Global Warming Hurting Food Sources Of Penguins

Since the previous ice age, penguins have made good use of the warmer temperatures in the Antarctic because less sea ice has meant it is become easier to both hunt for food and breed according to the results of a new study. However there is one caveat that needs to be added because the current pace of climate change is happening so fast, food sources are unable to keep up with the demand.

There have been declines in certain penguin species populations going back 1,000 years; however this has been getting worse as the pace of climate change picks up.

The researchers took a close look at how certain populations of penguins had changed since the previous ice age which took place over 11,000 years ago. Three species were examined by the scientists including Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adelie. These three species prefer the water to be ice free when looking for food and also prefer ice free land to breed and raise their young.

“We typically think of penguins as relying on ice, but this research shows that during the last ice age, there was probably too much ice around Antarctica to support large populations,” study lead author Gemma Clucas, a marine biologist at the University of Southampton said in a statement.
Too little ice has started to hurt certain populations of penguins according to the results of the study. Krill is one of the main sources of food for penguins. These crustaceans like to feast on algae that is attached to the bottom of sea ice.

“We are not saying that today’s warming climate is good for penguins; in fact, the current decline of some penguin species suggests that the warming climate has gone too far for most penguins,” study co-author Tom Hart, of the University of Oxford in the U.K., said in a statement.

Winners and losers

Over the last half century sea ice loss in the area has been accelerating resulting in krill populations declining which has had an effect on two penguin species the researchers said.

“This suggests current climate warming … [is] favoring generalist gentoo penguins as climate change ‘winners,’ while Adelie and chinstrap penguins have become climate change ‘losers,'” the researchers wrote in the study.