Other Antarctic seabird colonies have also suffered steep population declines as researchers warn that global warming will take a toll on many ice-dependent species in coming decades.

By Bob Berwyn

As they have for millennia, thousands of emperor penguins arrived at their breeding grounds on the sea ice clinging to the rugged coast of the Antarctic Peninsula in May and June of 2022. The adults cradled their eggs until they hatched in late July and August, the middle of the long, dark Antarctic winter, and all seemed well.