Finding new homes won't help emperor penguins cope with climate change

ANTARCTICA – If projections for melting Antarctic sea ice through 2100 are correct, the vanishing landscape will strip emperor penguins of their breeding and feeding grounds and put populations at risk. But like other species that migrate to escape the wrath of climate change, can these iconic animals be spared simply by moving to new locations?

Stephanie Jenouvrier with young emperor penguins.
Photo credit: Stephanie Jenouvrier,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

According to new research led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), they cannot. Scientists report that dispersal may help sustain global emperor penguin populations for a limited time, but, as sea ice conditions continue to deteriorate, the 54 colonies that exist today will face devastating declines by the end of this century. They say the emperor penguin should be listed as an endangered species. The study was recently published in the journal Biological Conservation.

“We know from previous studies that sea ice is a key environmental driver of the life history of emperor penguins, and that the fifty-percent declines we’ve seen in Pointe Géologie populations along the Antarctic coast since the 1950s coincide with warmer climate and sea ice decline,” said Stephanie Jenouvrier, WHOI biologist and lead author of the study.

Emperor penguins closer to Endangered Species Act protection

Emperor penguins.
Photo credit: Michael Van Woert,
NOAA

USA - In response to a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that the emperor penguin may warrant Endangered Species Act protection based on threats from climate change.

The most ice-dependent of all penguin species, emperor penguins are threatened by the loss of their sea-ice habitat and declining food availability in Antarctica.

“Our carbon pollution is melting the sea-ice habitat emperor penguins need to survive,” said Shaye Wolf, climate science director at the Center.

Emperor penguins need Endangered Species Act protection says wildlife organisation

Emperor penguin (public domain photo)

USA -  The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a legal petition seeking Endangered Species Act protection for emperor penguins threatened by global warming. The Center says that emperors are the most ice-dependent of all penguin species, threatened by the loss of their sea-ice habitat as well as declining food availability wrought by the warming ocean off Antarctica. Their populations are declining because of global warming; some colonies have entirely disappeared.

“The sea-ice habitat that emperor penguins need to survive is melting beneath their feet,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center. “It’s great to see movies like Happy Feet Two bringing the plight of emperor penguins to people around the world. But in reality, there’s no happy Hollywood ending for these penguins unless we take real action to address the global climate crisis.” 

Emperor penguins need sea ice for breeding and foraging. The petition highlights the serious problems of melting sea ice and other warming-driven changes in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Areas of Antarctica are experiencing dramatic warming, leading to loss of sea ice as well as the collapse of ice sheets.

In 2006, the Center filed a petition to list 12 penguin species as threatened or endangered. The US Department of the Interior conducted status reviews for 10 of those species. After delays and ultimately a court order, the agency protected seven species but denied protection for the remaining ones, including the emperor. This petition presents new scientific information demonstrating that emperor penguins are imperiled.

“Emperor penguins are icons of wild Antarctica,” said Sakashita. “And protecting them under the Endangered Species Act is essential to their survival.”

Listing under the Endangered Species Act would provide broad protection to these penguins, including a requirement that federal agencies ensure that any action carried out, authorised or funded by the U.S. government will not “jeopardize the continued existence” of the penguin species. For example, if penguins are listed, future approval of fishing permits for US-flagged vessels operating on the high seas would require analysis and minimisation of impacts on the listed penguins. The Act also has an important role to play in reducing greenhouse gas pollution by compelling federal agencies to look at the impact of the emissions generated by their activities on listed species.

Read previous post: Endangered Species Act protection for southern rockhoppers 

Source
Endangered Species Act protection sought for emperor penguins, 28 November 2011, Center for Biological Diversity

Endangered Species Act protection for southern rockhoppers

A southern rockhopper penguin in the
Falkland Islands.
Photo © Larry Master/masterimages.org.

USA - Their spiky hairstyle makes them look anti-establishment, but the punk rockers of the penguin world now have protection from the US government. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that the New Zealand/Australia distinct population segment of southern rockhopper penguins will join the list of threatened species protected under the US Endangered Species Act. The listing follows a legal settlement with the Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network (TIRN) over delays in protecting the penguin.

Listing under the Act will raise awareness of the penguins' plight and increase research and conservation funds. It will also mean that federal agencies are required to ensure that any action carried out, authorised, or funded by the US government will not jeopardise the continued existence of the penguin species. This includes compelling federal agencies to look at the impact of the emissions generated by their activities on listed species and to adopt solutions to reduce them.

"These hardy penguins survive on remote, stormy, sub-Antarctic islands in the Southern Ocean, practically at the edge of the world, and yet they may not survive climate change. Endangered Species Act protections can begin to address this threat," said Catherine Kilduff, an attorney at the Center.

The New Zealand/Australia distinct population segment of southern rockhopper penguin is found in the subantarctic region south of these two countries. The population size of this species, which breeds on the Macquarie, Campbell, Auckland and Antipodes Island groups, has declined by approximately 90% since the 1940s and continues to shrink. They are classified as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List.

"These penguins have adapted to an inhospitable environment over hundreds of years, but the combination of ocean warming and commercial fishing may prove to be too much," said Todd Steiner, biologist and executive director of TIRN. "Through this listing, the government is acknowledging that our oceans are sick and taking a first step to protect penguins and their watery world."

The Center first petitioned to protect southern rockhoppers in 2006, along with 11 other penguin species. In 2008, it sued the Department of Interior for its delay in providing protection for the penguins, and since then the African, Humboldt, yellow-eyed, white-flippered, Fiordland and erect-crested penguin species have been listed as threatened under the Act.

Sources
ESA protection provided to rare penguin species, 22 February 2011, US Fish and Wildlife Service
Southern rockhopper penguins listed as threatened species; climate change protections needed, 22 February 2011, Center for Biological Diversity