Antarctic\u00a0melting\u00a0affecting\u00a0distant\u00a0seabirds <\/p>
Antarctica\u2019s rapidly shrinking sea ice is making it more difficult for seabirds that breed hundreds of miles away to find food, a study published in\u00a0Progress in Oceanography\u00a0<\/em>suggests.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p> Antarctica is a remote and dynamic place. Vast swathes of sea ice form around it in winter and then melt in summer, releasing concentrated nutrients into the ocean. Hundreds of miles away, albatrosses<\/a> and large petrels breed on the islands that surround Antarctica.\u00a0<\/p> Researchers from Durham University<\/a> and the British Antarctic Survey<\/a> used satellite technology to track the foraging trips of seven species of albatross and petrel, breeding on South Georgia. They recorded 2,497 trips made by 1,289 birds between 1992 and 2023 and found that all of the\u00a0species\u00a0visited Antarctica.\u00a0<\/p> In spring,\u00a0for example,\u00a0southern giant petrels flew hundreds of miles into the pack ice, where researchers\u00a0think\u00a0they were landing to scavenge on seals. Meanwhile, albatrosses largely avoided the ice-covered areas, but in late summer and autumn, fed in the open water areas where the ice had melted.\u00a0<\/p> \u201cGiven that all seven species of albatross and petrel we looked at travelled to the Antarctic seasonal sea ice zone, it is likely that they, and many other sub-Antarctic breeding seabirds, are linked to sea ice dynamics,\u201d says Richard Phillips from the British Antarctic Survey. \u201cDeclines in\u00a0Antarctic sea\u00a0ice predicted under climate change could exacerbate the already unsustainable human impacts being experienced by these populations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p> Until recently, Antarctica <\/a>had not suffered the big losses\u00a0of\u00a0sea ice seen in the Arctic<\/a>, but\u00a0now climate change is causing the seasonal melt to start earlier and the ice to recede\u00a0more quickly. The concern is that this will\u00a0force the\u00a0seabirds\u00a0to travel further from their breeding grounds to find food\u00a0for their chicks<\/a>, or\u00a0that it could\u00a0alter the patterns of where that food\u00a0is\u00a0found.\u00a0In turn, this could affect the ecosystems that these birds are a part of.<\/p> Holding up to\u00a0three quarters of the world\u2019s breeding populations of seven species of albatrosses and petrels, South Georgia is an important stronghold for these birds.<\/p>