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進入Emperor Penguin at serious risk of extinction due to climate change 氣候變遷加劇皇帝企鵝面臨絕種嚴重風險
氣候變遷加劇，皇帝企鵝面臨絕種嚴重風險。（法新社）
◎陳成良
The emperor penguin, which roams Antarctica’s frozen tundra and chilly seas, is at severe risk of extinction in the next 30 to 40 years as a result of climate change, an expert from the Argentine Antarctic Institute (IAA) warned.
阿根廷南極研究所（IAA）的一位專家警告說，由於氣候變遷，在南極洲凍原和冰冷海洋間漫遊的皇帝企鵝，面臨在未來30至40年內絕種的嚴重風險。
The emperor, the world’s largest penguin and one of only two penguin species endemic to Antarctica, gives birth during the Antarctic winter and requires solid sea ice from April through December to nest fledgling chicks.
皇帝企鵝是世界上最大的企鵝，也是南極洲僅有的兩種特有企鵝之一，牠們在南極冬季分娩，需要在4月至12月期間利用堅固海冰築巢撫育幼鳥。
If the sea freezes later or melts prematurely, the emperor family cannot complete its reproductive cycle.
如果海水太晚結冰或過早融化，皇帝企鵝家庭便無法完成其繁殖週期。
"If the water reaches the newborn penguins, which are not ready to swim and do not have waterproof plumage, they die of the cold and drown," said biologist Marcela Libertelli, who has studied 15,000 penguins across two colonies in Antarctica at the IAA.
阿根廷南極研究所生物學家利伯泰利（Marcela Libertelli）對南極洲2個棲息地總計1萬5000隻企鵝進行研究。她說：「如果海水觸及還不會游泳且尚未長出防水羽毛的新生企鵝，牠們就會被凍死或溺死。」
新聞辭典
roam：動詞，漫遊、閒逛。例句：Herds of cattle roamed at will over the plain.（牛群在平原上自由自在地走動。）
endemic：形容詞，某地特有的；（尤指疾病）地方性的；風土的；（動，植物）某些特產的。例句：Giant Panda is an endangered species that is endemic to China.（大熊貓是中國特有的瀕危物種。）
