Why Do Penguins Suffer From Climate Change

Ancient penguins used to be relatively ginormous in size compared to how they look now. 57 million years ago, the average long beaked penguin stood 5 feet 7 inches, and was about 220 pounds. That’s the same size as the average sized man today. Today the largest living species of penguin is the emperor penguin, which stands at about 4 feet tall. There is actually no rock solid evidence as to why the average penguin size has decreased, just speculations. One popular theory as to why they have decreased in size is because of extinction. Many of the predators had died out, so they did not have to fear being killed. The penguins, since they had no predators, could adapt to catching their prey underwater without any real competition, or fear. The

Scientists have observed these penguins for years and noticed that they rotate in the huddle and

The Emperor Penguin, also scientifically known as Aptenodytes forsteri, is the tallest and heaviest of all penguin species. The Emperor Penguin is native to Antarctica and is near threatened with a stable population. If living in the wild, it generally has a lifespan of around 20 years, but an individual can reach 50 years of age. The Emperor penguin reproduces sexually, meaning two parents are required during the reproduction process. Emperor penguins reach sexual maturity at the age of 3.

Climate change is change is the change in weather patterns that last for an extended period of time.  Climate change is affecting the Emperor penguins because then Antarctica continent is warming  up, but the northern part just towards South America is warming up the fastest and that's where most of the penguins are found. Since the weather's getting warmer it's causing the ice to melt and making a smaller surface for the penguins to live on, and causing the sea ice season, used for hunting is cut shorter than it used to be. The ice melting is causing the penguins to get separated from each other because once the ice melts enough it breaks away from the mainland. The chicks don't maintain their waterproof feathers until they grow more mature,

There are many ways in which increased levels of greenhouse gasses can affect marine life adapted to colder and warmer water, and many ways marine life can adapt to the effects of climate change whether that be beneficial in the case of phytoplankton or detrimental in the case of Adelie penguins loosing numbers in the south pole.

Out of 5,000 mammals in the animal kingdom 95% of them do not mate for life (Than). The overall divorce rate of king penguins is 81% (Olsson). Most animals are not monogamous because it is a lot pressure to pick the right and perfect mate (Than). Also, it requires an individual to place all of their time and hope into one another all in the name of proper breeding (Than). Most penguins do not mate for life, those penguins are: King penguins, Emperor penguins, Little (Blue) penguins, Banded penguins, Chested penguins, Yellow-eyed penguins, Brush-tailed penguin and Magellanic penguins

Global warming is causing possible extinction in the Antarctic ocean by melting all the ice its raising water levels causing fishing grounds to flow colder water that other species may not be used to and can affect them badly, and leaving seals the live on the ice more of chance

Penguins to me are one of the most controversial land birds alive. They have the most swag out of any bird that I have ever seen. The creatures I just love because they really do make me happy any time that I see these animals because they have the ability to really get out there and make sure their family is taken care of. When times get hard for these birds they rely on their whole group and they all ways stick together to keep their whole flock protected. The reason why I love penguins so much is because penguins have a way of being the best animals alive and really being able to protect their friends.

My picture book “Adventures of Pengy” follows a baby penguin as he goes on an adventure to find his parents. The picture book connects with science by raising awareness to the effects of ‘climate change’, which is an important issue in creating a truly sustainable future. The impacts of climate change are explored when Pengy’s iceberg separates from the mainland where his parents are and his adventures begin. Due to this, global warming plays a significant role into the way the story is structured.

bird.These penguins never actually come to land but gather in huge colonies on packs of ice of

On the other hand, proponents also provide valid arguments for their case as well. Primarily this is done out of sheer compassion for an animal, watching suffering and dying penguin is not a pleasant picture. Their argument is that it is our moral responsibility to do so because this all due to human activity (Tran et al., 2014). Climate change is already causing their population numbers to decline by massive scale (Trivelpiece et al., 2011). The effects of mortalities due to oil spills are unacceptable. If we have the ability to alleviate their suffering, we do should so.

In relation to their swimming adaptations, Emperor penguins also need to be able to dive to great depths in order to retrieve vital resources such as food. Emperor penguins tend to hunt for quick, midwater squid as well as fish and therefore they need to be capable of diving to relatively deeper and remain submerged for longer period of time, in relation to other penguin species. Emperor penguins can dive to depths of approximately 550-565 metres towards the sea floor which is known as the “twilight zone” where less light is able to penetrate the surface of the water. Emperor penguins are also able to hold their breath for approximately 22-27 minutes. Both of these aspects enable the emperor penguin to stay submerged in the water and locate

According to Forcada and Trathan (2009, p.1), “Penguins are adapted to live in extreme environments, but they can be highly sensitive to climate change, which disrupts penguin life history strategies when it alters the weather, oceanography and critical habitats.” Chinstrap penguins mainly live on the Antarctic Peninsula, where climate change has hit the continent the hardest. (Barbosa, Benzal, León, & Moreno 2012 p.1) Unlike the polar bear, the penguin does not have the luxury of travelling between land and sea in search for a meal. Being a flightless bird, chinstrap penguins live on the ice and hunt in the waters off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The chinstrap penguins’ main food source is a tiny crustacean named krill. Krill are also affected by ice melting earlier and forming late. When the temperatures increase, the food that krill feed upon die, phytoplankton, die at an increased rate. (Barbosa, et al., 2012 p.4) The krill population is also adversely affected by increased whale and seal activity. (Barbosa, et al., 2012 p.4) When less ice, higher temperatures, less food, and more competition add up, the chinstrap penguin suffers. A starving chinstrap penguin has less of a chance to survive the howling Antarctic winds. If a starving chinstrap penguin manages to make it through the winter, it will be severely impaired during the mating

If a leader took initiative to show others the seriousness of global warming, we could save animals lives. The penguins from the book Our Iceberg is Melting, had a mixture of emotions while dealing with change. Some embraced the change of moving icebergs while others tried to convince the others moving was a bad idea. The penguins embraced change by having Fred discover their iceberg was in danger. He then told Alice, who is a penguin with higher authority and they formed a bigger team of penguins. “None of those with whom Alice spoke showed any enthusiasm about the idea of swimming into a big dark cave” (Our Iceberg pg 20). The team of penguins brought the idea of changing icebergs to the colonies attention and had their scouts search for a new home. After searching, the scouts found a new iceberg which was safer for the penguins and in the end, most of the penguins adapted to their new home and made new traditions. The move was a success and some of the penguins who were originally against the change are happier with the new iceberg.

African Penguins, (spheniscus demersus) are a species of penguins confined in cold currents along South African waters. African penguins stay in a warm environment. They are the only penguins found on the south-western coast of Africa; they live in colonies on twenty-four islands between Namibia and Algoa Bay and they are the only species of penguins that grow in Africa (Aquarium of The Pacific). They fly through the water and move their feet as rudders; the use their wings as flippers. when swimming at the surface. African penguins can swim an average of 7 km per hour and speeds up to 24 km per hour. They may hold their breath on a dive for an average of 2.5 minutes (Portfolio). They enjoy eating anchovies and other small fishes such as sardines. They may also eat squid and crustaceans. When African penguins find their mate they stay with that mate forever (Monterey Aquarium). They are friendly social birds that groom one another in attempts of removing any parasites. Lastly, they make donkey-like braying sounds to communicate with one another (Smith).