A colony of penguins on Emperor island, an island off the West Antarctic Peninsula has disappeared. This is the first time that a whole colony has disappeared and has been documented. The emperor penguin colony was first spotted in 1948 and has had a stable population until the 1970s. A severe drop in population was found is 1978, and the island was found empty in 2009.
It is a possibility that the penguins just relocated due to the changes in ice. Ice is crucial to penguins' living conditions as they breed on sea ice. Research shows that ice in the area has been forming later but melting earlier due to climate change. Warming has also caused a significant decrease in sea ice, which affects the penguins' lifestyle in eating and breeding.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/07/scitech/main20040128.shtml
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