Abstract
AbstractEmperor penguins require stable fast ice, sea ice anchored to land or ice shelves, on which to lay eggs and raise chicks. As the climate warms, changes in sea ice are expected to lead to substantial declines at many emperor penguin colonies. The most southerly colonies have been predicted to remain buffered from the direct impacts of warming for much longer. Here, we report on the unusually early breakup of fast ice at one of the two southernmost emperor penguin colonies, Cape Crozier (77.5°S), in 2018, an event that may have resulted in a substantial loss of chicks from the colony. Fast ice dynamics can be highly variable and dependent on local conditions, but earlier fast ice breakup, influenced by increasing wind speed, as well as higher surface air temperatures, is a likely outcome of climate change. What we observed at Cape Crozier in 2018 highlights the vulnerability of this species to untimely storm events and could be an early sign that even this high-latitude colony is not immune to the effects of warming. Long-term monitoring will be key to understanding this species' response to climate change and altered sea ice dynamics.
Highlights
Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri, Gray) depend on stable fast ice to breed successfully (Wienecke 2010)
The Cape Crozier emperor penguin colony was in a period of growth when the mega-iceberg B15A collided with the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS) early in 2001 (Kooyman et al 2007)
By March 2001, one end of B15A had settled between the RIS and Ross Island at Cape Crozier, breaking off the rifts where emperor penguins typically breed (Kooyman et al 2007)
Summary
Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri, Gray) depend on stable fast ice to breed successfully (with a few exceptions of historically land-based colonies) (Wienecke 2010). The emperor penguin colony at Cape Crozier is the first known breeding location for the species, and was first discovered in 1902 (Scott 1905). It is one of the southernmost emperor penguin colonies, with only one known colony located at higher latitude (Gould Bay in the Weddell Sea, 77.7°S) (Fretwell et al 2012). It is one of only a few emperor colonies that are regularly monitored, with chick counts spanning several decades. The fast ice leads are typically very stable, offer shelter from the wind and retain fast ice longer than surrounding areas
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