Ice Caps: Polar Bears

183 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Polar bear and climate change research paper

As the ice caps are melting “the species most vulnerable , those at the edges of their natural ranges, would be affected first, which is what is happening now” (Bily 95). Many artic mammals rely on the sea’s biological productivity and on the presence of sea ice. One certain species that is dependent on the ice caps are Polar bears. Which in Cynthia Biles book, she states” Polar bears need sea ice as a platform from which to hunt their primary prey, to make seasonal migrations between the sea ice and their terrestrial denning areas” ( Biles ). As the ice recedes further and further, it is getting harder for the polar bears to find food that they need in able to feed their cubs.” Polar bears are having to swim longer distances than they’re

Show More
Related

  • The Arctic Region: Climate And Climate Change

    1676 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Arctic region is home to a variety of valuable animals and plants, including polar bear, seal, and so on. The ecosystem of the Arctic region is fragile because these animals are evolved to live in extreme conditions. With the climate change, many animals are endangered. Ice is the habitat of polar animals because they have to rely on sea ices for resting, food, and reproduction. With the climate change and the decrease of sea ice, the number of polar animals is decreasing and their health is threatened. For example, the average weight of female polar bears in 1980 was about 650 pounds, but the number reduced to about 500 pounds in 2004 (Djoghlaf 15). The earlier breakup and later condensation of sea ice shortens the hunting season of polar bears. Polar bears mainly feed on seals that indwell icy land. The melting ice reduces the number of seals and food intake of polar bears. In addition, polar bears are used to living in ice caves. The rising temperature causes the collapse of ice caves, which can kill baby bears. The climate change is negatively affecting the biodiversity in the region and will definitely harm the ecosystem

    Read More

  • Summary: The Impact Of Climate Change On Leopard Seals

    1957 Words  | 4 Pages

    Crabeater seals are a smaller species of pack-ice seals that feed primarily on Antarctic krill (Siniff, et al., 2008). This means any environmental changes that will affect the availability of Antarctic krill will probably have an impact on crabeater seals. This (along with changes to ice floes which significantly impact the crabeater seal’s pupping and protection behaviours) mean that it is likely that this species of seal will experiences a decline in abundance as the Antarctic continues to be effected by climate change (Siniff, et al.,

    Read More

  • Decline Of Harp Seal Essay

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    Climate change increases the carbon dioxide levels in oceans. The increased CO2 causes shifts in ocean conditions, rising sea temperatures, rising of sea levels, etc. The increase of oceanic temperatures causes the melting of sea ice. The model shows this as climate change has an arrow going to sea ice melting. Sea ice is essential to Harp Seals. They depend on sea ice as a platform for pupping, molting, and resting (Kovacs, 2015). The Harp Seal pups stay immobile on ice packs for the first twelve days of their life to gain fat. Sea ice decline is resulting in less Harp Seal pups being born and surviving. The model shows this, because sea ice

    Read More

  • Essay On Polar Bears

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    - Pagano, A. M., G. M. Durner, S. C. Amstrup, K. S. Simac, and G. S. York. 2012. Long-distance swimming by polar bears (Ursus maritimus) of the southern Beaufort Sea during years of extensive open water: Canadian Journal of Zoology 90:663-676. doi: 10.1139/z2012-033http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/z2012-033#.UxOE1ZWPLoo

    Read More

  • Polar Bears: The Evolution Of The Polar Bear

    1500 Words  | 3 Pages

    Out of an Ice Age emerged one of our most majestic creatures in the world the polar bear. From its brown bear ancestry, the predator evolved to be a master of a harsh and unwelcoming ice kingdom. Intelligent, adaptable and fierce, the polar bear learned how to survive in a place that offers few comforts to any creature. But now that very environment is in flux. And so is the polar bear’s fate (Nature). Polar Bears are very different from other bears. Polar bears are very large bears compared to Black bears. Polar bears weigh anywhere between 330-1700lbs and Black bears weigh anywhere between 150-600lbs. They have strong legs with large, flattened feet with some webbing between their toes that help with walking on ice and swimming. The wide paws prevent sea ice from breaking by distributing weight while walking. Their paws allow them to pull a 600 pound seal out of its breathing hole (Rosing, 20). The webbed feet results in making polar bears, unlike other bear species to be considered as marine mammals along with seals, sea lions, walruses, whales and dolphins (Polar Bear). According to Rosing Polar bears are excellent swimmers and have been known to swim up to six miles an hour and as far as 60 miles at a stretch. The bears paddle with their front feet and steer with their back feet. They often overheat. Sometimes they venture into the waters just to cool off. When a bear climbs on an ice floe, it shakes itself off because it is trying to prevent ice from forming on its fur (22-23). Because of climate change and hunting of polar bears are now becoming an endangered species which is affecting the food chain. We can fix this by going green, banning polar bear hunting and keep creating these new hybrid bears that are mixed with griz...

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Polar Bears

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    Polar bears adaptation is thick fur (thicker than any other bears’), they have a thick layer of blubber beneath their fur that provides insulation, and their long neck and narrow skull aids the animal in the water while warming the air that they breath. Also, their front feet are large, flat, and oar like, making them excellent swimmers. They feed primarily on the fat of ice-dependent seals. They also eat walrus, beluga, fish, birds, and many other small animals. Two percent of their hunts for seals are actually successful. Another interesting fact is

    Read More

  • The Arctic Factors In The Arctic: The Gloomy Arctic

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ice is one of the major abiotic factor in the arctic, without the ice, many organism such as polar bears would be left without a place to live and even with seals, it would be unsafe for them because without ice, there will be no places to hide from predators. Other factors are permafrost, strong winds, poor soil, long winters and short summer.

    Read More

  • Polar Bear: Threatened or Not?

    1595 Words  | 4 Pages

    In recent decades, the global warming threat has captured the attention of the nation and the world. While the main focus began with concentrating on the effects this long-term natural crisis would have on the human population, select groups have worked to approach the topic in a manner that entails prevention in order to help other animal and plant species around the globe. One such organization is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has played a major role in the conservation of the polar bear species, one of the mammals most adversely affected by the recent climate changes. As more research has been conducted regarding the polar bears, scientific name Ursus Maritimus, the conclusions have been shocking. In 2008, the Department to the Interior listed the polar bear species as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 awarding it some protections mandated by the federal government (Wolfe). However, on January 5, 2011, Representative Donald Young proposed a bill in Congress in order to delist the polar bears as threatened, thus decreasing and even removing the conservation efforts that have been set in place over the past three years. The polar bear Species should remain listed under the Endangered Species Act because ice thickness has decreased 40 percent during the past 30 years thus reducing the polar bears’ critical environment, if current conditions continue the polar bear populations around the world may decrease by two thirds by mid century, and since the species has been protected under the Endangered Species Act the worldwide populations have experienced stabilization or growth in most circumstances.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Global Warimgin on Polar Bears

    518 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin with, the melting of polar ice caps has caused polar bears to swim long distances. According to Bryan Walsh of TIME Magazine the melting of the ice caps have caused polar bears especially the young cubs to swim longer distances which has caused a “ forty-five percent mortality rate” (Walsh). In the article Walsh, writes about a study that showed that younger cubs because of low fat and strength were more likely to die due to the long di...

    Read More

  • Climate Change and Endagered Species

    1351 Words  | 3 Pages

    Unfortunately, that is the polar bear (Defenders of Wildlife, 2013). The climate change endangers the species, so much so that the animals have become one of the icons that conservationists use to illustrate the threat posed by climate change (The Huffington Post, 2014). You cannot protect a species from the impacts of climate change without addressing the issue of climate change, itself (Defenders of Wildlife, 2013). Large carnivores are extreme indicators of ecosystem health (WWF, n.d.). “As the Arctic sea ice melts, the polar bears lose their primary hunting ground — not to mention their most plentiful and nutritious prey. It remains a question whether they will be able to adapt to changing conditions and survive” (The Huffington Post, 2014). A polar bear at risk is frequently a sign of something wrong somewhere in the arctic marine ecosystem! A polar bear at risk is frequently a sign of something wrong somewhere in the arctic marine ecosystem (WWF, n.d.)!

    Read More

  • Polar Bears: The Speed Of Climate Change

    1330 Words  | 3 Pages

    Polar bears don't just live on ice, they use the ice as an advantage to catch prey such as seals. Polar bears have adapted to living on ice and being able to withstand the cold weather. Now that the climate is changing at a fast pace, polar bears are losing their land because its melting, leaving them with no place to walk, sleep and taking away their way of hunting prey. (polar bears international, 2015) This is all happening so fast that there is no way polar bears will be able to adapt to the new environments, causing extinction. The arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world is due to the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, making it a problem happening very rapidly. (Bagley, 2015) Temperatures in the Arctic region have risen 7 degrees Fahrenheit over the last half century. (Bagley, 2015) Population among polar bears has decreased up to 40% in some areas. (Bagley, 2015) With the climate getting warmer, ice is melting earlier every spring, and takes longer to freeze every winter which is disrupting the feeding and breeding cycles of many different arctic species. (Bagley, 2015) Polar bears have adapted ways to survive in the cold harsh arctic environment including having the ability to cool down their outer skin to keep their vital organs warm when they are submerged in cold water. Though this may help the delay of hypothermia as they have to swim greater distances from ice shelf to ice shelf, that doesn't mean polar bears can swim forever. (Bagley, 2015) One bear that a scientist studied swam 500 miles over nine days, but lost 22% of her body weight, and lost her cub.(Bagley, 2015) Many different scientists have been studying the behaviour of the polar bear to see if it could adapt in any way to survive. Eight U.S scientists made a hypothesis consisting that polar bears could lower their metabolic rates enough to survive as food

    Read More

  • Glaciers In Alaska Research Paper

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    Various glaciers in Alaska and other parts of the United States have shrunk dramatically. If temperatures continue to rise, the ice will continue to melt, and some glaciers could disappear completely, which causes sea levels to rise. There are many animals, birds, and seafood that depend solely on glaciers for survival. With an increase in sea water temperature, and increasing sea levels, sea-plants that these fish thrive on will be lost, lowering the number of seafood, which in-turn will make survival of many species difficult. The arctic is source region for cold ocean currents and with no ice it will have no density and temperature distinctions, which pushes the ocean currents. If the ocean current heat transfer mechanism powers down,

    Read More

  • Polar Bears Essay

    838 Words  | 2 Pages

    A polar bear is a one of the eight species. “Scientists believe that the polar bear began over 200,000 years ago. They came from the brown bears ancestors.” Most experts think that polar bears are the longest bears. Males measure over 10 feet long, when standing on their hind legs, other bear not so much. Brown bears and polar bear are the largest and are both land carnivores. Polar bears are one of the worlds largest world predictors.

    Read More

  • Polar Bears

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    Polar bears prefer to live in extremely cold artic climates. They live only in the Northern Hemisphere, on the arctic ice cap, and they spend most of their time on coastal areas. Polar bears are widely spread in Canada, extending from the northern arctic islands south to the Hudson Bay area. They are also found in Greenland, on islands off the shore of Norway, on the northern coast of the former Soviet Union, and on the northern and northwestern coasts of Alaska in the United States.

    Read More

  • Global Warming Informative Speech

    2269 Words  | 5 Pages

    The polar regions are most affected and vulnerable to the warming temperatures because the poles are covered in ice. The world’s ice sheets are melting faster than ever and temperatures in the Arctic region are rising twice as fast as anywhere else on Earth according to the NRDC. This will have a serious impact on people, wildlife and plants in that region. The National Climate Assessment has said that “By the year 2100, it 's estimated our oceans will be one to four feet higher, threatening coastal systems and low-lying areas, including entire island nations and the world 's largest cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Miami as well as Mumbai, Sydney, and Rio de Janeiro”. Polar bears are in great threat as the ice sheets melt because they use the ice to travel across the land and hunt. As the sea-ice platforms move further apart, the swimming conditions become more dangerous. The U.S Geological Survey done by the National Wildlife Federation predicts that by the year 2050, two thirds of all polar bears will disappear. Researcher Bill Fraser has tracked the Adelie penguins in Antarctica and reported the numbers have fallen from 32,000 to only 11,000 over the last 30

    Read More

More about Ice Caps: Polar Bears

Open Document