(CN) — The Biden administration agreed to add the emperor penguin to the endangered species list Tuesday, citing climate change as the principal threat to the seabird that makes its home in Antarctica.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife proposed protections for the species, which currently has about 280,000 breeding pairs globally but faces threats as the polar ice caps which the birds depend on as habitat continue to melt at an accelerating pace.
“Given the influence that weather and climate have in affecting the extent and duration of sea ice and relatedly prey abundance around Antarctica, the effects of climate change present the most substantial threat facing the species,” the service said in the proposed listing.
Wildlife advocates hailed the decision as a necessary step in protecting the bird and an important acknowledgment that a changing climate and rising temperature across the globe imperil some of planet Earth’s most iconic species.
“These penguins are hard hit by the climate crisis, and the U.S. government is finally recognizing that threat,” said Sarah Uhlemann, international program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Penguin scientists have recommended protections for years, and we must act now before climate change wipes out these amazing, iconic birds.”
The announcement came on a day where leading penguin scientists published a study that found penguins are in trouble because they establish colonies on glaciers that are rapidly disintegrating as the planet heats up.
“Our results show that if sea ice declines at the rate projected by climate models under current energy system trends and policies, the (species resiliency, redundancy and representation) would be dramatically reduced and almost all colonies would become quasi-extinct by 2100,” wrote Stephanie Jenouvrier, associate scientist and seabird ecologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Penguins require reliable sea ice to hunt, breed and raise their chicks, the scientists say.
In recent years, penguin colonies long established on Halley Bay and Cape Crozier suffered catastrophic breeding failures when sea ice broke before the chicks were ready to swim or foray into the wild. Thousands of chicks died as a result.
At Point Geologie, another colony featured in the popular 2005 film "March of the Penguins," has declined by as much as 50% in recent years, according to the study.
“Emperor penguins live in a delicate balance with their environment, there is a sea ice ‘Goldilocks’ zone’,” Jenouvrier said. “If there is too little sea ice, chicks can drown when sea ice breaks up early; if there is too much sea ice, foraging trips become too long and more arduous, and the chicks may starve.”
The study says much depends on the world’s ability to restrain greenhouse gas emissions to stave off the worst-case scenarios of global climate change. For instance, if the world continues at its current pace of burning fossil fuels into the atmosphere without removal and the global temperature increases by 3 degrees Fahrenheit, it would result in an 80% reduction in emperor penguins. If the more optimistic models prevail, a 30% reduction would result in a stabilization in the population by the end of the century.
“The future of emperor penguins ultimately depends upon decisions made today,” said Phil Trathan, the head of conservation biology with the British Antarctic Survey. “The most important action is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit further warming.”
The Center for Biological Diversity initially petitioned Fish and Wildlife for a listing in 2011. The agency agreed climate change constituted a threat to the birds in 2014 but did not move forward with protections.
Tuesday's action represents the first time the agency has moved to implement protections for penguins.
The emperor penguin is the tallest and heaviest species of penguin and the only one to breed in Antarctica during the winter. They are characterized by black heads and backs, white fronts and yellow patches on their heads near their eyes.
They live to about 20 years, although some observational studies have individuals living as long as 50 years.
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