P. Dee Boersma, an expert on penguins and professor at the University of Washington, recently addressed the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) meeting in Chicago regarding penguin population declines. Boersma warned that 12 of the 17 penguin species are in drastic decline.
Boersma’s studies focus mainly on the Magellanic penguins in Argentina. For the Magellanic penguins alone, their numbers have declined to 200,000 breeding pairs–down from 300,000 two decades ago.
The main issues facing penguins worldwide are over fishing, climate change, increased rain and other factors. Anchovies are the main problem regarding over fishing, which is a main component of the penguin diet. The penguins are having to travel greater distances to find food due to the over fishing.
Boersma stated: “If we continue to fish down the food chain and take smaller and smaller fish like anchovies, there won’t be anything left for penguins and other wildlife that depend on these small fish for food.”
Due to the necessary increased search for food, the penguins are choosing to nest closer to where more food is readily available. The problem with alternative nesting areas is that they are not as safe as the traditional locations. Penguins are more frequently victims of predators due to the less protected nesting areas–leading to even more decreases in populations.
In regards to increased rain (potentially the result of climate change), it is causing the losses of penguin chicks. Heavier rains essentially “turns their little nests into swimming pools,” stated Boersma. High mortality rates of chicks has increased over the last two decades due to this.
Emperor penguins, discussed previously, are also greatly threatened. Their numbers could decline by 95 percent by 2100. Northern rock hopper penguins are also threatened–they once numbered in the millions but now only have between 72,000-115,000 mating pairs.
The United States is expected to list the African penguin on the Endangered Species Act as endangered. The yellow-eyed penguin, white-flippered penguin, Fiordland crested penguin, Humboldt penguin and the erect-crested penguin are all proposed as being listed as threatened. However, the emperor and northern rock hopper are not being considered threatened or endangered by the U.S.A., even with the current data.
