Earth Science Helen
Kocur
Current Event 2 12/19/13
The
Decline and Fall of the Emperor Penguin?
We know the Emperor penguin to be
one of the most iconic and largest seabirds in Antarctica being nearly four
feet tall. According to studies led by researchers from WHOI, with global
temperatures gradually raising these Emperor penguins in Terre Adelie in East
Antarctica may unfortunately disappear.
The cause of this is that the sea ice is slowly melting from warming
temperatures in the region due to greenhouse gas emissions, said Stephanie
Jenouvrier, a biologist. Emperor
penguins breed and raise there young on the sea ice, so if the ice breaks up
and disappears early in the breeding season, it will cause a huge breeding
failure. The disappearing and breaking
up of ice can also cause the penguin to obtain less food. This particular bird feeds on fish, squid,
and krill. These species feed on tiny
zooplankton, phytoplankton, and algae that grow on the underside of the
ice. With the ice slowly disappearing,
so will the food chain. Using research
to determine how changes in sea ice affect the emperor penguin, Jenouvrier
found that the birds would not stop disappearing until 2040. Today the population size is around 3,000
breeding pairs and roughly 500 to 600 breeding pairs will remain by the year
2100. The research of these penguins is
still being continued with an easier method called tagging. A Passive Inductive Transponder will be
inserted under the skin of the emperor penguins and I will be easier to know if
each bird is surviving or not.
This is important because man-made
greenhouse gas emissions are causing this problem and in the future not only
can penguins be harmed, but other animals living in Antarctica. If the situation is not brought to attention,
people will continue being the cause of global warming which is a result of the
ice breakage. More and more of our
animals will start to disappear with a ripple affect on the food chain. If humans started the problem, it could
definitely be stopped in an instant if more were informed.
This article was well written and
gave me a great sense on how dramatic the disappearance of these emperor
penguins really is. I loved how the
author had each paragraph assigned to explain a specific reason on how the
disappearance of ice affects the life of these birds. One thing that I did not like was how the
author used one biologist’s opinion instead of multiple. This would have given me more opinions to
think about. Also, I would have liked if
the author would have had a paragraph to explain how we could help and what we
could do to save these penguins.
Works Cited
Levin,
David. "The Decline and Fall of the Emperor Penguin?" : Oceanus
Magazine. N.p., 21 Nov. 2013. Web. 28 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/the-decline-and-fall-of-the-emperor-penguin>.
I think that this was very well written. I think that this article starts off well with an interesting topic sentence. It made it enjoyable and interesting to read the rest of the review. I think that this is important because it sets the tone of the review for the reader. I think that the article was chosen well and is relatively interesting to anybody who likes animals. The fact that this article was written about global warming is interesting, because it seems that this issue is not talked about much anymore. Another thing that I liked about this review was that it was not too long, unlike other reviews. This makes it easy to read the review without all of the filler that is usually used. I also liked that this review gives the reader a reason as to why this article is important to them. This is important because it helps engage the reader in the review. I learned some interesting facts from this article as well. I learned that the emperor penguins really are becoming endangered and that they will continue to die off. I did not think that the problem was this bad. I think that this might act as a wake up call to the reader and perhaps remind them of this topic. I also learned that the emperor penguin is four feet tall. I knew that the emperor penguin was tall but not that tall. I think that it is very sad that they are becoming extinct and that people should take more actions to prevent the extinction of more of these animals. I think that if there is one thing I could change about this review, it would be to make the importance paragraph just a little bit longer. Other than that, I thought that this article was very well constructed.
ReplyDeleteI think this article was very interesting and well written. Not only is it very informative, but it also explains ways we can help the penguins that are disappearing. I really liked how there was a paragraph that was designated to telling people how they can help with this issue, it makes it a very relatable article. This article is very helpful and allows the audience to be aware of global warming, and makes people more aware of the environment. Overall, this was a great article and eye-opening.
ReplyDeleteHelen, I really enjoyed reading your current event review. I thought your summary paragraph was loaded with facts and was very informative. I also loved your topic sentence because it really pulls in the reader. Finally, I thought that you picked a great article because it was interesting and relatable for the reader, you also broke it down so the reader could learn even more about empire penguins. I knew that the sea ice was melting and that penguins lived on this sea ice, but I never connected this with breeding failures. I was also very surprised when I read the population of the penguins because I didn't no that over two and a half thousand empire penguins will disappear by 2100. The only thing I would change would be to put the citation at the top of the article like it said in the syllabus.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I thought that you included a ton of great detail, which really gave me a sense of what the article was about. I thought it was astonishing and horrifying that only 500 or 600 breeding pairs of emperor penguins will be left by 2100. Another part that I found really interesting was when you talked about tagging. This seemed like a logical and effective way to keep track of the emperor penguins. Your review was very well written and very thorough. I also thought that your paragraph on relevancy was very accurate, and that the point you made about how humans could stop the problem if enough people knew was good. One suggestion I have is to include a bit more critique section of your review, but other than that it was great.
ReplyDelete