The emperor penguin, the tallest and bulkiest of all the world’s penguins, has been officially declared a threatened species by the US government due to the existential risk posed to the birds by the climate crisis. The penguins, which are endemic to Antarctica, face almost complete annihilation from the loss of sea ice over the […]
Tag: penguins
What Will Happen to the Penguin Population as Climate Change Worsens?
The effects of climate change are seemingly infinite. It feels like every day brings news of another dwindling population or wiped out plant species. When times get tough, watching videos of dawdling penguins can make the earth seem a little kinder. Unfortunately, penguins are not immune to climate change, and their population numbers and food supplies […]
The Effects of Climate Change on Sea Turtles
On December 12, 2015, over 90 countries adopted an international agreement called “the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.” This agreement required all signing countries to make significant commitments to resolving climate change. Participants were intended to re-evaluate their pledges in the year 2020 and then strengthen their emissions reductions by 2030. The goal of this […]
Fish-feed industry turns to krill, with unknown effects on the Antarctic ecosystem
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay/PUNTA ARENAS, Chile/PORDENONE, Italy — A mountain of krill meal has been packed inside a huge warehouse: divided into bags and stacked in hundreds of piles that stretch almost to the ceiling. The warehouse is near the port of Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, inside the main logistics center of Aker BioMarine, a Norwegian […]
Australian scientists observe ‘rapid’ decline in Adélie penguin numbers off Antarctic coast
Scientists at the Australian Antarctic Division have recorded a severe decline in a population of Adélie penguins off the east Antarctic coast. Long-term monitoring has revealed a 43% drop over a decade in the number of birds that breed across 52 islands near the Mawson research station. The scientists say the decline is a stark […]
Study: Woodpecker Drumming is Neurologically Similar to Songbird Vocalization
A team of scientists from the United States and Denmark has found specialized pecking-related regions in the woodpecker forebrain that show characteristics that until now have only been associated with vocal learning in animals and language in humans; instead of being related to vocalization, activity in these brain regions is related to the characteristic tree […]
Antarctic researchers gain insights from on high as they count seals from space
Researchers believe they have accurately estimated Antarctica’s Weddell seal population for the first time – using images from space and the eyes of hundreds of thousands of citizen scientists. Weddell seals are a key indicator species in the Southern Ocean, for both sea ice fluctuations and shifts in the food web. They can live up […]
Plans for discovery centre on WA island dropped to protect little penguins
The Western Australian government has abandoned plans for a $3.3m “discovery centre” on Penguin Island following a community campaign against the development. Reece Whitby, the minister for environment and climate action, made the announcement on Friday, saying in a statement that following a scientific review and community consultation, the proposed centre would be shifted to […]