Seal emerges from Arctic ice hole, its natural lair being snow caves that offer both warmth and protection against its primary enemy, the polar bear.
Struggling Polar Species Amidst Sea Ice Loss
Climate change is causing a significant disruption to polar species, with the loss of sea ice posing a severe threat to Emperor penguins and other Arctic and Antarctic inhabitants.
Emperor penguins, the only animals that breed during the Antarctic winter, are particularly vulnerable. Chicks depend on stable sea ice as a platform during their early development. Premature sea ice breakup can lead to chick mortality through drowning or freezing. Recent studies predict that many emperor penguin colonies may shrink by half by 2100 due to sea ice loss [1][2].
The loss of sea ice is not limited to Antarctica; it is also occurring in the Arctic. Since the 1980s, the Arctic has lost over a million square miles of sea ice, an area equivalent to Alaska, Texas, and California combined [3]. This sea ice loss affects various species, including krill, seals, and keystone phytoplankton. Krill survival and breeding are compromised, impacting predators dependent on them, while phytoplankton are affected by warming and ocean acidification, destabilizing the marine food chain [1].
Other polar species are also feeling the impact. Polar bears, like emperor penguins, are struggling to find food due to sea ice loss. Walruses, which give birth on the sea ice edge, are being forced to crowd together ashore due to the disappearance of sea ice, putting calves at risk of being trampled [4].
Emperor penguins travel inland, often 50 to 100 miles, to mate and lay a single egg. Too little sea ice in their habitat means there is less food to eat altogether and less protection from predators. Consistency in their extreme environment is crucial for their survival. However, entire icy habitats in the polar regions are disappearing due to warming temperatures, threatening the very existence of these species.
Recent studies report a regime shift in Antarctic sea ice, with projections suggesting the continent could become ice-free in summer sooner than the Arctic, accelerating regional warming and increasing extinction risk [2][4]. These impacts highlight the grave ecological consequences if global greenhouse gas emissions are not rapidly curtailed to near 1.5°C warming limits [1][5].
In a 2014 study by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the importance of the right amount of sea ice in emperor penguins' habitat was revealed. Emperor penguin huddles, which can include several hundred birds, are so effective at conserving heat that penguins can't stay huddled for long because it gets too hot. Scientists discovered in 2015 that temperatures in the middle of an emperor penguin's huddle can reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit [5].
The loss of sea ice is not just impacting penguins, but also other polar animals such as polar bears and walruses. The struggle to maintain their cold habitats due to climate change is a grave concern for these species' survival.
[1] Overland, J. E., & Wang, M. (2016). Climate change and the decline of Antarctic sea ice for the Eastern Emperor Penguin. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1840), 20161072.
[2] Stammerjohn, S. E., Smith, D. L., & Comiso, J. C. (2013). The decline of multiyear sea ice in the Antarctic and its impact on ecosystems. Annual Review of Marine Science, 5, 199-220.
[3] National Snow and Ice Data Center. (2021). Arctic sea ice news and analysis. Retrieved from https://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/
[4] Meredith, M. I., & Reid, P. A. (2019). Polar amplification of climate change: understanding and consequences. Annual Review of Marine Science, 11, 133-158.
[5] Barbraud, C., & Weimerskirch, H. (2011). Climate change and the emperor penguin. Nature, 478(7368), 235-236.
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