Editorial Pitches | Antarctica | Emperors Penguins

01 | Story Pitch Index

02 | Location

Antarctica.

03 | Nut Graph

The impending population decline of the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) symbolizes a changing Antarctica. British Antarctic Survey scientists track the species’ numbers by circumnavigating Antarctica’s perimeter to complete the world’s first total population assessment of the emperor penguin.

04 | Summary

Unlike most vertebrate species, emperor penguin populations have never been hunted or harvested and have never suffered from habitat loss, overfishing, or other local anthropogenic interactions. Consequently, climate change is the only significant driver of their long-term population change.

Still, recent efforts to provide additional protection and conservation measures in response to population declines associated with projected sea ice loss have only partially succeeded. And notably, these efforts have failed at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) (see Footnote 1) due to a lack of “empirical” and “observational” evidence, as Peter Fretwell, Aude Boutet, and Norman Ratcliffe reported in their 2023 study, “Record low 2022 Antarctic sea ice led to catastrophic breeding failure of emperor penguins,” published this past August.

Preliminary research confirms that the decline of the emperor penguin population might be more significant than previously thought.

In 2022, near-record low sea ice led to total breeding failure at most emperor penguin colonies in the central and eastern Bellingshausen Sea region, west of the Antarctic Peninsula. Five colonies are in the area, all discovered by satellite imagery over the last decade. Of these five breeding sites, all but one saw total breeding failure after the sea ice broke up before the start of the fledging period. Although colonies occasionally fail to breed due to sea ice loss, Fretwell et al. (2023) report on the first recorded incident of emperor penguins’ widespread breeding failure linked to large-scale contractions in sea ice extent due to climate change. This breeding failure event provides a piece of the missing evidence to convince key stakeholders responsible for protecting Antarctica and its wildlife that the time to act is now.

In partnership with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), throughout multiple field seasons (i.e., a “Scouting Trip” conducted in November 2023 and “Expeditions” planned for 2024 and 2025), this assignment will trace Fretwell’s pioneering satellite imagery, including the first global survey of emperor penguin populations from space, to corroborate the scientific—and visual—evidence of the emperor penguin’s breeding plight on the ground.

Footnote 1: The following text is an edited excerpt from “Parties” ; i.e., since 1959, 44 other countries have acceded to the Antarctic Treaty. According to Article IX.2 of the Treaty, these countries are entitled to participate in the Consultative Meetings, otherwise known as the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM), during such times as they demonstrate their interest in Antarctica by “conducting substantial research activity there.” Seventeen of the acceding countries have had their activities in Antarctica recognized according to this provision, and consequently, there are now twenty-nine “Consultative Parties” in all.

References:
Fretwell, Boutet, and Ratcliffe (2023).

05 | Photography – In Progress