeding colonies for the penguins. As a
matter of fact, King penguins are picky animals. In order to form a colony where they can
mate, lay eggs, and care for their chicks throughout the year, they require
smooth beaches of sand, no winter sea ice near the island, and temperatures
they can withstand year round.
A trusted and consistent food source is what these penguins are most worried about. These seabirds food source has always came
from the Antarctic Polar Front, which is an upwelling front in the Southern
Ocean. Because of climate change, this area is moving away from the islands and
drifting south. Therefore, penguin
parents have to swim even farther for food while their young are fasting on the
shore. This study predicts that the
length of parents’ trip for food will exceed the resistance to starvation of
their offspring which in turn, will lead to massive King penguin crashes in
population size. On the other hand, it
may lead to relocation, which is what we can hope for.
References: University of Vienna. "King penguins may be on the move very soon." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 February 2018. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180226122528.htm>.
This article is extremely interesting! Something to look into may be how large the population is for these penguins and also where the populations are dispersed. If they are dispersed in other areas as well, maybe they could be moved if the crisis gets too bad!
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