What will be the fate of the emperor penguin?

A study shows that if the Antarctic iceberg continues to melt at the current rate, the famous penguin - the emperor penguin - only existed for a century.

The fate of the emperor penguin is worrying. According to a recent study, if the Antarctic sea ice continues to shrink with the current level of decline, the emperor penguin must face extinction within 100 years.

Emperor penguins are one of two species of birds in Antarctica and live on ice on the sea. They feed among ice floats on the surface of the sea. When these ice sheets melt, they are forced to move inside and easily annihilated by other animals, which are the ' Aboriginals ' of this territory to protect their living space.

Rhythmic dance of emperor penguins (Photo: National Geographic)

After examining the data from the mainland Adelie penguin population (the southernmost of Africa), researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, in Massachusetts (USA) have found that penguins The base is facing quasi-extinction, which will reduce the number by 95% or more by 2100. According to calculations by the researchers, based on The model predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is that in 6,000 emperor penguin couples in 100 years, only 400 survived.

At this time, the probability of near-absolute phenomena at 2100 is 40%. And in fact, people began to see their numbers begin to decline. Stephanie Tenouvrrier, a member of the research team at Woods Hole Oceanography Institute, said: ' A dramatic reduction in the population of emperor penguins at the small island of Dion in the north-west of the Antarctic Peninsula seems to warn of the large scale sea ice in this region '.

Match in a tailcoat vest (Photo: National Geographic)

Researchers still hope emperor penguins can avoid extinction by adapting to the narrowing of ice islands. To do this they have to move away or change their way of life. Unfortunately, emperor penguins are very slow to change during evolution. Biologist Hal Caswell of the Institute of Oceanography said: ' Penguins live long, while climate change is happening so quickly, the next generations have difficulty adapting to those changes. '

The extinction phenomenon of emperor penguins means that other animals in the marine ecosystem are also experiencing difficulties. Emperor penguins have to do more than wear a frilly tailcoat and dance in rhythmic dances daily. This bird is the first stage in the food chain of the Antarctic fauna, so they act as ' species indicators ', which scientists look at to understand the change of species. Other organisms in the environment. If penguins disappear, observing other animals in Antarctica will be difficult.