Coastal resources need relief amid climate change

Peru

Hidden in a wooden blind on a cliff edge high above the Pacific Ocean, Marco Cardeña trains a scope on the beach below and clicks two mechanical counters, tallying the sea lions and Humboldt penguins. The Punta San Juan Reserve, on the arid Peruvian coast 530 km (329 miles) south of Lima, is home to a colony of some 3,000 penguins and other wildlife sustained by the nutrient-rich Humboldt Current sweeping up the Pacific coastline. This upwelling gives Peru one of the world’s major fisheries, mainly of anchoveta (Engraulis ringens), which is made into fish meal for export. It also supports a delicate web of coastal fauna, including Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti), guanay cormorants (Phalacrocorax bougainvillii), Peruvian boobies (Sula variegata) and two sea lion... [Log in to read more]

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