Giant Iceberg Causes Penguin Deaths
Environmental New Network recently published an article about the Adélie penguins.
This specie of the Spheniscidae family is a flightless aquatic bird which habitat is in Antartica. The population of this specie used to thrive in what seems a harsh ecosystem. In 1910 Sir Douglas Mawson recorded over 100 000 birds, yet now their population has been suffering due to changes in the abiotic factors of their ecosystem.
An enormous Ice berg about the size of Rome has been blocking the access of the penguins to the sea for the past six years. Penguins are heterotrophic consumers, and therefor as predators, rely on getting their nutrients in order to sustain themselves by hunting prey found in the sea. Now the Penguins have to make a 40 mile detour to access the sea. Not only are the birds suffering due to the iceberg, but also due to climate change. One of the main components of their diet is Krill, a small crustaceans. These organisms live under the ice caps, as ice melts, it is more difficult for the penguins to find them. Due to these environmental changes the penguin population is exposed to threat of being extirpated. This would cause an imbalance between the two communities ( penguin and fish) and have even more negative environmental impacts on the environment.
ARTICLE:
http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/49375
Environmental New Network recently published an article about the Adélie penguins.
This specie of the Spheniscidae family is a flightless aquatic bird which habitat is in Antartica. The population of this specie used to thrive in what seems a harsh ecosystem. In 1910 Sir Douglas Mawson recorded over 100 000 birds, yet now their population has been suffering due to changes in the abiotic factors of their ecosystem.
An enormous Ice berg about the size of Rome has been blocking the access of the penguins to the sea for the past six years. Penguins are heterotrophic consumers, and therefor as predators, rely on getting their nutrients in order to sustain themselves by hunting prey found in the sea. Now the Penguins have to make a 40 mile detour to access the sea. Not only are the birds suffering due to the iceberg, but also due to climate change. One of the main components of their diet is Krill, a small crustaceans. These organisms live under the ice caps, as ice melts, it is more difficult for the penguins to find them. Due to these environmental changes the penguin population is exposed to threat of being extirpated. This would cause an imbalance between the two communities ( penguin and fish) and have even more negative environmental impacts on the environment.
ARTICLE:
http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/49375