By Annette J Beveridge
Emperor Penguins experienced unprecedented breeding failure due to the loss of sea ice in Antarctica.
Research from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists indicated that it was unlikely any chicks had survived from four out of the five colonies monitored.
The latest research supports predictions made that based on current global warming trends, it is likely that more than 90% of Emperor Penguin colonies will be quasi extinct by the end of this century.
Satellite images revealed a loss of sea ice where the birds go to breed and how the loss occurs before the chicks developed their waterproof feathers.
Emperor Penguins need to have sea ice firmly attached to the shore for some months - April through to January. Egg laying takes place during the Antarctic winter which is from May to June. The eggs hatch about 65 days later but the waterproof feathers do not occur until December or January.
The loss of ice was most extreme in the central and eastern Bellingshausen Sea region.
It is known that Emperor Penguins are extremely vulnerable to climate change and scientific evidence indicates that extreme sea ice loss is only going to become more frequent and widespread.
Previously, the penguins had moved to more stable sites following incidents of sea ice loss but it is unlikely that this strategy will work if an entire region of sea ice habitat is affected.
Satellite imagery was used to study the five colonies of Penguins over the last 14 years in Rothschild island, Verdi Inlet, Smyley Island, Bryan Peninsula and Pfrogner Point.
Research indicated that by the end of December 2022, sea ice extent was the lowest experienced over a 45-year satellite record.
As of August 20, 2023, the sea ice extent was 2.2 million square kilometres lower than the 1981-2022 average (17.9 million square kilometres) significantly surpassing the record winter low on August 20, 2022 of 17.1 million square kilometres.
To put the loss of sea ice into context, the area is larger than the size of Greenland, or around 10 times the size of the United Kingdom
The study was published in communications earth and environment and images were used from the European Commission’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite mission.
The area in Antarctica has been continuously monitored since 2018.