Climate change is strongly pushing African penguins into extinction. Researchers found that juvenile African penguins are being dragged to ecological traps. The traps are composed of the cues that are supposed to lead them to a rich feeding ground but is otherwise.
Stephen Votier, a researcher at the University of Exeter in the U.K. and co-author of the study said that the cues are supposed to lead the penguins to a rich feeding ground. But for some reason, the feeding ground could not meet the penguin’s feeding needs. Climate change has driven the decrease of forage fish. The cue’s tat used to work before are not working anymore.
What Has Gone Wrong?
Some of the cues these penguins are following are the substances released by phytoplankton when consumed by fishes. Researchers found that young penguins cannot survive with the current scarcity of food supply in South Africa. Their numbers had decreased 50 percent lower than if they have found the real rich feeding ground.
These young penguins are important to the ecological system they are supposed to replace older penguins that die. However, due to their current state, the young African penguins have a minimum chance of survival. According to the CBC, if this continues, this could lead to the African penguin's' extinction. Not to mention that before this they are already highly extinct.
Could there Be Hope For These African Penguins
If possible, the replenishment of the African penguins, they should be taken care of and watched at Reserves. For the people who live on the same planet as these African penguins, they could also contribute by preventing on adding harmful gasses in the environment. There should also be restrictions on the fishing areas. Voiter said that only the willingness of people to save our environment from drastic climate change would help these African penguins. According to the Science News, hopefully by knowing the real situation and knowledge about climate change would open the eyes of the human race.
