Illustrations/B.Harmon

Penguin Adaptation

An underwater earthquake causes a tsunami to wash over a penguin nesting beach.

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Penguin Adaptation

Melting glaciers in Antarctica reduce the distance the female emperor penguin has to travel to reach food in the ocean and return to its chick. This increases the chick’s chance for survival.

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Penguin Adaptation

Warming temperatures help Gentoo and king penguins exploit the warmer southern beaches.

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Penguin Adaptation

After an oil spill you vow to take one action to reduce your dependency on oil.

+1 habitat

Penguin Adaptation

Suggest one change you could make to reduce your impact on climate change (i.e. reduce your carbon footprint).

+1 piece of your choice

Penguin Adaptation

You choose to ride your bike to work instead of driving. By using less gas, you are reducing your carbon footprint.

+1 health

Penguin Adaptation

Every day before leaving the house, you double-check to make sure all the lights are off. By using less energy, you are reducing your carbon footprint.

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Penguin Adaptation

Instead of buying bottled water you use a reusable canteen. Each disposable water bottle takes energy to make, so using fewer bottles reduces your carbon footprint.

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Penguin Adaptation

The New England Aquarium replaces the lobby doors to better retain heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer.

+1 health

Penguin Adaptation

The New England Aquarium helped clean 20,000 penguins after an oil spill in 2001.

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Penguin Adaptation

The New England Aquarium updates its heating and air conditioning system to be more efficient, therefore using less fossil fuel over time.

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Penguin Adaptation

The New England Aquarium gets most of its energy from clean, renewable energy sources like wind.

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Penguin Adaptation

You conduct an energy audit in your home and make changes to reduce your energy consumption.

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Penguin Adaptation

Warming temperatures weaken the cold-dependent Adelie penguins, allowing other species of temperature-resilient penguins to out-compete them for food and habitat.

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(other penguins)

Penguin Adaptation

You go to the Aquarium and take the time to learn about penguins and penguin conservation.

+1 piece of your choice

Penguin Adaptation

The Aquarium’s education department talks about climate change and encourages and empowers visitors to make a difference by reducing their carbon footprint.

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Penguin Adaptation

A big storm hits a penguin nesting beach.

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Penguin Adaptation

Rising ocean temperatures push a population of sardines farther offshore.

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Penguin Adaptation

Antarctica experiences an unusually warm winter.

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Penguin Adaptation

Melting glaciers in Antarctica reduce the amount of ice in the sea, which leads to a smaller population of krill.

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Penguin Adaptation

Rising temperatures on the northern tip of Antarctica over the past 50 years have resulted in sea ice failing to form during the winter and spring. The Adelie penguins that live there are adapted to cold conditions associated with sea ice.

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Penguin Adaptation

A warmer atmosphere deposits greater amounts of snow on the northern tip of Antarctica. Adelie penguins depend on snow-free areas to build their nests.

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Penguin Adaptation

Over a period of 50 years, rising sea levels slowly flood original penguin nesting beaches.

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Penguin Adaptation

Ocean acidification wipes out pteropods (planktonic snails), which disrupts the balance of the food web.

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Penguin Adaptation

Rising sea levels push penguins farther inland. But human barriers like roads and houses leave little space for them inland.

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Penguin Adaptation

A stronger El Niño event prevents cold water from upwelling to the surface. Because of this, nutrients do not reach the surface and krill have a shortage of algae to feed on.

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Penguin Adaptation

A warmer year reduces the amount of sea ice. Since algae grows on the underside of sea ice, there is less algae and therefore less krill.

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Penguin Adaptation

More CO2 in the atmosphere causes the ocean to become more acidic. Acidic oceans make it harder for krill to form a shell and survive.

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Penguin Adaptation

More precipitation causes the flooding of an Adelie penguin nesting site.

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Penguin Adaptation

The warming temperatures melt the ice that the emperor penguins breed on.

-1 reproduction

Penguin Adaptation

A change in the ocean currents shifts the food source of the African penguins. They are no longer able to find their food.

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Penguin Adaptation

You chose to bike into work instead of driving.

+1 piece of your choice

Penguin Adaptation

In the middle of winter, instead of turning the heat up in the entire house you put on a sweater.

+1 health