Climate change has begun to break up and melt ice, affecting the Emperor Penguin and Arctic Fur Seal populations. Due to rising temperatures, the food that both species eat, which is found in the ocean, is diving down lower to remain in colder water. As those populations of food begin to grow, the Emperor Penguins who eat them begin to dwindle, as they are not able to reach the food as easily as before since the fish have begun to dive down deeper.
Another reason the sea-ice breaking is a problem for the Emperor Penguins is that they use the ice when they have offspring. Penguins raise their young on the ice until they can swim. They also utilize the ice during their moulting season, which is when they have their feathers that aren’t waterproof. Without the sea ice, which is ice that is “fastened” to the coastline, the ocean floor, or grounded icebergs, these penguins will suffer greatly.
The Arctic Fur Seals also require the sea ice to raise their offspring. While seals are better suited for the ocean, seals are first born and raised on the ice to protect them from potential predators such as orcas. This species of fur seals is adapted to both life in the water and on the ice, which makes it easier for them to deal with predators on both land and in the ocean. On land, their greatest predators are also endangered polar bears.
The IUCN Director General, Dr Grethel Aguilar, said that “The declines of the emperor penguin and Antarctic fur seal on the IUCN Red List are a wake-up call on the realities of climate change.” We have to take into account how hard it is on not just their population, but also the research that comes in for both populations will begin to lessen. If we do not have the research needed for these species, we may not learn a different way to be able to help them in the long run.
The Arctic fur seal population has declined by more than 50% since 1999. Back then, the population was said to have been two million, and now it has gone down to less than one million adult seals left. The Emperor Penguin population is predicted to be cut in half by the 2080s, as over the years, the known population has gone down as more problems arise for them. Between 2009 and 2018, the population was said to have gone down by 10%, while it may not seem like a lot now, the numbers are still going down to this day.
Dr Kit Kovacs, Co-Chair of the IUCN SSC Pinniped Specialist Group, said that “These assessments sound an alarm for all Antarctic seals, as we are concerned about how environmental changes are affecting all ice-dependent species. Monitoring of the effects of climate change in Antarctica is urgently needed.” If we want to protect all of the wildlife in Antarctica, then we’ll need to find a way to reduce the climate change that we put out.
