Loss of Antarctic ice hurting survival of emperor penguin chicks, study says
By CHRISTINA LARSON
AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists say the loss of ice around Antarctica is hurting the survival of emperor penguin chicks. Emperor penguins hatch their eggs and raise their chicks on the ice that forms around the continent each winter and melts in the summer months. The researchers reported Thursday that it appears that none of the chicks survived last year in four of five colonies in a region that had no ice left in the Antarctic summer. The scientists say that climate change will make such losses more frequent in the future. Overall, the ice around Antarctica reached near record low levels last year.
