[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help] 

Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

“The government wants to make sure that that does not come out. A huge part of our political system is predicated on blackmail,”

You Know What Happens Next

Cash Jordan: Half-Built Tower Abandoned… as ICE Deports Entire ‘Migrant Workforce’

Heavy rainfall causes flash flooding Tuesday night, some cars stuck in high water on Chicago's West

Biden Doctor PLEADS THE FIFTH, Refuses To Testify To Congress, Biden Pardons ARE VOID

Joe Rogan says FBI director Kash Patel played him for a fool and maga for fools with the Jeff Epstein files

Elon's AI System "Grok" Went Rogue And Has Been SHUT DOWN in an Emergency!

Earthquake Swarms at One of the MOST DANGEROUS Volcanoes in the USA

Ben Shapiro Declares Epstein Case CLOSED: ‘Facts on the Ground Have Changed’

Iran receives 40 Chinese J10-C Fighter Jets

China’s Railgun Is Now Battle-Ready, Thanks to Nuclear Power

Chinese Hypersonic Advancements! Deadly new missile could decimate entire US fleet in 20 minutes

Iran Confirms Massive Chinese HQ 9 B Missile Deal

Why Is Europe Hitting 114°F And Still Rising?

The INCREDIBLE Impacts of Methylene Blue

The LARGEST Eruptions since the Merapi Disaster in 2010 at Lewotobi Laki Laki in Indonesia

Feds ARREST 11 Leftists For AMBUSH On ICE, 2 Cops Shot, Organized Terror Cell Targeted ICE In Texas

What is quantum computing?

12 Important Questions We Should Be Asking About The Cover Up The Truth About Jeffrey Epstein

TSA quietly scraps security check that every passenger dreads

Iran Receives Emergency Airlift of Chinese Air Defence Systems as Israel Considers New Attacks

Russia reportedly used its new, inexpensive Chernika kamikaze drone in the Ukraine

Iran's President Says the US Pledged Israel Wouldn't Attack During Previous Nuclear Negotiations

Will Japan's Rice Price Shock Lead To Government Collapse And Spark A Global Bond Crisis

Beware The 'Omniwar': Catherine Austin Fitts Fears 'Weaponization Of Everything'

Roger Stone: AG Pam Bondi Must Answer For 14 Terabytes Claim Of Child Torture Videos!

'Hit Us, Please' - America's Left Issues A 'Broken Arrow' Signal To Europe

Cash Jordan Trump Deports ‘Thousands of Migrants’ to Africa… on Purpose

Gunman Ambushes Border Patrol Agents In Texas Amid Anti-ICE Rhetoric From Democrats

Texas Flood


Science/Tech
See other Science/Tech Articles

Title: Unhappy feat: biologists baffled as millions of penguins vanish
Source: http://thescotsman.scotsman.com
URL Source: http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1905342006
Published: Dec 23, 2006
Author: IAN JOHNSTON
Post Date: 2006-12-24 13:15:29 by robin
Keywords: None
Views: 141
Comments: 6

Sat 23 Dec 2006 Global warming is suspected as the main force...

Global warming is suspected as the main force behind the huge decline in population of rockhoppers. Picture: Getty Images

Unhappy feat: biologists baffled as millions of penguins vanish

IAN JOHNSTON ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT

HOLLYWOOD has turned them into the cartoon stars of the film Happy Feet, but the real life story of the rockhopper penguin is not such a happy tale, scientists have discovered.

Millions of the birds are disappearing in a "sinister and astonishing" phenomenon that is baffling biologists.

In just six years their numbers have fallen from 600,000 to 420,000 in the Falkland Islands - one of its few remaining strongholds - according to the latest survey by Falklands Conservation.

The decline equates to a drop of about 30 per cent, although the Falklands population is thought to have dipped by about 85 per cent since 1932, when there were more than 1.5 million birds.

It is thought that global warming may be behind its decline, as warmer seas are less productive and the penguins may not be able to find enough food to eat, but researchers admit they have not yet established the reasons.

Dr Geoff Hilton, an RSPB biologist who has studied the species, said: "It's actually quite rare in conservation that we don't know why a species is declining.

"All around the world from New Zealand to the Falklands there used to be all these huge colonies. Populations separated by 1,000km of sea are all crashing.

"It's an astonishing decline, the populations have just crashed over the last few decades and we really don't know why. It's quite sinister, we have got millions of penguins just disappearing."

He analysed rockhopper feathers dating back to the 19th century from stuffed animals in museums and discovered in warm years the penguins feed "lower" on the food chain, on krill and squid rather than fish. This less nutritious food might be the reason they are suffering. In several years, rockhoppers have starved to death in their hundreds of thousands during the annual moult, when they are unable to swim and, therefore, feed because their feathers are not waterproof.

Other penguins have suffered, but have bounced back, while the rockhoppers only seem to stabilise before falling again. A red tide of toxic algae in the Falklands also killed thousands in 2002-3.

Dr Hilton said: "There must be some major big thing going wrong in the eco-system. We did see some clues [in the feathers study] and the finger is tentatively pointing at global warming."

In Happy Feet, a rockhopper penguin called Lovelace, voiced by Robin Williams, is a self-proclaimed prophet who also narrates the story.

The film has proved a huge hit.

The research was funded by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which runs Edinburgh Zoo. Roslin Talbot, the zoo's head keeper of penguins, said: "It is very serious for them. Zoos generally have found them quite difficult to breed. They are choosy when they go to pick their mates and they like very specific places to nest."

Grant Munro, the director of Falklands Conservation, said there were fears that rockhoppers might become extinct. "If the present situation were to carry on then it's not a particularly great forecast. It doesn't look like they are suddenly going to start increasing in numbers," he said.

"In the Falklands, they are part of everyday life. If you head down to the beach you are going to see penguins."

And they are amazingly tame and inquisitive.

"You are not perceived as a risk so they will come over and say hello."

This article: >http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1905342006 (1 image)

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest

Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 6.

#4. To: robin (#0)

Global warming I would say is a possible cause. Maybe the biologists know better than me. But many species of fish and birds and amphibians around the world are having problems and are dying. The Mississippi river is dying of fish. Is that due to global warming - I don't think so. Some studies have shown it is due to pharmaceutical drugs in the water. I'd say that the evil regime that rules in this world is taking actions that are destroying the earth. here is a bible verse.

Revelation 11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

maybe the environmentalists should say 'oh come jesus come'.

Red Jones  posted on  2006-12-24   13:35:38 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#5. To: Red Jones (#4)

I suspect there are toxins in the air/water too.

robin  posted on  2006-12-24   13:38:24 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#6. To: robin (#5)

I suspect there are toxins in the air/water too.

exactly - there are man-made toxins in the environment and pharmaceutical drugs also in the water supply, in the groundwater. and this is documented. and the salamanders and the frogs and the fish and some bird species are dying over it. and the genetically modified food is harmful both to the people and to the existing plants of the earth. and this is proven. and the processing done to the food supply is harming the people. and all this is documented. but the media & education institutions won't give this angle the emphasis it deserves. because the fix is in. just my humble view.

Red Jones  posted on  2006-12-24   13:45:21 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


Replies to Comment # 6.

        There are no replies to Comment # 6.


End Trace Mode for Comment # 6.

TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest


[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help]