如果全球变暖导致冰海以目前的速度减少，那么依赖冰海在南极地区栖息的皇帝企鹅可能会在本世纪末濒临灭绝。研究人员们在《国家科学院学报》上发表了这项新的研究结果，是根据40年来对一个南极大陆皇帝企鹅种群的具体研究和观察经验。
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.
GLOSSARY 词汇表
iconic 具有代表性的
what the future holds 将来会是怎样
species 种类
colony 群体
monitored 被观察
models 模型
forecasting 预测
Antarctic climate 南极气候
predicted 预言
population crash 数量巨减
near extinction 濒临灭绝
breed 繁殖
mate 交配
migrate 迁移，移栖
