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In the article: > Emperor penguin colonies rely on sea ice between April and January to breed, but any change to their habitat impacts whether chicks develop w

In the article: > Emperor penguin colonies rely on sea ice between April and January to breed, but any change to their habitat impacts whether chicks develop waterproof feathers, and ultimately survive. AIUI they breed on sea ice. If the ice melts before the chicks have developed waterproof feathers they drown.

dcanelhas 3y ago
Possibly lack of waterproofing leads to constantly getting cold water in contact with their bodies and they freeze to death.
- verisimi 3y ago
  Yes, we can imagine this or that, but we don't find it from the article. Of course there is also the issue that no information about Antarctica can be confirmed by citizen journalists as the whole world (US, UK, Russia, China, etc) all agreed to preserve this continent and Antarctica can never even be felt explored by the public. Anyway, Antarctic information is certainly mediated for us.
verisimi 3y ago
Cheers. So the chicks did survive, but then drowned because their feathers weren't waterproof, when they went to swim? Or the ice melted from under them, before they were ready? Emperor penguins can be breed in captivity, btw. So it can't be that ice is required. It must be that the environment needs to be stable. But then the article says it was the lack of ice that did it, not the changing of the environmental conditions.
- Tomte 3y ago
  > Emperor penguins can be breed in captivity, btw. So it can't be that ice is required. You think the technology to create ice has not been invented, yet?
  - verisimi 3y ago
    Ha! I believe it exists. :) I probably should have said that the temperature in captivity isn't likely to be the same as that in Antarctica. I might be wrong, but I don't see them dropping the temperature to -70 degrees or whatever in captivity.
    - unlikelymordant 3y ago
      If the sea ice melts and the chicks drown before they develop waterproof feathers, then the melting ice could easily be the culprit, and still captive breeding would work.
    - genezeta 3y ago
      Captivity environments for Emperor penguins are kept around 0C (32F), which is easy to do. Your fridge can do it. In Antarctica, they usually live on the coast, where average temperatures are around -10C to 10C, not as extreme as in the interior (-40 to -60C).
tremon 3y ago
Your explanation makes more sense, but that's not what the quoted text is saying. The text makes it seem that if the chicks don't grow up on (sufficient) sea ice, they may not develop waterproof feathers at all. Or is there some Australian-specific meaning of "impacts" that I'm unaware of?

dcanelhas 3y ago

Possibly lack of waterproofing leads to constantly getting cold water in contact with their bodies and they freeze to death.

verisimi 3y ago
Yes, we can imagine this or that, but we don't find it from the article. Of course there is also the issue that no information about Antarctica can be confirmed by citizen journalists as the whole world (US, UK, Russia, China, etc) all agreed to preserve this continent and Antarctica can never even be felt explored by the public. Anyway, Antarctic information is certainly mediated for us.

verisimi 3y ago

Cheers. So the chicks did survive, but then drowned because their feathers weren't waterproof, when they went to swim? Or the ice melted from under them, before they were ready? Emperor penguins can be breed in captivity, btw. So it can't be that ice is required. It must be that the environment needs to be stable. But then the article says it was the lack of ice that did it, not the changing of the environmental conditions.

Tomte 3y ago
> Emperor penguins can be breed in captivity, btw. So it can't be that ice is required. You think the technology to create ice has not been invented, yet?
- verisimi 3y ago
  Ha! I believe it exists. :) I probably should have said that the temperature in captivity isn't likely to be the same as that in Antarctica. I might be wrong, but I don't see them dropping the temperature to -70 degrees or whatever in captivity.
  - unlikelymordant 3y ago
    If the sea ice melts and the chicks drown before they develop waterproof feathers, then the melting ice could easily be the culprit, and still captive breeding would work.
  - genezeta 3y ago
    Captivity environments for Emperor penguins are kept around 0C (32F), which is easy to do. Your fridge can do it. In Antarctica, they usually live on the coast, where average temperatures are around -10C to 10C, not as extreme as in the interior (-40 to -60C).

tremon 3y ago

Your explanation makes more sense, but that's not what the quoted text is saying. The text makes it seem that if the chicks don't grow up on (sufficient) sea ice, they may not develop waterproof feathers at all. Or is there some Australian-specific meaning of "impacts" that I'm unaware of?