Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), in collaboration with international partners, have developed a novel approach to addressing uncertainties in ecological and environmental projections, providing a more robust assessment of extinction risk for emperor penguins.
Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), in collaboration with international partners, have developed a novel approach to addressing uncertainties in ecological and environmental projections, providing a more robust assessment of extinction risk for emperor penguins. The study, which accounts for the unique life history and critical dependence of emperor penguins on the Antarctic environment, reveals that emperor penguins meet the criteria for uplisting to a category ranging from Vulnerable to Endangered under the IUCN guidelines on risk and uncertainty (IUCN, 2024). This represents a significant and urgent change from their current classification of Near Threatened, highlighting the elevated risk emperor penguins face due to future changes in their Antarctic habitat.
Conclusions from the new study "Living with Uncertainty: Using Multi-Model Large Ensembles to Assess Emperor Penguin Extinction Risk for Conservation Policy," published in the journal Biological Conservation, have significant implications for the IUCN Red List reassessment of emperor penguins.
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A recent study reveals that emperor penguins meet the criteria for uplisting to a status ranging from Vulnerable to Endangered under the IUCN guidelines. (Photo Credit: Stephanie Jenouvrier © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
