Humans Could Push King Penguins To Extinction By The End Of This Decade

by Matthew Kirby
CNN

Human-induced global warming, combined with an ample dose of overfishing, could see King Penguins pushed to the brink of extinction by the end of the century, researchers have warned.
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The team, whose findings are published in the journal Nature Climate Change, claim 70% of the birds - around 1.1 million breeding pairs - will vanish if nothing is done about rising greenhouse gas emissions.

As part of the study, the scientists simulated the penguins' past habitat shifts and used the information to identify future vulnerable areas.

In the report, co-author Céline Le Bohec, from the CNRS/University of Strasbourg, France, expresses fears that the subantarctic species could disappear if urgent steps are not taken.

"If no action aiming at halting or controlling global warming and the pace of the current human-induced changes (climate change, overfishing) stay the same, the species may disappear," she said.

    "Unless current greenhouse gas emissions drop, 70% of king penguins will be forced to relocate their breeding grounds, or face extinction before the end of the century."

[post_ads]"If we are to save anything, proactive and efficient conservation efforts – [and] above all coordinated global action against global warming – should start now," Le Bohec adds.

• Climate change could force millions of king penguins to seek new breeding grounds by the end of the century #ResearchHighlight https://t.co/J0nRt7xU9y

— nature (@nature) February 27, 2018

Just under half of the world's King Penguin population, who live on the Crozet and Prince Edward islands in the southern Indian Ocean, are expected to lose their habitat completely, the report states.

Those from Kerguelen, Falkland and Tierra del Fuego islands - which make up a fifth of the total - are likely to experience strongly altered habitats.

As lead researcher Robin Cristofari, from the Hubert Curien Multidisciplinary Institute in Strasbourg, explains, the King Penguin can only shift breeding grounds in a stepping-stone manner, hopping between available islands.

• Seventy percent of king penguins - around 1.1 million breeding pairs - will abruptly relocate or disappear before the end of the century if greenhouse gas emissions continue at present rates, reports a study published in @NatureClimate https://t.co/gWglwOzh64 pic.twitter.com/Bmy3X0zOU3

— Nature Research (@nresearchnews) February 26, 2018

"The main issue is that there is only a handful of islands in the Southern Ocean," he said, "and not all of them are suitable to sustain large breeding colonies."

[post_ads]For millennia, the species have relied on enormous concentrations of fish on the Antarctic polar front, but due to climate change, this relatively small area is drifting away from the islands – meaning parent penguins are already being forced to swim further and further to find food for their chicks.