[ti:Melting Ice Threatens Emperor Penguin Environment] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Climate change is threatening the sea ice environment of Emperor penguins. [00:07.16]A new study suggests that 98 percent of Emperor penguin groups [00:13.12]may be pushed close to extinction by the year 2100. [00:19.80]And about 70 percent of their groups will be in danger by 2050. [00:27.28]The research was published in the journal Global Change Biology. [00:34.16]The United States Fish and Wildlife Service [00:37.96]recently announced a plan to list the Emperor penguins as threatened [00:43.48]under the Endangered Species Act. [00:47.68]Stephanie Jenouvrier is a penguin ecologist [00:51.00]at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. [00:55.84]She said that Emperor penguins need secure sea ice [01:00.84]to reproduce, to feed and to molt. [01:06.00]Molting is the replacement of their old feathers with new ones. [01:12.44]The new study looked at overall warming developments [01:16.40]and the increasing likelihood of extreme weather changes [01:20.64]because of global warming. [01:23.84]The study noted that extremely low levels of sea ice in 2016 [01:29.68]led to a large reproduction failure [01:32.56]of an Emperor penguin group in Antarctica's Halley Bay. [01:38.08]That year, seasonal sea ice broke up before young penguins [01:43.28]had time to develop waterproof adult feathers. [01:48.60]About 10,000 baby birds drowned, Jenouvrier said. [01:55.48]The group did not recover afterward. [01:59.44]Emperor penguins reproduce only in Antarctica during winter. [02:06.40]Temperatures can reach minus 40 degrees Celsius, [02:10.56]and wind speeds can reach 144 kilometers per hour. [02:17.04]The penguins survive by gathering in groups of several thousand birds. [02:23.56]But they cannot survive without enough sea ice. [02:29.12]Sarah Uhlemann is international program director [02:32.92]at the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity. [02:38.20]She said, "These penguins are hard hit by the climate crisis, [02:43.04]and the U.S. government is finally recognizing that threat." [02:49.00]The U.S. government has listed other species outside the country [02:53.60]as threatened, including the polar bear. [02:58.44]Polar bears live in Arctic areas and are also threatened [03:03.00]by climate change and sea ice loss. [03:08.04]Emperor penguins are the world's largest penguins. [03:13.24]There are currently between 625,000 and 650,000 of them worldwide. [03:22.44]Placing Emperor penguins on the threatened list provides protections, [03:27.56]such as a ban against importing them for business purposes. [03:33.36]Possible effects on the penguins must also be studied [03:37.32]by U.S. sea fisheries currently operating in Antarctica. [03:43.80]Martha Williams is principal deputy director [03:47.28]of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. [03:51.64]She said climate change affects many animal species around the world. [03:58.52]She added, "The decisions made by policymakers today [04:03.32]and during the next few decades [04:05.80]will determine the fate of the Emperor penguin." [04:10.36]I'm Jonathan Evans. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM