location: Antarctica

location: Antarctica

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Huge new no-fishing zones give Antarctic marine predators and their prey a break
- The government of the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI), which operates as a British overseas territory, recently announced that it had established new no-fishing zones over 166,000 km² (64,100 mi²) of its existing marine protected area, and prohibited krill fishing in an additional 17,000 km² (6,600 mi²) of the MPA.
- These new no-fishing zones were established to protect krill-dependent marine wildlife, including baleen whales and penguins, while also considering the fisheries operating in the area, which target krill and other species.
- While conservationists initially pushed for further protections, they ultimately accepted the decision, with one calling it a “positive and good outcome.”
- However, Argentina, which claims the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands as part of its Tierra del Fuego province, has expressed its dissatisfaction with the SGSSI government’s decision.

Amid record melting, countries fail again to protect Antarctic waters
- The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), the intergovernmental body charged with protecting marine life and managing fisheries in the Southern Ocean, met from Oct. 16-27 in Hobart, Australia, with 26 member countries and the European Union participating.
- For the seventh year in a row, the CCAMLR declined to establish new marine protected areas (MPAs) around Antarctica, despite having committed to creating “a representative network of MPAs” in 2009.
- Scientists, conservationists and some governments have been pushing for greater protections, concerned that the melting ice in Antarctica has reached alarming levels, jeopardizing some key populations of penguins, krill, whales, seals and other marine animals.
- The stalemate came even as a new threat to wildlife emerged in the region: the discovery last week that a virulent form of avian flu had reached Antarctic bird colonies.

‘Catastrophic breeding failure’ for penguins as Antarctic sea ice vanishes
- Researchers found that a lack of sea ice around Antarctica’s Bellingshausen Sea led to “unprecedented” breeding failure in four of five emperor penguin colonies.
- Sea ice cover in Antarctica has been experiencing record lows, which could spell disaster for the future of this iconic Antarctic species.
- Previous estimates have suggested that if current rates of global warming persist, more than 90% of emperor penguin colonies would be “quasi-extinct by the end of the century.”

Scientists: Fishing boats compete with whales and penguins for Antarctic krill
- Scientists and campaigners recently documented huge krill fishing vessels plowing through pods of whales feeding in Antarctic waters, a permitted practice they say deprives the whales of food.
- As Antarctic waters warm due to climate change, krill numbers are declining, stressing wildlife that rely on the small crustaceans at the bottom of the food chain.
- The intergovernmental body in charge of regulating the krill fishery, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), has taken specific steps to protect penguins and seals but not whales.
- At the same time, CCAMLR has stalled on the establishment of new marine protected areas and the adoption of new conservation measures. A special meeting to advance protected areas concluded June 23 with no progress.

Antarctic warming alters atmosphere, ice shelves, ocean & animals
- The world’s latest record-high temperatures are increasingly putting Antarctica’s role in regulating global climate and ocean currents at risk. But so far, most signs indicate that the continent has not yet reached a point of no return. A rapid reduction in fossil fuel extraction and carbon emissions could still prevent the worst outcomes.
- Increased persistence of the Antarctic ozone hole over the past three years could be an indication of climate change, as it cools the south polar stratosphere, though high variability in this phenomenon and its complexity make causality difficult to prove.
- As global warming continues to melt Antarctica’s edges, a modeling study shows that fresh water going into the ocean could result in the next three decades in a more than 40% slowdown in the currents carrying heat and nutrients northward, essential to sustain ocean life as we know it. If ice shelves melt, allowing Antarctica’s ice sheets to flow to the sea, sea level rise will escalate.
- The latest discovery of a new colony of emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) in a marginal habitat of the Antarctic is good news, but also bad news, as it further highlights the vulnerability of the species as Antarctic ice masses destabilize — volatility that threatens their survival.

Amazon deforestation linked to reduced Tibetan snows, Antarctic ice loss: Study
- Earth’s climate is controlled by a complex network of interactions between the atmosphere, oceans, lands, ice and biosphere. Many elements in this system are now being pushed toward tipping points, beyond which changes become self-sustaining, with the whole Earth system potentially shifting to a new steady state.
- A recent study analyzed 40 years of air temperature measurements at more than 65,000 locations to investigate how changes in one region rippled through the climate system to affect temperatures in other parts of the globe. Computer models then simulated how these links may be affected by future climate change.
- Researchers identified a strong correlation between high temperatures in the Amazon Rainforest and on the Tibetan Plateau. They found a similar relationship between temperatures in the Amazon and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
- Deforestation in the Amazon likely influences the Tibetan Plateau via a convoluted 20,000-kilometer (12,400-mile) pathway driven by atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. The study suggests that a healthy, functioning Amazon is crucial not only for the regional climate in Brazil, but for the whole Earth system.

Negotiations to conserve Antarctic Ocean end in stalemate on many issues
- The 41st annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), the intergovernmental body charged with conserving marine life in the Southern Ocean and managing fisheries there, ended Nov. 4 with little progress made on several key issues.
- In 2009 CCAMLR committed to creating a network of marine protected areas to preserve Antarctic ecosystems. It established one that year and another in 2016, but since then China and Russia have repeatedly blocked the creation of additional protected areas, as well as other conservation-related measures.
- The commission also failed to reach the consensus required to enact new regulations for the krill and toothfish fisheries, or to protect a vast nesting area for icefish discovered earlier this year.
- CCAMLR members did agree to designate eight new vulnerable marine ecosystems, areas home to slow-growing organisms such as corals, sponges, brittle stars and feather stars that are now permanently protected from bottom fishing.

To protect the Southern Ocean, leaders must act now (commentary)
- This week in Australia, global leaders have the opportunity to protect Antarctica’s vast and biodiversity rich Southern Ocean at the annual Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) meeting.
- Emperor penguins, orcas, crabeater seals, albatross, and krill are among the species that call this region home, but the latter is a key one that plays a huge role in the health of Antarctica, since it underpins the food web.
- The commercial krill fishery produces fishmeal for pets, people and aquaculture and has become concentrated in recent years, with most of the catch taken from small, nearshore areas where wildlife feed: “We need Southern Ocean MPAs and well-designed fishery measures to effectively conserve fish populations, habitats and wildlife,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Fish-feed industry turns to krill, with unknown effects on the Antarctic ecosystem
- The Antarctic krill fishing industry has been growing in the past two decades.
- The global growth of fish farming is driving the demand for Antarctic krill as an alternative to wild fish in fish feeds, amid the depletion of many wild fish stocks.
- Independent scientists say the krill fishery could have a detrimental effect on Antarctica’s predator populations, which are also suffering from the impacts of global warming.
- The krill industry is expanding its fleet and planning to significantly increase catches in the next few years.

Even Antarctic snow can’t escape the plastic peril, study shows
- A study presents new evidence that microplastics are present in snow in Antarctica, one of the remotest places on Earth.
- Researchers collected snow samples at 19 sites across the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica, and found 29 microplastic particles per liter of melted snow — a higher amount than what was found in marine samples in Antarctica.
- The microplastics found in samples close to research stations were three times higher than what was found at other locations, prompting researchers to conclude that much of the plastic was coming from local clothing and equipment.

Robot revolution: A new real-time accounting system for ocean carbon
- Oceans are key to understanding climate change, seeing as they take up and store 25% of the carbon that human activities add to Earth’s atmosphere. But there are big gaps in our knowledge regarding ocean carbon storage and release, and how it is evolving as climate change unfolds, a problem scientists are now addressing.
- An international deployment of thousands of robotic floats, fitted with sophisticated biogeochemical sensors, is underway and already providing real-time data that scientists can integrate into ocean carbon budgets and climate models. Many more floats are coming, with the capacity to operate in remote regions.
- One such place is the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, which accounts for almost half of the worldwide oceanic carbon sink. Windier conditions there, caused by climate change, are churning up more carbon-rich waters from the depths, releasing stored carbon and introducing unforeseen variability into ocean carbon emission estimates.
- Robots are starting to monitor these emissions in real time. More accurate ocean carbon budgets will improve accounting of land-based carbon dioxide emissions, help create more accurate assessments of how well global carbon agreements such as the Paris Agreement are meeting goals, and will help assess ocean carbon dioxide removal plans.

Multiyear ice thinner than thought as Arctic sea ice reaches winter max: Studies
- Arctic sea ice has reached its yearly maximum extent at 14.88 million sq. km., the 10th lowest on record. The up-and-down story of sea ice extent in the past year highlights how unpredictable it can be from season to season, even as the overall decline continues.
- A study employing new satellite data found that Arctic multiyear sea ice — ice that survives the summer melt — is thinning even faster than previously thought and has lost a third of its volume in just two decades.
- This comes as Antarctic sea ice extent hit a record summer low, raising questions whether it is beginning a long-term decline, although experts are wary of drawing conclusions yet.
- While summer Arctic sea ice is predicted to mostly disappear by 2050, a new study suggests we could likely preserve it through 2100 by aggressively cutting methane emissions by 2030, along with reaching net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050.

Vulnerable Antarctic reefs reveal wealth of life as rich as tropical corals
- A research expedition led by Greenpeace identified about a dozen new vulnerable marine ecosystems in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea, and documented a range of organisms, some of which were previously unknown to science.
- Researchers argue that it’s vital to protect the Weddell Sea since this region helps to regulate the global oceans.
- This week, negotiators are discussing the establishment of a U.N. treaty that would protect the high seas, which could lead to widespread ocean protection.
- In October, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) will also revisit the proposal to establish three marine sanctuaries in Antarctica, including one in the Weddell Sea.

Scientists’ secret weapon to monitor the Southern Ocean? Elephant seals
- Southern elephant seals living on Kerguelen Island, a sub-Antarctic island, are helping to gather information about the Southern Ocean with data-logging devices attached to their hair.
- For instance, the elephant seals have helped gather data on sea ice formation, ocean and ice shelf interactions, and frontal system dynamics.
- The Southern Ocean provides many ecosystem services for the planet, but the region is rapidly changing due to climate change.

As climate change melts Antarctic ice, gentoo penguins venture further south
- Researchers have discovered a new colony of gentoo penguins in Antarctica previously unknown to science.
- The colony was found on Andersson Island on the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is the furthest south the species has ever been found in that region.
- Scientists say climate change played a key role in the penguins’ presence on the island, as warming temperatures and record ice melt make new locations habitable for the species.
- Scientists and conservationists are making renewed calls to establish a network for marine protected areas in Antarctica to help safeguard the region as the climate rapidly changes.

Countries fail to agree on Antarctic conservation measures for fifth straight year
- Members of the multilateral body responsible for Antarctic marine conservation failed to agree on new measures to protect the Southern Ocean from overfishing.
- China and Russia blocked all proposals to establish new marine protected areas.
- This story was originally published by the Environmental Reporting Collective.

The HFC challenge: Can the Montreal Protocol continue its winning streak?
- Since the Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987, countries have phased out most of the ozone-damaging gases, but their replacements, the HFCs, are powerful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
- In 2016, national delegates agreed on the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which calls for cutting the production and use of HFCs by 80–85% by the late 2040s. The amendment entered into force at the start of 2019, with the goal of avoiding additional warming by up to 0.4°C (0.72 °F) by the end of the century.
- The future success of the Kigali Amendment faces several challenges, including countries inaccurately estimating their emissions of HFCs, the need for affordable alternatives, and the fact that the major producers of HFCs (China, the United States and India) have not yet signed the treaty.
- Scientists and policymakers continue to address these challenges, with the U.S. and China having recently announced their intent to ratify the treaty. Also, the U.S. this week signaled its commitment to aggressively cutting the use and production of HFCs via a new, proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule.

Reversing warming quickly could prevent worst climate change effects: Study
- Irreversible and catastrophic environmental tipping points could still be avoided, even if we exceed global emission reduction targets — provided the world is able to reverse overshoot quickly, according to researchers.
- Simple mathematical models of four earth system tipping elements reveal a lag between overshooting the threshold and irreversible change. “Slow-onset” elements like icecap melt operate on century-long timescales, while Amazon dieback could pass a point of no return in just decades.
- However, experts warn that the models fail to take interactions between different tipping elements into account, which could shorten the amount of time a threshold can be overshot. Many of these interactions are poorly understood, making them difficult to include in climate models.
- Researchers say these results show there is still good reason to take action to mitigate global warming, even if we do overshoot the Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C. Some warn the study results could be used as an excuse to tolerate further delays on global climate action.

The nine boundaries humanity must respect to keep the planet habitable
- All life on Earth, and human civilization, are sustained by vital biogeochemical systems, which are in delicate balance. However, our species — due largely to rapid population growth and explosive consumption — is destabilizing these Earth processes, endangering the stability of the “safe operating space for humanity.”
- Scientists note nine planetary boundaries beyond which we can’t push Earth Systems without putting our societies at risk: climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol pollution, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows of nitrogen and phosphorus, land-system change, and release of novel chemicals.
- Humanity is already existing outside the safe operating space for at least four of the nine boundaries: climate change, biodiversity, land-system change, and biogeochemical flows (nitrogen and phosphorus imbalance). The best way to prevent overshoot, researchers say, is to revamp our energy and food systems.
- In 2021, three meetings offer chances to avoid planetary boundary overshoot: the Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Kunming, China; the U.N. Climate Summit (COP26) in Glasgow, U.K.; and the U.N. Food Systems Summit in Rome. Agreements with measurable, implementable, verifiable, timely and binding targets are vital, say advocates.

From penguins to sharks to whales, swimming in circles is a surprisingly common trait
- Many marine animals are intentionally swimming in circles consecutively at a relatively constant speed more than twice, according to a new study using data from movement trackers.
- The researchers say the behavior is surprising in part because swimming in a straight line is known to be the most efficient way to move about.
- They found some of the animals swim in circles during different activities, including foraging, courtship, navigation and even possibly geomagnetic observations.

Oceans helped absorb our CFCs. They’re now going to emit them back out
- A new study suggests the ocean will begin emitting CFC-11 by about 2075, and that there will be detectable amounts of the chemical in the atmosphere in the first part of the 22nd century.
- Climate change will likely exacerbate the process, turning the ocean into a source of CFC-11 earlier than expected.
- Since the Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987, CFC-11 emissions have sharply dropped, but some studies have found that there is still a small amount of CFC-11 being released into the atmosphere each year.
- While the ozone layer is currently not threatened on a global level, experts say that more research is needed to understand future threats.

As Arctic sea ice hits annual maximum, concern grows over polar ice loss: Studies
- Arctic sea ice reaches its annual maximum extent in March. But while ice extent is high this year, scientists are far more concerned by the drastic loss of sea ice volume, which continues its steady decline.
- A new study has documented drastic ice loss in both the north and south polar regions; scientists found that the single biggest reduction came from Arctic sea ice — the Earth lost 7.6 trillion metric tons of it in the last three decades.
- Another new study shows that the last bastion of old, thick multiyear ice in the Arctic, north of Greenland and Ellesmere Island, is diminishing as the stability of the Nares ice arches declines — blockages which work like a cork in a bottle to stop multiyear ice from flowing out into the Atlantic.
- Meanwhile, researchers warn about the urgent need for new Arctic monitoring satellites. Currently there is just one in operation, the DMSP-F18 satellite, and it has already been in orbit more than a decade. Its failure could leave researchers blind and disrupt an Arctic ice database continuous back to 1978.

We’re approaching critical climate tipping points: Q&A with Tim Lenton
- Over the past twenty years the concept of “tipping points” has become more familiar to the public. Tipping points are critical thresholds at which small changes can lead to dramatic shifts in the state of the entire system.
- Awareness of climate tipping points has grown in policy circles in recent years in no small part thanks to the work of climate scientist Tim Lenton, who serves as the director of the Global Systems Institute at Britain’s University of Exeter.
- Lenton says the the rate at which we appear to be approaching several tipping points is now ringing alarm bells, but “most of our current generation of politicians are just not up to this leadership task”.
- The pandemic however may have caused a shock to the system that could trigger what he calls “positive social tipping points” that “can accelerate the transformative change we need” provided we’re able to empower the right leaders.

Frustration as Antarctic conservation summit fails to declare marine sanctuaries
- A proposition to establish three new marine protected areas (MPAs) in East Antarctica, the Antarctic Peninsula and the Weddell Sea was not approved at a recent meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which was held online in the last week of October.
- Conservation experts who attended the meeting reported there was limited time for negotiations, and that discussions focused more on fishing renewal authorizations and the issue of a Russian vessel suspected of illegally fishing, rather than the MPA designations and climate change action.
- On the other hand, many delegates signed a pledge of support for the formation of the three MPAs, and the Weddel Sea MPA and East Antarctica MPA gained new co-sponsors.

Antarctic Ice Sheet is primed to pass irreversible climate thresholds: Researchers
- New research finds that the world’s oceans could rise by roughly 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) due to the partial reduction of the Antarctic Ice Sheet over a period extending beyond 2100.
- Importantly, the new study finds that it will be difficult to reverse Antarctica’s ice loss after the world reaches 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming above pre-industrial levels — likely to occur in this century.
- The study suggests that in addition to the long-term partial collapse of the ice sheet at 2 degrees C of warming, an increase of 6-9 degrees C would trigger the loss of more than 70% of the ice sheet’s present-day volume. At more than 10 degrees C of warming, Antarctica would be committed to becoming “virtually ice-free.”
- However, predicting precisely when and how the Antarctic Ice Sheet will respond to temperature changes this century — and how much of it may melt over the next 80 years — has proven difficult and is the subject of continuing research.

‘No other choice’: Groups push to protect vast swaths of Antarctic seas
- A coalition of conservation groups is advocating for the establishment of three new marine protected areas (MPAs) in East Antarctica, the Antarctic Peninsula and the Weddell Sea, which would encompass 4 million square kilometers (1.5 million square miles) of the Southern Ocean, or 1% of the global ocean.
- These proposals will be discussed at an upcoming meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which is due to take place online because of the pandemic.
- Conservationists anticipate that China and Russia may not support these MPA proposals due to fishing interests in the region, although they are optimistic that the MPAs will eventually be approved.

Game changer? Antarctic ice melt related to tropical weather shifts: Study
- Scientists predominantly believe that the tropics have the largest influence on global weather. Now, new research suggests that the melting of Antarctic sea ice could impact places as far away as the equator.
- In one of the first studies to look at the link between Antarctic sea ice and tropical weather patterns, researchers found that melting sea ice in Antarctica is likely warming ocean surface temperatures, delivering more rain, and potentially creating El Niño-like effects in the equatorial Pacific.
- Earlier this year, another study found that accelerating sea ice melt in the Arctic could be linked to the intensification of Central Pacific trade winds, the emergence of El Niño events, and the weakening of the North Pacific-Aleutian Low Circulation. So it may be that Arctic and Antarctic changes are synergistically impacting the tropics.
- It’s expected that ice loss at both poles will combine to warm the equatorial Pacific surface ocean by 0.5℃ (0.9℉) and increase rain by more than 0.3 millimeters (0.01 inches) of rain per day in the region.

World is fast losing its cool: Polar regions in deep trouble, say scientists
- As representatives of the world’s nations gather in Madrid at COP 25 this week to discuss global warming policy, a comprehensive new report shows how climate change is disproportionately affecting the Arctic and Antarctic — the Arctic especially is warming tremendously faster than the rest of the world.
- If the planet sees a rise in average temperatures of 2 degrees Celsius, the polar regions will be the hardest hit ecosystems on earth, according to researchers, bringing drastic changes to the region. By the time the lower latitudes hit that mark, it’s projected the Arctic will see temperature increases of 4 degrees Celsius.
- In fact, polar regions are already seeing quickening sea ice melt, permafrost thaws, record wildfires, ice shelves calving, and impacts on cold-adapted species — ranging from Arctic polar bears to Antarctic penguins. What starts in cold areas doesn’t stay there: sea level rise and temperate extreme weather are both linked to polar events.
- The only way out of the trends escalating toward a climate catastrophe at the poles, say scientists, is for nations to begin aggressively reducing greenhouse gas emissions now and embracing sustainable green energy technologies and policies. It remains to be seen whether the negotiators at COP 25 will embrace such solutions.

Elephant seal native to Antarctica spotted for first time in tropical Sri Lanka
- A juvenile southern elephant seal from the Antarctic region was recently spotted off Sri Lanka’s southern coast.
- The seal appeared exhausted, and while there have been calls to capture it to assess its health and/or raise it in captivity, experts recommend leaving it alone and giving it time to find its way back home.
- The species has rarely been recorded venturing into tropical waters.
- In its native habitat, it’s threatened by the melting of the pack ice on which it breeds, as a result of global warming.

Emperor penguins could disappear by 2100 if nations don’t cap emissions
- Researchers have combined a global climate model that projects where and when sea ice forms and a model of penguin populations to predict how penguin colonies would react to changing sea ice under future climate scenarios.
- The models found that under the business-as-usual scenario, where countries fail to halt climate change, emperor penguin numbers will decline by around 86 percent by 2100.
- However, if countries meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement, limiting the global increase in temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, then emperor penguin numbers would decline by about 31 percent, giving them a fighting chance at survival.

As climate crisis deepens, wildlife adapts, maybe with lessons for us
- Shifts in the timing of lifecycle events, like reproduction or migration, are widely thought to be the most common response of wildlife to global warming.
- In recent years, pikas have been observed modifying their foraging habits in ways that may be behavioral adaptations to a changing climate.
- A long-term study in Kutai National Park on the island of Borneo in Indonesia has shown how extreme weather, brought by the intensifying El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, is affecting the behavior, habitat requirements, feeding ecology and birth intervals of orangutans.
- Researchers have discovered that African penguins, may be falling into a sort of “ecological trap,” one that humans created through overfishing and climate change.

Protecting Antarctica beyond 2041: an interview with polar explorer Robert Swan
- Explorer Robert Swan is the first person to walk to both the North and South Poles unassisted.
- Those expeditions inspired him to dedicate his life advocating for the protection of polar landscapes, with a special focus on the preservation of the Antarctic as the planet’s last great wilderness.
- Swan institutionalized that ambition with the founding of 2041, a foundation named for the year in which the Madrid Protocol comes up for renewal.
- Mongabay caught up with him in Singapore where he was speaking at Temasek’s Ecosperity Week ahead of his next expedition to the Arctic.

Antarctic sea ice declining ‘precipitously’ since 2014, study finds
- After decades of overall increase, Antarctica’s sea ice has been rapidly decreasing since 2014, according to a new study.
- Between 2014 and 2017, Antarctica suffered a precipitous decline, losing more yearly average sea ice in just three years than that observed in the Arctic over a period of 33 years.
- There was a small increase in the yearly average sea ice in Antarctica from 2017 to 2018, but there has been a decline in 2019 again. Whether the small uptick in 2018 is a blip in an otherwise long-term downward trend of Antarctic sea ice extent or the start of a rebound, is difficult to say, Claire Parkinson of NASA writes.
- Whether the changes are because of climate change or something else also remains to be seen, researchers say.

Sponges supply DNA for new method of monitoring aquatic biodiversity
- Tracking environmental DNA (eDNA) is fast becoming a popular method of monitoring aquatic biodiversity, but current methods are expensive and cumbersome.
- Filter-feeding sponges can act as natural sieves to collect and concentrate eDNA from seawater.
- Using sponge samples collected from the Antarctic and the Mediterranean Sea, researchers identified 31 organisms, including fish, penguins, and seals, clearly separated by location.
- Although the method is still a proof of concept, it may lead to the development of simpler, less expensive technologies for aquatic eDNA collection.

Penguin and seal poop powers life in Antarctica, study finds
- In Antarctica, where colonies of penguins and elephant seals aggregate, their droppings, rich in nitrogen, enrich the soil and support thriving communities of mosses, lichens and invertebrates, a new study has found.
- Ammonia released from penguin and elephant seal feces can influence an area up to 240 times the size of the animal colony, the researchers found.
- These findings can be used to create maps of Antarctica’s biodiversity hotspots, the researchers say.

Large emperor penguin colony suffers ‘catastrophic’ breeding failure
- Until recently, the emperor penguin colony at Halley Bay on the Weddell Sea in the Antarctic was one of the world’s largest, supporting between 14,000 to 25,000 breeding pairs, or around 5 to 9 percent of the bird’s global population.
- Since 2016, satellite images have shown that the colony has suffered a complete breeding failure, something that’s never been recorded before.
- This breeding failure started in 2016 when, following abnormal stormy weather, the sea ice broke up in October, long before the chicks had fledged and were ready to go out to sea. In 2017 and 2018, the sea ice broke up early too, leading to the likely death of all chicks.
- Around the same time, there was a massive increase in the numbers of emperor penguins at the Dawson-Lambton Glacier penguin colony 55 kilometers (34 miles) south of Halley Bay, suggesting that many of the emperor penguins from Halley Bay had moved to Dawson-Lambton.

‘Like seeing a dinosaur’: Scientists locate mystery killer whales
- For years, there have been stories and photographs of “odd-looking” killer whales lurking in some of the roughest parts of the sub-Antarctic seas.
- Named Type D killer whales, these whales are quite different from regular killer whales: they’re smaller, their heads are more rounded, they have considerably smaller white eye patches, and their dorsal fins are narrower with sharp pointed tips.
- Now, researchers have finally located and filmed a group of these mysterious Type D killer whales off the tip of southern Chile.
- They have also collected tiny bits of tissues from the animals that they hope to use to analyze the whales’ DNA to see if they’re actually new to science.

Warmer waters shrink krill habitat around Antarctica
- A new study has found that fewer young krill are surviving to adulthood around Antarctica as ocean temperatures have risen in the Southern Ocean in the past few decades.
- The researchers, who looked at decades of data on krill body lengths and abundance, found that the highest densities of krill had shifted southward by some 440 kilometers (273 miles) since the 1920s.
- The scientists note that the findings could alter food webs in the Southern Ocean.
- Currently, the internationally managed krill fishery does not take the location and size of the krill population into account.

Antarctica now shedding ice six times faster than in 1979
- Antarctica’s ice is melting about six times faster than it was in the late 1970s.
- Between 1979 and 2017, melting ice caused the global sea level to rise by around 14 millimeters (0.55 inches).
- The pace at which ice is melting is also increasing: Through 1990, the continent lost 40 billion metric tons (44 billion tons) per year; between 2009 and 2017, that figure jumped to 252 billion metric tons (278 tons) annually.

Top camera trapping stories of 2018
- Camera traps, remotely installed cameras triggered by motion or heat of a passing person or animal, have helped research projects document the occurrence of species, photograph cryptic and nocturnal animals, or describe a vertebrate community in a given area.
- Camera trapping studies are addressing new research and management questions, including document rare events, assess population dynamics, detect poachers, and involve rural landowners in monitoring.
- And with projects generating ever-larger image data sets, they are using volunteers and, more recently, artificial intelligence to analyse the information.

Audio: Documenting emperor penguin populations, a dispatch from Antarctica
- On this episode we get an update direct from Antarctica’s McMurdo Station about ongoing work to document Emperor penguin populations, an important indicator species of the Southern Ocean’s health.
- Our guest is Michelle Larue, a research ecologist at the University of Minnesota who is helping lead a project that’s using satellite imagery together with ground and flight surveys to compile population estimates for each of the 54 known Emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica. The project’s goal is to compile population estimates every year for an entire decade.
- LaRue, who has been to Antarctica multiple times to help assemble a decadal-scale dataset on Emperor penguin colonies, tells us what it’s like to work out of McMurdo Station, how she’s going about studying Emperor penguin population trends, and why the study of these flightless aquatic birds can help us keep tabs on the health of the Southern Ocean.

Largest king penguin colony in the world has shrunk by 90%
- In 1982, researchers estimated that there were more than 500,000 breeding pairs and over 2 million king penguins on the remote Île aux Cochons, or Pig Island, a French territory in southern Indian Ocean.
- More than three decades later, by 2017, the number of king penguins on the island had dropped drastically to just about 200,000 penguins, including some 60,000 breeding pairs, researchers report in a new study.
- The reasons for this decline are still unknown, but the researchers hope that further field studies will be able to verify the massive drop and identify the factors that led to it.

Krill fishing companies pledge to protect key food of Antarctic animals
- A majority of krill fishing companies have announced their commitment to voluntarily stop harvesting the tiny crustaceans from vast areas of the Antarctic Peninsula, including around important breeding penguin colonies.
- These companies are all members of the Association of Responsible Krill harvesting companies (ARK), representing 85 percent of the krill fishing industry in the Antarctic.
- The companies have also pledged to support the creation of a network of large-scale marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Antarctic, the details of which will be finalized by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) at a conference in Australia later this year.

Species evolve more than twice as fast at poles as in tropics: study
- Considering the swarming biodiversity at the equator, and the lack of diversity near the poles, scientists have long assumed that species evolve more rapidly in warm waters. But a new study of the evolutionary development of 30,000 fish species has turned that idea on its head.
- Biologists found that a fish species in the tropics split into a new species on average every 10 to 20 million years. But near the poles, that average rate is roughly every four million years – more than twice as fast.
- The reason may be the far more extreme and less stable climatic conditions found near the poles. This results in more frequent extinctions, which clears out species diversity and empties ecological niches, setting the stage for the next new burst of species formation in other groups of organisms.
- But if species form faster at the poles than in the tropics, why isn’t there greater biodiversity in the Arctic and Antarctic than at the equator? One possibility: while speciation is more rapid at the poles, extinctions may be more numerous too. But this still isn’t clear, and more research will be needed to find out.

Citizen science makes easy work of penguin time-lapse image bounty
- A multinational research team has deployed time-lapse cameras at various penguin breeding colonies to enable a widespread, long-term study of these top predators in the Antarctic ecosystem.
- Volunteers have played a critical role in processing the millions of images resulting from the multi-year study to better understand reproductive behavior and nest success rates across the Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland Islands, and South Georgia.
- Citizen scientists can help produce large data sets needed to train artificial intelligence algorithms.

Here’s how much Antarctica’s melting ice is already contributing to sea level rise
- According to new research, ice-melt in Antarctica has caused global sea levels to rise by as much as 7.6 millimeters since 1992 — and about 40 percent of that, some 3 millimeters, came in just the past five years.
- That’s the finding of a major climate assessment called the Ice Sheet Mass Balance Inter-comparison Exercise (IMBIE), the results of which were published in the journal Nature last week.
- The findings of the IMBIE show that Antarctica is losing ice at a rate three times faster than it was just six years ago. Prior to 2012, Antarctica lost ice at a fairly steady rate of 76 billion metric tons annually, contributing about 0.2 millimeters to sea level rise. From 2012 to 2017, however, that rate of loss increased sharply to 219 billion metric tons of ice per year, contributing about 0.6 millimeters to rising sea levels.

South Georgia declared ‘rat-free’ in largest-ever rodent eradication program
- Ships of sealers and whalers arriving on South Georgia brought with them rats and mice that spread over much of the island, eating eggs and chicks of the native birds.
- To counter the problem of invasive rats, the South Georgia Heritage Trust launched a $13.5 million rodent eradication operation in 2011, using helicopters to drop poisoned bait in every part of the island that could be infested with rodents.
- In the final phase of monitoring that concluded in April this year — a six-month survey that included three trained sniffer dogs — the SGHT team found no signs of rats or mice.

Humpback whales near Antarctica making a comeback, study finds
- Humpback whales living around the Western Antarctic Peninsula seem to be recovering rapidly, indicated by females showing high pregnancy rates, a new study has found.
- Researchers also found a high proportion of females that are both lactating and pregnant, which is a sign that the humpback whale population there is growing.
- So far, changing climate in the Western Antarctic Peninsula has been beneficial for the humpbacks because of more ice-free days and more access to food. But long-term trends of climate change may be more problematic, the researchers write.

“Save the Krill” urges Greenpeace report
- A recent report by Greenpeace International describes the role of krill in Antarctica’s marine food chain and calls for nations to restrict their krill fishing in areas under consideration for protected status designation.
- Automatic identification system signals from commercial krill-fishing vessels allowed Greenpeace to map the precise routes these ships take around the Antarctic Peninsula and to identify transfers of catch and fuel between ships.
- The report warns that krill fishing competes for food with other marine wildlife, and that anchoring and pollution from the ships could damage the larger ecosystem.
- Video footage and samples collected from submarine dives by a recent Greenpeace expedition will be analyzed and presented at meetings this summer to support the creation of marine protected areas in the Weddell Sea and other regions around Antarctica.

Climate change imperils tiny animal in the world’s most extreme continent
- Soil researchers have found that a microscopic nematode is vanishing from Antarctica’s Dry Valleys — and they believe it’s because of climate change.
- Scottnema lindsayae thrives in super-arid landscapes where little else can make it, but melting ice makes for a wetter environment that’s unsuitable for this soil dweller and allows its competitors to flourish.
- Researchers are also concerned that as Antarctica warms, it will become increasingly vulnerable to invasive species.

Penguin mega-colony discovered using satellites and drones, raising scientists’ hopes
- Scientists have discovered a mega-colony of Adélie penguins in Antarctica’s remote Danger Islands.
- The researchers utilized quadcopter drones to survey the nesting grounds in an automated manner and then used software to process the imagery for individual nests.
- The approach enabled a fast and highly accurate count relative to ground observations.
- The study validates the approach of combining satellite imagery with ground and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveys.

Drone photography allows scientists to measure marine mammals without a catch
- Scientists tested the accuracy of determining marine mammal size by analyzing aerial photography taken from a small drone as a less costly, less stressful alternative to manual capture and measurement.
- To be precise in their measurements of leopard seals, the researchers took overhead photographs at three different altitudes, and three scientists measured the photographs of each seal independently.
- They found that the new aerial photography method produces results comparable to standard manual methods.

Watch: A minke whale’s view of the Antarctic
- Scientists in Antarctica have attached a “whale cam” to the back of a southern minke whale for the very first time.
- The video footage is giving scientists a sneak peek into a day in the life of a minke, one of the most poorly understood baleen whales.
- At one point, the camera slid down the side of the animal and this side view ended up capturing remarkable footage of the whale feeding.

2017’s top 10 ocean news stories
- Marine scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara, share their list of the top 10 ocean news stories from 2017.
- Huge new ocean protected areas and steps toward an international treaty to protect the high seas brought hope.
- Meanwhile, the U.S.’s decision to drop out of the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and an intensely destructive Atlantic hurricane season spotlighted the unfolding threat of climate change.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily Mongabay.

Antarctica’s Larsen C calves giant 5,800 square kilometer iceberg
- On Wednesday, a 5,800 square kilometer (2,239 square mile) section of Antarctica’s Larsen C Ice shelf, an area nearly the size of the U.S. state of Delaware, broke free and fell into the Southern Ocean.
- Scientists had been watching a lengthening and widening rift in the ice and expecting the separation since last December, though complex ice dynamics prevented them from knowing the exact day of separation.
- Researchers, including Dan McGrath, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey, have been watching the event with great interest.
- The resulting gigantic iceberg will not raise sea level, since the ice was already floating. However, researchers are concerned that the loss may weaken the remaining ice, leading to the collapse of the entire Larsen C Ice Shelf.

Microalgae genes help them adapt to harsh oceans, other species less lucky
- Researchers have long wondered how microalgae manage to survive in polar seas, where conditions are extreme and change rapidly.
- New research looking at the DNA of a diatom finds that the species likely evolved with the ability to quickly change which genes are expressed making it ready for anything.
- This research hints that diatoms may be able to adapt to climate change – but that doesn’t mean other vital species, such as krill, have the capacity to do the same.

Top 10 HAPPY environmental stories of 2016
- Some animal species showed signs of recovery after years of decline.
- In 2016, the world became serious about protecting our oceans by establishing some of the largest marine protected areas ever.
- Countries moved towards ending domestic ivory trade, and researchers discovered the world’s tallest tree.

Sea ice extent tumbles around both poles in November
- November was the seventh month in 2016 with a record-low sea ice extent in the Arctic.
- The extent of Arctic sea ice typically grows beginning in September, thanks to lower air and water temperatures, but this year it contracted by some 50,000 square kilometers (19,300 square miles).
- Warmer air around Antarctica diminished sea ice extent to 1.81 million square kilometers (699,000 square miles) below November averages recorded between 1981 and 2010.

World’s largest marine protected area created in Antarctica
- Last week, 25 governments unanimously agreed to create the world’s largest marine protected area off Antarctica.
- The new marine protected area, expected to come into force in December 2017, will set out to protect some 1.55 million square kilometers of the Ross Sea around Antarctica.
- According to the agreement, 72 percent of the marine area will be set aside as a “no-take” zone, in which all forms of fishing will be banned. The protections will end in 35 years.

Expert panel rebukes Japan’s new whaling proposal

Antarctic minke whale caught be Japanese vessel, the Yushin Maru, in 2008. Photo by: Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. Last year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Japan must halt its whaling activities in the Southern Ocean as it found no evidence that the killing of hundreds of Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera […]

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