Penguin disaster as only two chicks survive out of 40,000

tay

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May 20, 2012
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A colony of about 40,000 Adélie penguins in Antarctica has suffered a “catastrophic breeding event” – all but two chicks have died of starvation this year. It is the second time in just four years that such devastation – not previously seen in more than 50 years of observation – has been wrought on the population.

The finding has prompted urgent calls for the establishment of a marine protected area in East Antarctica, at next week’s meeting of 24 nations and the European Union at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in Hobart.

The colony had experienced a similar event in 2013, when no chicks survived. In a paper about that event, a group of researchers, led by Yan Ropert-Coudert from France’s National Centre for Scientific Research, said it had been caused by a record amount of summer sea ice and an “unprecedented rainy episode”.

The unusual extent of sea ice meant the penguins had to travel an extra 100km to forage for food. And the rainy weather left the chicks, which have poor waterproofing, wet and unable to keep warm.

This year’s event has also been attributed to an unusually large amount of sea ice. Overall, Antarctica has had a record low amount of summer sea ice, but the area around the colony has been an exception.

Ropert-Coudert said the region had been severely affected by the break-up of the Mertz glacier tongue in 2010, when a piece of ice almost the size of Luxembourg – about 80 km long and 40km wide – broke off. That event, which occurred about 250km from Petrels Island, had a big impact on ocean currents and ice formation in the region.


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https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-to-demands-for-protection-in-east-antarctica
 

Blackleaf

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It's a disaster for the penguins but not for humanity and the planet.
 

darkbeaver

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Jan 26, 2006
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There has been a great many species impacted by this planets shifting magnetic poles and the dimunation of the earths magnetic field this year alone, billions of dollars in crop loses as well. As example just yesterday I was looking at new green raspberries on our plants while the normal crop time and berries were pathetic. Some bugs were late or didn't arrive at all several varieties of trees lost thier leaves early.
 

Blackleaf

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It will be interesting to see which disappearance of what species reaches us. I'm betting on sharks, myself but an obvious one is bees.

Sharks and bees will become extinct one day. 99% of all species that have ever lived on Earth have suffered that fate, and much of it is beneficial - had the dinosaurs not become extinct there would be no mammals and birds today.

Extinction is 100% natural.
 

darkbeaver

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Jan 26, 2006
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Sharks and bees will become extinct one day. 99% of all species that have ever lived on Earth have suffered that fate, and much of it is beneficial - had the dinosaurs not become extinct there would be no mammals and birds today.
Extinction is 100% natural.

This will sound odd,but, all dinosaurs may not be extinct.
 

MHz

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Mar 16, 2007
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Red Deer AB
Protection from what, there are 11teen people down there at any given time. Perhaps the baby seal crowd could use the pelts.
With a total population of 3.79M the disaster is not as big as the die off off the west coast of North America.
Some crowd in Quebec City were at the river protesting baby seals being harvested for their fur. One morning they arrived to learn 10,000 pups had been blown off the island and carried out into the Atlantic and died. They just dropped their sign and went back home to watch tv. They are still on the same channel today.

They aren't.

Science fact. 99.9% of all species that lived on earth are extinct
And some of the ones that aren't should be, like skeeters and horse flies.
 

darkbeaver

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They aren't.

Science fact. 99.9% of all species that lived on earth are extinct

Evolution is extinction?
Don't bother with citing the 65 million years ago story,please.
 

MHz

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Didn't we genocide them, along with Passenger Pigeons and host of other critters??

Not to mention the spread of Christianity. Peace to you from God above, now you gonna die in order to be saved. Spoiled little bitches have a hard time admitting when they are wrong. Rod of iron is the only option left in most cases.
 

Walter

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Jan 28, 2007
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Didn't we genocide them, along with Passenger Pigeons and host of other critters??

Not to mention the spread of Christianity. Peace to you from God above, now you gonna die in order to be saved. Spoiled little bitches have a hard time admitting when they are wrong. Rod of iron is the only option left in most cases.
Another Christophobe post. Boring.
 

Curious Cdn

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Feb 22, 2015
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Sharks and bees will become extinct one day. 99% of all species that have ever lived on Earth have suffered that fate, and much of it is beneficial - had the dinosaurs not become extinct there would be no mammals and birds today.

Extinction is 100% natural.


Sharks have been top predator in the seas for 400 million years. This is not just another come-and-go species (as we probably are). You can bet that eliminating a major component of the ocean ecosystem after 400 million years will change things on land.
 

Blackleaf

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Sharks have been top predator in the seas for 400 million years. This is not just another come-and-go species (as we probably are). You can bet that eliminating a major component of the ocean ecosystem after 400 million years will change things on land.

The extinction of sharks would lead to the extinction of scallops and other creatures that rely on sharks to eat their predators and people would be more prepared to swim in the sea off Australia.
 

Curious Cdn

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Feb 22, 2015
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The extinction of sharks would lead to the extinction of scallops and other creatures that rely on sharks to eat their predators and people would be more prepared to swim in the sea off Australia.

The extinction of sharks could change a great deal more in the oceans, maybe even their fundamental chemistry. We don't have any idea of the effects of suddenly eliminating a key component of a global ecosystem after 400 million years.

BTW, the oceans feed us.