The "souls of the oceans", increasingly affected by climate change

Marine life is in more and more trouble because of climate change and the wave of problems it brings. Several colonies of emperor penguins have again witnessed, in the 2023 season, the death of chicks as a result of the record melting of the Antarctic ice sheet on which they live, a phenomenon associated with global warming. Record sea ice decline in 2023 contributed to the second-worst year for cub mortality on record since records began in 2018, according to the British Antarctic Survey. This new discovery follows the "catastrophic breeding failure" of 2022 and threatens to reduce the population in the long term, Peter Fretwell, the author of the study, told AFP. These birds, popularized by the success of the 2005 film "La marche de l'empereur" ("The Emperor's Way"), breed on the ice, and the chicks hatch during the austral winter, between late July and mid-August . The chicks are raised until they develop waterproof feathers, usually in December, before the summer thaw. But if the ice melts too early, they risk drowning or freezing. A total of 14 of the 66 penguin colonies, each capable of hatching hundreds or even thousands of chicks a year, were affected in 2023 by early melting, according to the study published in the Journal of Antarctic Science. The result: "high, if not total, levels of mortality," Fretwell said. However, 2023 "wasn't as bad as we feared," he said. A record 19 colonies were affected in 2022. Several colonies, including those that had witnessed the decimation of the chicks the previous year, moved in search of a better place. This encouraging sign of adaptation is, however, only a "temporary solution", Fretwell warned, as "there are only a few places they can go". For this researcher, it is up to humanity to adapt by reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to the melting of the Antarctic ice sheets, which until recently seemed immune to the effects of global warming. The minimum ice sheet area at the height of the austral summer of 2022 and 2023 has dropped below two million square kilometers for the first time since satellite records began. This represents a reduction of approximately 30% compared to the 1981-2010 average.

Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) number about 250,000 breeding pairs, all in Antarctica, according to a 2020 study. If carbon emissions remain at current levels, the emperor penguin population would decline by 99% until the end of the century, warns the study.

About 100 pilot whales washed up off the coast of Western Australia last week, local authorities announced. Western Australia's Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) said the whales washed up in shallow waters near the town of Dunsborough, about 250 kilometers south of Perth. Numerous animal rights activists and local residents rushed to the beach to splash water on the whales in an attempt to keep them alive. However, local authorities urged the public to approach the whales only under the guidance of experts. "We know they want to help, but we ask that people not try to rescue the animals without the guidance of DBCA staff, as this could cause further injury and suffering, and prevent a concerted rescue effort," he said. stated the authority in a statement. "The number one priority in mass whale stranding events is always human safety, followed by animal welfare. We want all staff and volunteers to go home safely," added the Australian institution. Marine biologist Ian Wiese, who was on the scene, told ABC Radio Perth that several whales had already died. Australia's most significant mass stranding occurred in the same area in 1996, when 320 long-finned pilot whales stranded. Almost all the animals survived. In 2018, a hundred pilot whales died in Western Australia's Hamelin Bay after another mass stranding episode.

Pilot whales form extremely close bonds with each other. At certain times of the year, they travel in large groups, which increases the risk of mass strandings.