Lost Antarctica & Ghost Rookeries ~ Climate Change & the Adelie Penguin

July 5, 2013

Dr. Sylvia Earle calls Dr. James McClintock’s recent book, Lost Antarctica: Climate Change on the Antarctic Peninsula (Palgrave/MacMillan, 2012), a wonderfully written wake up call concerning Antarctica and global climate change. The book should be required reading for everyone who can read. No exceptions. Those who can’t read should watch the film.” 

Ghost Rookeries: Climate Change and the Adelie Penguin from EOWilson Biodiversity Foundation on Vimeo.

“The consequences of a loss of biodiversity could encompass everything from altering key Antarctic marine food chains to the loss of species that may hold cures to cancer,” writes Dr. McClintock, whose recent book forms the basis of Ghost Rookeries.

The E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation (EOWBF) and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) will be embarking on an exciting new initiative this summer. Debuting with Ghost Rookeries: Climate Change and the Adelie Penguin, short videos will be shown at select AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums in the U.S, and Ghost Rookeries and future videos will be seen by millions of visitors.

Dr. Earle serves on the Board of Advisors for the EO Wilson Biodiversity Foundation and is also a contributor to McClintock’s Lost Antarctica.

Ghost Rookeries, narrated by actor, conservationist, and member of the EOWBF Board of Advisors Harrison Ford, conveys the story of the Adelie Penguin, whose habitat—and thus the biodiversity of all of Antarctica—is being threatened by real-time environmental changes. 

Dr. Paula Ehrlich, President and CEO of the EOWBF, calls Ghost Rookeries and the partnership with AZA “. . . a wonderful way to engage audiences about the importance of preserving our biological heritage through story. The Adelie Penguin is an iconic story, a symbol, of the real-time effect of climate change on biodiversity.”

Ghost Rookeries was produced by the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the Tennessee Aquarium.

Feature Photo: Nesting Chinstrap Penguins, Antarctic Peninsula (c) Lost Antarctica