Rainingpenguins.com - Penguins & The Planet - Penguins at the End of the World

We love these little guys from down under. Penguins are curious, charming, charismatic, energetic, hard working, and highly social aquatic birds that dress stylishly and are doing their best to make their way in this increasingly complicated and resource pressured world.

The actions of humans, though our relentless population growth and increasing global consumption, are rapidly changing their environments. Penguins are all trying to adapt to these changes and while some are more successful than others, scientific studies indicate that 12 of the 17 species of penguins are in a state of rapid decline.

This is a cause for great concern as penguins are one of a number of indicator species who serve as bellwethers of the health of their eco-systems and signal the alarming ecological trends that are impacting all species on this small blue planet that we call home.

We impact the lives of penguins on several fronts.

1) Overfishing

Since penguins are reliant on small fish, krill, squid and other marine invertebrates, for their diet and to raise their chicks, overfishing and fishing further down the food chain has a significant impact on penguins. For example, Magellanic penguins in Argentina have to travel further for food since human beings fish for anchovies to create food pellets to feed farm raised salmon. This reduces their ability to provide as much food as is needed to sustain their colonies and means that they travel to unprotected locations in search of food. The result is that populations are declining.

Krill, small shrimp-like creatures about 2" long, occur in all oceans of the world and are the cornerstone of the food chain of the Earth's marine eco-systems. Their total weight is estimated at more than the weight of all the human population on Earth. They are the primary food source for hundreds of different animals including baleen whales, manta rays, whale sharks, crabeater seals, penguins and other marine seabirds. They are regarded as a keystone species since they feed on phytoplankton and zooplankton, microscopic single celled plants, converting these into a food source for other larger creatures. Antarctic krill are the foundation of the food web in the Southern Polar Region. Without them most of the life forms in the Antarctic would cease to exist.

Recent scientific studies indicate that stocks of Antarctic krill have declined by an alarming 80% from the 1970's. This is primarily attributed to sea ice cover loss from climate change which negatively impacts populations of ice algae, a primary food source for Antarctic krill.

Krill populations are also impacted by commercial fishing for aquaculture. There is significant concern that illegal and unregulated fishing in the Antarctic oceans combined with the impact of climate change could push fish stocks to the point of collapse.

Commercial fishing nets and long line hooks also have a direct physical impact, causing tremendous damage to penguins and other sea creatures as they get caught in nets or are accidentally hooked and dragged to their deaths.

2) Pollution

Ocean pollution from trash and oil spills kills thousands of penguins and other sea creatures every year. Discarded plastics, fishing nets, hooks and other debris can cause a slow and painful death for both sea mammals and birds that ingest the material or become entangled in it. Chemical pollution of the oceans also has a huge impact on penguins because they take their sustenance from the sea.

Oil tankers often fill their empty oil tanks with water to provide ballast to stabilize the ship. Prior to loading new cargo ships discharge this contaminated water. Discharged oil contaminated water can foul the penguins' feathers, reducing the waterproofing and insulating properties of their plumage, causing hypothermia and when ingested causing internal organ damage. The deliberate and unlawful dumping of oily ballast water in tanker lanes off the coast of Argentina kills over 40,000 Magellanic penguins per year.

3) Predators

Until the arrival of man most of the predators that penguins faced were in the seas where they hunt for food. Leopard seals, sea lions, killer whales and sharks are the primary predators for penguins in the water. Roughly 50% of penguin chicks fall victim to leopard seals. With the exception of pressure from snakes, dolphin gulls, and skuas which raid penguin rookeries for eggs and chicks, penguins have traditionally been safer on land. That is no longer true.

Humans have posed a direct danger to penguins due to hunting them for their eggs, oil and feathers. Even though many penguin habitats are legally protected, there remains a threat from poachers and even corporate interests. In 1982 a Japanese company approached the Argentine government asking for a concession to harvest their Magellanic penguins and turn them into oil, protein and gloves. After public outcry, the concession plan was halted and a study was set up in order to understand the colonies response to their changing environment in order to plan conservation efforts.

Depending on the species, penguins now face predatory pressure from introduced species such as cats, ferrets, foxes and even domestic dogs. Recently professional shooters were hired to protect a vulnerable colony of fairy penguins from fox attacks at the Harbour National Park in Sydney, Australia.

4) Climate Change

Rapidly changing weather patterns challenge penguins to adapt in order to survive. Weather change has been both dramatic and unpredictable. Warming weather patterns have created more rain and rapid glacial melt, causing torrents of water to flood the nests of penguin colonies, resulting in declining populations. This is happening both in the Polar Regions and coastal colonies further north.

In the Antarctic region a weather system, created by a warming climate and the ozone hole, called the Southern Annular Mode has been blasting the Antarctic Peninsula with warm winds from South America since the 1970's. The result is that in this area the sea ice has become thinner and the Adélie penguins that live there had closer proximity to swim to their food sources. That combined with more snow melt, which opens more nesting space, has resulted in increased penguin populations in these areas.

Meanwhile in other parts of the Antarctic, notably the Ross Sea area, cold winds blowing north across the continent have increased the sea ice season. This makes these areas less hospitable to the Adélie penguins and they are moving to areas with closer proximity to food and nesting areas.

However, the ongoing warming of the Antarctic region and reduction of sea ice poses a long term ecological threat for all living creatures in the surrounding area. As related earlier, the loss of sea ice negatively impacts the production of plankton which is the major food source for krill, the primary food of Southern Polar Region penguins. Declining krill populations ensure a decline in the population of all species that depend on krill as a major source of food.

Scientists are studying the impact of climate change in this region to quantify the effects on survival rates, and predict future trends, and use this information to model population changes. One model correlates the 11% loss of sea ice with a potential 50% loss of penguin species. One new study projects that if Antarctic ice continues to melt at its current pace the Emperor penguins will face extinction of 95% of the species by 2050.

Penguins are trying to adapt, but many cannot adapt fast enough to sustain their colonies. They need our help. We must develop ways to live sustainably on our planet and thus regulate our impact on the environment and become stewards to the other magnificent creatures with which we share our planet Earth.