Antarctic penguin colonies have declined by more than three quarters in the last 50 years as reduced sea ice and warmer oceans have led to krill shortages.

Every chinstrap penguin colony on Elephant Island had seen breeding pairs numbers drop since the last survey in 1971, with some having declined by up to 77 per cent.

Overall, the number of chinstrap penguins has fallen by almost 60 per cent, from 122,550 pairs 50 years ago to 52,786 today thanks to climate change.

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Antarctic penguin colonies have declined by more than three quarters in the last 50 years as reduced sea ice and warmer oceans have led to krill shortages

Accompanying a Greenpeace expedition, researchers from the Stony Brook and Northeastern Universities in the US travelled to the important habitat of Elephant Island — north east of the Antarctic peninsula — to survey penguin populations.

Researchers also conducted the first surveys of large chinstrap penguin colonies on Low Island, which is thought to have around 100,000 breeding pairs.

The numbers of Krill — the small shrimp-like creatures upon which the penguins primarily feed — are thought to have fallen as a result of both a reduction in sea ice and warmer oceans, both of which have been brought about by climate change.

'Such significant declines in penguin numbers suggest that the Southern Ocean's ecosystem has fundamentally changed in the last 50 years,' said expedition research lead and ecologist Heather Lynch of Stony Brook University.

'The impacts of this are rippling up the food web to species like chinstrap penguins,' Dr Lynch added.

'While several factors may have a role to play, all the evidence we have points to climate change as being responsible for the changes we are seeing.'

The findings come shortly after Antarctica experienced a record-breaking high temperature of 64.9°F (18.3°C) on February 6 this year.

The former record high — set in the March of 2015 — was 63.5°F (17.5°C).

To highlight the plight of the penguins, Greenpeace activists have also installed a number of 'disappearing' penguin ice sculptures in capital cities around the world — including in Buenos Aries, Cape Town, Seoul and Tokyo.

The organisation — which is demanding governments protect marine wildlife by establishing a Global Ocean Treaty — also installed a two-metre-tall ice sculpture of a penguin mother and chick beside the River Thames near St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Every chinstrap penguin colony on Elephant Island had seen breeding pairs numbers drop since the last survey in 1971, with some having declined by up to 77 per cent

Overall, the number of chinstrap penguins has fallen by almost 60 per cent, from 122,550 pairs 50 years ago to 52,786 today thanks to climate change

'Penguins are an iconic species but this new research shows how the climate emergency is decimating their numbers and having far-reaching impacts on wildlife in the most remote corners of Earth,' said Greenpeace's Louisa Casson.

'2020 is a critical year for our oceans,' she added.

'Governments must respond to the science and agree a strong Global Ocean Treaty at the United Nations this spring, that can create a network of ocean sanctuaries to protect marine life and help these creatures adapt to our rapidly changing climate.'

To highlight the plight of the penguins, Greenpeace activists have also installed a number of 'disappearing' penguin ice sculptures in capital cities around the world — including in Buenos Aries, Cape Town, Seoul and Tokyo, pictured

The organisation — which is demanding governments protect marine wildlife by establishing a Global Ocean Treaty — also installed a two-metre-tall ice sculpture of a penguin mother and chick beside the River Thames near St. Paul’s Cathedral, pictured

Accompanying a Greenpeace expedition, researchers from the Stony Brook and Northeastern Universities in the US travelled to the important habitat of Elephant Island — north east of the Antarctic peninsula — to survey penguin populations