Effects Of Climate Change On Polar Bears – Polar Bears are facing a bleak future due to the effects of climate change, and the loss of their habitat and food supply is putting their lives at risk.
Polar bears are one of the most iconic species on Earth, but they face a dire future due to climate change. These magnificent animals have adapted to life in the Arctic and rely on sea ice for hunting and travel. However, as global temperatures continue to rise, sea ice is melting rapidly, and Polar bears are losing habitat and food sources.
Effects Of Climate Change On Polar Bears
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, causing sea ice to shrink by 13 percent per decade. This decline in sea ice has a direct impact on the hunting and mating habits of polar bears, as they rely on the ice to reach their prey. When the sea ice retreats during the summer months, polar bears are forced to travel long distances in search of food, resulting in energy loss and malnutrition. In some areas, polar bears have also been shown to forage in residential areas, increasing the risk of human-bear conflict.
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Climate change is also damaging the Arctic food web, reducing food supplies for polar bears. As the Arctic Ocean warms, it will cause phytoplankton and zooplankton, the building blocks of the food chain, to decline. This in turn affects larger species such as seals, which are the primary prey of polar bears. A decrease in food supply leads to increased competition between polar predators such as polar bears and arctic foxes, and a decline in the overall polar bear population.
The root cause of climate change is the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. A major contributor to these pollutants is industrial animal agriculture, or “factory farming.” According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the animal agriculture sector is responsible for more than 14% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and is one of the largest contributors to global warming. Conversion of native forests and grasslands to crops for animal feed production contributes to significant carbon dioxide emissions.
That’s why it’s even more important to take action now to fight climate change. By reducing the amount of meat we eat or eliminating it altogether, we can all reduce our carbon footprint and help protect polar bear habitat. Join us on our 21-day Meat Halfway journey to make a positive change to a more compassionate diet with the support of World Animal Protection. Sign up today and make a difference for polar bears and the planet! Arctic Studies
Polar bears may face extinction by the end of the century as a result of shrinking Arctic sea ice caused by climate change, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
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Although the study does not predict that all polar bears will be completely extinct by 2100, it estimates that 13 of the Arctic polar bear population, which makes up about 80% of the species, could die out due to starvation and reproductive failure. The researchers say the ice may be “conservative” based on current rates of ice loss and predict that some populations will disappear sooner.
“If global temperatures continue to rise at current levels, polar bears are unlikely to survive anywhere in the world,” said Peter Molnar, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Scarborough University. And the lead author of the study told the New York Times. Even if emissions are modestly reduced under the Paris climate agreement, “we will still unfortunately lose some people, especially some in the south, to sea-ice loss.”
Shrinking sea ice is forcing polar bears to migrate inland, depriving them of long-term food supplies, the study says. Fasting periods and reduced reproduction “risk the survival of all but a few Arctic populations by 2100,” the study said. “Moderately reducing emissions will prolong survival, but it may not be possible to prevent the extinction of some populations.”
“We knew long ago that polar bears would eventually disappear if we didn’t stop the rise in greenhouse gases,” said Steven Amstrop, the polar’s chief scientist. “But knowing when they start to disappear in different areas is important to inform management and policy and to inspire action.” Bear International and co-author of the study said in a statement. “We find that modest emissions reductions can extend global sustainability, but cannot prevent the extinction of several populations, emphasizing the urgency of more ambitious emissions reductions.”
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About 25,000 polar bears live in the Arctic. They live mainly on sea ice, so they hunt on seals. But as the ice melts, more bears are being forced onto land in the spring and summer. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, summer sea ice has declined an average of 13 percent per decade since 1980. Many areas that used to have year-round ice are ice-free during the summer months.
“You need sea ice to catch your food,” Molnar said. “There is not enough food on land to sustain the polar bear population.”
Polar bears can fast for months, but the rate at which the ice is melting suggests they will soon be forced to come onto land, meaning they will need to fast for as long as possible.
“Arid grazing may not occur at a scale that reduces recruitment and survival over more than a few years because food to meet the energy needs of polar bears is scarcely available on land,” the study said.
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“There will be times when you run out of energy,” Molnar said. “Not only do bears fast longer and need more energy to get through the process, but it’s harder for them to store that energy.”
Reduced energy also affects other factors in polar bear survival, such as finding a mate, which can lead to reduced reproductive levels. Low energy also affects the ability of female bears to produce milk to feed their cubs.
“What we’ve shown is that, first, we kill the babies, so the babies are born, but the women don’t have enough fat in their milk to carry them through the ice-free season.” Amstrop told the BBC. “Anyone among us knows that we can only go so long without food, that’s the biological reality of all living things.”
The study modeled the physical condition of the bears and calculated the number of times they were reasonably fast.
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“By estimating how lean and fat polar bears can be and modeling their energy use, we were able to quickly calculate the number of days before cub and/or adult survival rates begin to decline,” Molnar said. statement.
“By cross-referencing these fasting thresholds with future days expected to be free of sea ice, we were able to plot when fasting thresholds will be exceeded in different parts of the Arctic,” said Cecilia Beetz, a climate scientist at the university. Washington and co-author of the study.
“The polar bear has long been seen as a harbinger of climate change that affects all life, including humans,” Amstrop said. “We know that as the world continues to warm, floods, droughts and wildfires will become more frequent and severe, but the timing of these events is difficult to predict… Another reminder that we must show how close the threat is to different polar bear populations. Act now to address the worst problems we all face.”
Andrew Derocher, a professor of polar bear research at the University of Alberta, told The Times that the findings “are very consistent with what we’re seeing” from wildlife observations.
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“Research has shown that polar bears do better with less heat,” he said. “No matter how you look at the situation, there are serious conservation concerns for this species.”
Another study published in the journal PLOS ONE in 2016 found that polar bears in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska and western Canada are three times more likely to go ashore in the summer than they were in the 1980s. Bears now spend an average of 31 years on land, more than three years ago.
This has led to a 40% decline in the region’s polar bear population. Bears in the Beaufort Sea also experience lower birth weight, poorer body condition, and younger cub survival than similar populations.
In Russia, authorities were forced to declare a state of emergency last year after a remote village called Novaya
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