Global warming is the biggest threat to wildlife in Antarctica, according to a research report published in the journal Plos Biology. 28 research institutions in 12 countries are behind the report. If emissions of greenhouse gases continue as they are today, up to 80 per cent of emperor penguins could be almost completely gone by 2100 (the population reduced by over 90 per cent), according to the report. Arne Nævra in Antarctica. Photo: Stein P. Aasheim – Alarming situation In the Arctic, the temperature is rising almost four times faster than on the rest of the earth. Now the researchers are seeing the effects of global warming all the way to the south, in Antarctica. – I am not surprised by this report. It was only a matter of time before the consequences of climate change would become more apparent here. Ice melting is also faster in the south. It’s alarming, says nature filmmaker Arne Nævra. Nævra met the penguins up close at the Weddel Sea in Antarctica in 2010. The penguins feed on krill and fish, and nest on the ice. The problem is that the water under the ice is getting warmer and warmer. Emperor penguins at Snow Hill Island. All the smaller, gray birds are young. Photo: Arne Nævra The nesting place is melting away – If the ice disappears, the penguins will no longer have a nesting place. And what about access to food? The food base may become worse because of the changes in the sea, says Nævra. The second largest colony of emperor penguins was wiped out in 2016, when more than 10,000 chicks died in Halley Bay in the Weddell Sea. The ice went early, before the penguins could swim. They drowned. And the colony at Point Géologie, which was filmed in the documentary “The Penguins’ March”, has decreased by almost 50 per cent since the 70s. Young polar bear in the ice north of Sjuøyane on Svalbard, approx. 81 degrees north. Photo: Arne Nævra Polar bear and penguin Arne Nævra has seen first-hand how the living conditions for polar bears on Svalbard have worsened. And he sees a connection between polar bears and penguins. – I see polar bears and penguins as “signature species” that are responsible for climate change in their respective places, in the Arctic and Antarctic. No spot is free from human imprints. There are no boundaries, says Nævra. He believes that both polar bears and penguins will manage, but in Svalbard the polar bear will disappear as a permanent, breeding species in a couple of decades. – The stocks will probably be greatly reduced. I think that many penguin colonies will disappear completely, says Nævra. A large colony of emperor penguins lives here at Snow Hill Island in the Weddel Sea. This is the northernmost of all the 40-50 emperor penguin colonies known in Antarctica. Photo: Arne Nævra Global effort against climate change In the report, the researchers list ten measures that can slow down the negative development. The measure that will have the greatest effect is to reduce global warming. – There are many threats that affect the species in Antarctica, even though we see this as an untouched and isolated area. The biggest threat comes from outside, says lead author Jasmine Lee at the British Antarctic Survey to The Guardian. – We really need a global effort to slow down climate change, while at the same time local and regional measures are needed to preserve biological diversity. That way, Antarctic species can have a better chance of surviving in the future, he says to CNN. The price tag for measures that can be carried out in Antarctica is NOK 230 million per year for the next 83 years, according to the report. Emperor penguins at Snow Hill Island, two adults and three young. Photo: Arne Nævra Reducing tourism The most cost-effective measure will be to reduce human activity in Antarctica, both in terms of tourism and research. – This will reduce the risk of introducing species that are not naturally native to Antarctica, says Lee. Aleks Terauds from the Australian Antarctic Division is co-author of the report. – We can train the tour operators to avoid areas with threatened species, and will be able to train the tourists themselves, says Terauds. The report also underlines that it is important to reduce the environmental impact from the use of vehicles and aircraft, and various construction projects. In October, US authorities decided that emperor penguins should be on the list of endangered species. The background was the problem that diminishing sea ice leads to. – Climate change affects species all over the world to a significant extent. We see the listing of the emperor penguin as both an alarm bell and a call to action, said director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Martha Williams when the announcement was made.
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The emperor penguin may disappear – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
