The Shrinking Sea Ice

Shrinking sea ice threatens the survival of penguins, especially emperor penguins. This is also affecting Adelie Penguins.
 
How does shrinking sea ice affect penguins?  When sea ice breaks up, chicks fall into the water and drown.

Predators: 

Melting Sea Ice is causing a loss of Emperor Penguins because they have less ice to hide from predators.

Penguin adaptations:
 
Some Penguins move to find more stable ice.
Others nest on icebergs or ice shelves.

 Outcomes for penguins?

Shrinking sea ice, could lead to 95% of Emperor penguins becoming quasi-extinct by 2100. 

Quasi-extinction is when a population is too small to reproduce, even if there are still some individuals alive.  Ecologists indicate when a population has reached a point of no return. 

Examples of quasi-extinction

Emperor penguins are at risk of quasi-extinction.
The concept of quasi-extinction has been used in studies of species decline from butterflies to Emperor penguins. 

Why is quasi-extinction useful?

It's a more realistic indicator of when populations are reaching a point of no return than absolute extinction. It helps ecologists identify populations that are doomed to extinction

Emperor penguin colonies will likely decrease by the year 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions are not controlled.

Emperor penguins

In 2022, an early breakup of sea ice led to the abandonment of three emperor penguin colonies.
 
If sea ice breaks up before chicks are independent, entire generations can be lost. 

Shrinking Sea Ice impacts breeding penguins.



Adelie Penguins

Melting sea ice impacts the availability of krill, which is the main food source for Adélie penguins. 

This can lead to population declines for both the penguins and the krill.  Krill need sea ice to feed under.

Distribution: 

Krill have shifted their distribution south by 300 miles in the past 50 years. 

Abundance: 

A decrease in krill has been attributed to the decrease in winter sea ice since the mid-1960s. 

Food:
Shrinking sea ice means less krill and less food for Adélie penguins. 

Molting: 

How does sea ice loss impact molting penguins?

Adélie penguins
Shrinking sea ice affect the penguins' molting cycles. 

Adelie Penguins lose all their feathers and must stay on the Ice until the growth of new feathers become water proof.

Shrinking Sea Ice has decreased since 1970, which may create a bottleneck for survival.

Overall impacts

Sea ice loss can have profound effects on the species that depend on the sea ice. It's important to preserve sea ice habitats to help ensure the survival of these species. 
 
Hatching times:

 Warmer temperatures affect Adélie chick hatching times, and they hatch at times when food is more scarce.
 
Impacts of melting sea ice:

Impacts for other species that rely on krill, such as humpback whales. 
The decline of Antarctic sea ice, has serious consequences for the climate and ecosystems.

Suggestions to help penguins

Designate Marine Protected Areas to protect large areas from over fishing. 
Limit global warming to 1.0°C. 


Again this is just a slice of what is happening because of the shrinking Sea Ice. This affects not just Marine life but Human life.

I recommend you do your own research.