The emperor penguin is the iconic 具有代表性的 creature of the frozen south. Now for the first time scientists have studied in detail what the future holds 将来会是怎样 for the species 种类 in a warmer world.

They used data from a colony 群体 that's been monitored 被观察 for over 40 years, and combined that with computer models 模型 forecasting 预测 the future Antarctic climate 南极气候.

They predicted 预言 that the colony of 6,000 penguins now could be reduced to just 800 by the end of the century. A similar population crash 数量巨减 across the continent would lead to near extinction 濒临灭绝 of the entire species.

The creatures rely on the sea ice to breed 繁殖 and mate 交配, and are expected to find it difficult to adapt or migrate 迁移，移栖 if ice cover decreases as predicted.