And given that the krill (tiny crustaceans) that penguins feed on are also dependent on the ice for their own existence (they feed on algae on the ice) - some colonies affected by eroded floes could face a double-whammy of high fledgling mortality and restricted food resources.
But the company has discovered that its algae can be processed into other useful things: feed for fish farms, protein powders for food supplements and omega-3 fatty acids used in a variety of supplements and pharma products.