Michael Polito, an associate professor of oceanography and marine science at Louisiana State University, says that for penguins, even if the iceberg does not completely prevent entry into the ocean, it can force them to move around the ice to bring back food for their cubs. . While penguins can walk short distances, long hikes weaken their wings and weaken them. A large detour around an iceberg “can have a negative effect on their ability to reproduce and feed their offspring,” he says.
But what looks like a doomsday scene for penguins may have a happy ending for some other creatures; Global icebergs become a kind of floating salad bar for the following creatures, says BYU Long. “Icebergs collect dust from the atmosphere. They are dirty, ”says Long. “Icebergs seem to melt, dust settles in the ocean. Life flourishes around these floating icebergs, you get plankton, which attracts anchovies, krill, all the way to the food chain. Every animal prefers to stay close to icebergs because it is a source of nutrients. “Even if the penguins have a long walk to feed, other creatures like seals and seabirds will probably find small fish and shrimp-like krill in the water below.
Today, in addition to its wildlife, the island is home to a British research center that has seen a decline in the population of scientists and fearless tourists during the Covid-19 epidemic. British government officials are monitoring the A-68A iceberg, which is about 960 miles away, with drone and plane flights from F9 Cland Island. South Georgia Island has no airstrip, and is far from a helicopter ride, so a small crew of explorers there might be watching and hoping the iceberg doesn’t come to the side of their island, either.
Dennis Landau, president of Friends South F South Georgia Island, planned to spend several months there this fall, which led to the conservation work this fall and the running of a small museum for tourists. Instead, he is watching from a distance to see in which direction the iceberg will move. Landou says most penguins and seals have their colonies on the north coast, roughly the shape of New York’s Long Island.
“We think it’s possible before we get closer to South Georgia. Will descend by itself. That’s what people in the past have done, “said Landau, who runs a defense group based in Carbondale, Colorado. “Then it will break into many pieces and start to calm down small icebergs like glaciers. Whether or not penguins and seals have to graze in the ocean can affect the distance. ”
The future of the island’s birds is largely determined by the wolf and its companions. It was part of a 10-year project to rid the island of rats, the biggest threat to bird eggs. The island has been rat-free since 2018, Landau says, and as a result the bird population has increased.
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