Submitted by mossadnik t3_yhjpvd in Futurology
Comments
yiannistheman t1_iugeyl2 wrote
As always, it's best to go to the source and ignore the mainstream media's spin.
https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2022-10/emperor-penguin-gets-endangered-species-act-protections
>While emperor penguin populations appear to be currently stable, the Service has determined the species is in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future in a significant portion of its range. There are approximately 61 breeding colonies along the coastline of Antarctica, and the species’ population size is estimated to be between 270,000 - 280,000 breeding pairs or 625,000 - 650,000 individual birds.
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>However, according to the best available science, by 2050 their global population size will likely decrease by 26 percent (to approximately 185,000 breeding pairs) to 47 percent (to approximately 132,500 breeding pairs) under low and high carbon emissions scenarios, respectively.
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>The estimated decrease in population size is not equal across Antarctica. The Ross and Weddell Seas are strongholds for the species, and populations in these areas will most likely remain stable. However, emperor penguin colonies within the Indian Ocean, Western Pacific Ocean, and Bellingshausen Sea and Amundsen Sea sectors are projected to decline by over 90 percent due to melting sea ice.
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>While this estimated decline is concerning, listing the emperor penguin as threatened under the ESA comes while there is still time to prevent the species from extinction.
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TL/DR - the population is currently stable but based on the current state of their habitat and the rate that it's declining, actions need to be taken now to help preserve the species before decline sets in and it's irreversible.
fish-rides-bike t1_iugfg14 wrote
It’s not declining.
yiannistheman t1_iughejo wrote
Their habitat across all regions in Antarctica is certainly declining.
jaceapoc t1_iuhj67f wrote
Ever watched “Chernobyl” the TV show? You sound like that dude who’s in absolute denial and keeps on saying “You didn’t see the core”.
The margin is closing. You’re just being that dude saying “we’re ok” while looking at the ice melting away a few feet from you. When the ice has become liquid water beneath your feet, you’ll finally say “ok we’re fucked” but that’ll be too late, as your lungs fill with water you’ll probably wish you’d have done something about it earlier when you saw it coming.
fish-rides-bike t1_iuhx56d wrote
“At risk of extinction” implies their number is dropping and soon to hit zero. The story does not say this — in fact if reports the population is stable. It’s a story about habitat decline. “Habitat of emperor penguins at risk” is the accurate title.
I’m the dude that wants accuracy and precision in reporting.
Tech_Philosophy t1_iuijb36 wrote
> At risk of extinction” implies their number is dropping and soon to hit zero.
That's already extinct because it's too late to do anything about it at that point. We can accurately predict how long their habitat can hold out, and we barely have time left to do anything about it. We are steering an ocean-liner here, not a jet-ski.
fish-rides-bike t1_iuip2i1 wrote
Remember the polar bear extinction prediction in 2006 or so? Today, 16 years on, there are more polar bears than ever. Remember that emaciated bear photograph? It wasn’t unusual — they typically look like that in spring, and they only really ever die of starvation because they aren’t predated.
I’m not saying climate change isn’t real. I’m saying shrill alarmism causes worry fatigue and misdirection of energies.
To use your metaphor, yes it’s an ocean-liner not a jet-ski, and it’s an ocean, not a lake.
Accurate and precise reporting leads to accurate and precise solutions. Hair on fire alarmism at the helm leads to capsized ships
[deleted] t1_iuhiqlr wrote
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dead_46th_president t1_iug03ur wrote
So it was classic clickbait afterall? Go figure....
fish-rides-bike t1_iug25xj wrote
Yeah. I mean to be fair, all forms of life are at risk of extinction, strictly speaking and given a large enough timeframe. I’ve just been hunting lately for statements that don’t use “could” or “should.” I mean fair enough, if co2 keeps going up, if the ice melts, if the penguins don’t adapt, they may well decline.
cornerblockakl t1_iuirbt0 wrote
I’m still waiting to see the (any) decline plotted on a graph. That way we can check yearly progress of extinction of a species.
fish-rides-bike t1_iuivbt0 wrote
There are so many other confounding things going on: hunting, not hunting, hunting or not of animals that prey on a species, hunting or not of animals that compete for food with a species, reintroductions of animals that prey on or compete, increased food due to climate change, new ranges opening up due to climate change, other species invading new territories, being either predators or new food sources. There are threats misattributed to cc, like the bees — probably killed by sprays that are now stopped, and bees are back, climate change notwithstanding.
Penguins and ice seem to go together, but Antarctica is huge, the ice shelves are massive, and penguins seem to do just fine on land of which there is plenty under the ice — they just don’t photograph so well on land.
cornerblockakl t1_iuizj3x wrote
It’s complicated. Very complicated. So complicated only a fool would put money on predictions in the future. Lol. So complicated that there will never be a precise graph plotting the demise of any species. Or sea level rise. Or temp changes. (The climate changes. Humans may influence it. So might the sun. Or axis tilt. Or a million other things)
mossadnik OP t1_iue3sr7 wrote
Submission Statement:
>As Antarctica’s emperor penguins are increasingly threatened by the climate crisis, the flightless seabirds will receive new protections under the Endangered Species Act, or ESA.
>With global warming melting the sea ice the penguins depend on for their survival, the US Fish and Wildlife Service now categorizes the species as threatened. The federal agency lists “imperiled species as endangered or threatened regardless of their country of origin.” The announcement came more than a year after an initial proposal by the service to protect emperor penguins under the ESA.
>Emperor penguins rely on sea ice to form their breeding colonies, avoid predators in the ocean and forage for food. But as Earth’s temperature rises in relation to greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions, sea ice is at risk of disappearing. When sea ice melts or breaks apart earlier in the season than expected due to global warming, entire penguin colonies can decline or disappear.
>Parts of the Antarctic Peninsula’s sea ice have melted by more than 60% in 30 years, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. And if emperor penguins suffer and decline, it’s likely that other species within the ecosystem are also at risk due to the climate crisis. Emperor penguins forage for krill, fish and squid in the sea, but they also serve as prey for leopard seals and killer whales.
>There are about 61 emperor penguin breeding colonies along Antarctica’s coastline, which in total consist of between 270,000 to 280,000 breeding pairs (or 625,000 and 650,000 individual penguins, including juveniles), according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The bird population is currently stable, but research has suggested that the emperor penguin’s population will decrease by 26% to 47% by 2050, or drop to 185,000 or 132,500 breeding pairs, according to the service.
Ethandrul t1_iufp8lj wrote
So we need to start eating them now. We don't want to wait and be late to the penguin bbq.
pachinkoporn t1_iueiwbi wrote
Well complete ecological collapse is within the decade. We are all going away.
plsdontstopmenow t1_iuf4q58 wrote
Literally.
See also, “Humanity on the brink of destruction, faces extinction on levels we’ve only seen in other species”
Fortune_Silver t1_iufb0gi wrote
We almost did go extinct once.
Damn, better luck next time.
plsdontstopmenow t1_iufgo2f wrote
Right like is there an option we can pay for that will guarantee it this time? Lol
ChalupaCabre t1_iuf50jo wrote
We have been in the current (Holocene) mass extinction for a while now. Seems to be going as expected.
plsdontstopmenow t1_iuf5bck wrote
True, i just think it’s weird when i see articles like this where we distance ourselves from the rest of the other species on the planet like we aren’t literally animals all the same, facing the same demise
ChalupaCabre t1_iuf84yg wrote
I bet emperor penguins in zoos will make it the longest.
I’m hoping to get into an alien zoo one day to survive humanities demise.
[deleted] t1_iue7nih wrote
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FuturologyBot t1_iue8vkv wrote
The following submission statement was provided by /u/mossadnik:
Submission Statement:
>As Antarctica’s emperor penguins are increasingly threatened by the climate crisis, the flightless seabirds will receive new protections under the Endangered Species Act, or ESA.
>With global warming melting the sea ice the penguins depend on for their survival, the US Fish and Wildlife Service now categorizes the species as threatened. The federal agency lists “imperiled species as endangered or threatened regardless of their country of origin.” The announcement came more than a year after an initial proposal by the service to protect emperor penguins under the ESA.
>Emperor penguins rely on sea ice to form their breeding colonies, avoid predators in the ocean and forage for food. But as Earth’s temperature rises in relation to greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions, sea ice is at risk of disappearing. When sea ice melts or breaks apart earlier in the season than expected due to global warming, entire penguin colonies can decline or disappear.
>Parts of the Antarctic Peninsula’s sea ice have melted by more than 60% in 30 years, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. And if emperor penguins suffer and decline, it’s likely that other species within the ecosystem are also at risk due to the climate crisis. Emperor penguins forage for krill, fish and squid in the sea, but they also serve as prey for leopard seals and killer whales.
>There are about 61 emperor penguin breeding colonies along Antarctica’s coastline, which in total consist of between 270,000 to 280,000 breeding pairs (or 625,000 and 650,000 individual penguins, including juveniles), according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The bird population is currently stable, but research has suggested that the emperor penguin’s population will decrease by 26% to 47% by 2050, or drop to 185,000 or 132,500 breeding pairs, according to the service.
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/yhjpvd/antarcticas_emperor_penguins_at_risk_of/iue3sr7/
[deleted] t1_iuepurq wrote
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[deleted] t1_iuey7zo wrote
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[deleted] t1_iufdp71 wrote
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wolven8 t1_iufw8b1 wrote
Who cares, we have to increase profits by 5% next quarter/s
atdaysend1986 t1_iugip97 wrote
Everyone cool if we just have the list of what’s not at risk of extinction due to climate crisis? I’ll assume the rest.
Led-Jetson t1_iuh2f11 wrote
Damn, I thought the Ice Age was supposed to last forever!
[deleted] t1_iuh8g6n wrote
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[deleted] t1_iuhwf4k wrote
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davidmlewisjr t1_iujaloi wrote
The last time an ecological glitch like this happened, steam engines were just becoming popular.
tacmac10 t1_iuf9w8s wrote
Can’t wait for my penguin loving 11 yo to see this. Corporate greed is going to end us all.
No_Ur_Stoopid t1_iufe25z wrote
Dude'll be lucky if they get to graduate college before the world catches fire
fish-rides-bike t1_iufdyx7 wrote
Article states in last sentence that the population is currently stable.