Why Is Sea Ice So Dangerous To Walrus?

Polar Bears rely upon sea ice for survival. They hunt on seals that are found on sea ice. Climate change and the atmospheric warming have caused the Arctic ice to melt, resulting in loss of habitats for polar bears. This essay will focus on how has climate change and increase in temperature affected the polar bears and what can we do about it.

These areas, which are called polynyas, provide shelter for various organisms like walruses because they have permanent access to the air but can still retreat to the sea for food and shelter. The strong currents within the arctic can also pose a danger because the shifting ice can trap animals. For example, when bowhead whales and beluga whales are trapped by the ice, they are within the reach of polar bears, who are the dominant predators in the region. Many animals are dependent on polar bears and the presence of these predators affects the behavior of animals, both big and small, in the arctic. For example, gulls and arctic foxes scavenge and rely on polar bear kills during the freezing winters. When the ice begins to melt with the onset of Summertime, the ocean becomes more accessible. This allows for migrating birds from the South to arrive to nest and feed on the accessible seafood. This can be seen in the example of Brunnich Guillemots, the north equivalent of penguins, who fly in order to

It also means that big chunks of ice will break off and create walls on top of the ocean waters. With the ice melting, the NarDewhal habitat has to change, but I don’t believe that they can adjust to such critical circumstances because their living environments are all about deep waters and ice. Although ice is not primarily what Narwhals live under, they need to coldness to live in the area. There was an incident in Canada that caused the Narwhal population to decrease substantially. Jaymi Heimbuch (2008) says that, “In a heartbreaking move, the Canadian government decided it would rather allow 500 Narwhals to be shot one by one at an air hole in the ice, rather than bring in icebreakers to help free the whales.” They could have also killed the Narwhals to receive money from the ivory and other parts of the Narwhal.

The biggest threat to the tundra is from oil and gas development that results in global warming. As the planet warms the permafrost melts and tundra ecosystems will collapse. Another, threat comes from airborne pollutants, which have brought measurable levels of pollutants such as DDT and PCB's to even remote areas because it is a great technical challenge to effect efficient sewage treatment in a cold environment. Lastly, the overpopulation of Canadian geese pose a threat to the tundra because the balance of the biome will be offset.

Warmer winters leave seals without protective ice dens. This exposure to the elements increases infant mortality and leaves adults unprotected from fisherman. Fishermen use nets to trap the seals, which also end up littering the oceans. An average of 60,000 seals were killed each year between 1984 and 1994. Most of the pelts are first purchased by processors in Newfoundland. The seals are also facing pollution, which causes habitat loss. Predators of seals are the Orca, Killer Whale, Great White Shark, and Polar Bears. Global warming is another concern for seals. As the polar ice caps melts, the seals find more predators in their natural habitat. Which means they are at risk of being eaten as well as having to share their food and other supplies. Seals have to eat more to gain blubber and keep themselves warm. Seals that live in colder regions are heavier in

Although difficult to imagine, Ohio has at vari- ous times in the recent geologic past (within the last 1.6 million years) had three-quarters of its surface covered by vast sheets of ice perhaps as much as 1 mile thick. This period of geologic history is referred to as the Pleistocene Epoch or, more commonly, the Ice Age, although there is abundant evidence that Earth has experienced numerous other “ice ages” throughout its 4.6 billion years of existence.

The melting sea ice is also affecting the polar bear's main prey, seals, forcing the bears to turn to alternate, less nutritious food sources. Once sea ice forms in the winter, seals use the ice to create dens to give birth to their pups. In these months, polar bears use sea ice as their hunting grounds to find seal dens. Now that Seasonal Ice is forming later and melting earlier (IPCC, 2013), seals have less time to build dens and give birth. Consequently, polar bears have less time to hunt their preferred prey of seal pups. They must spend more time on land hunting other animals of less nutritional value. Organizations like Sea World Parks have reported male polar bears occasionally eating newly-born polar bear cubs because they cannot find other food to eat. Lack of nutritional food leads to a reduced body size. Polar bears are becoming thinner and weaker from not eating enough (Rode, Amstrup, & Regehr 2010). They have to swim longer distances to find ice to hunt upon, causing many cubs to die because they are not yet strong enough. In the Hudson Bay, the average polar bear weight has decreased by 15% and the population has decreased by 20% (National Wildlife Federation). In the summer when there is no ice, polar bears in the Hudson Bay go onto land to fast until the ice reforms. Now that ice is

There is an animal in the Arctic Ocean called a Narwhal. There are three of predators for Narwhals. There predators include Killer Whales, Polar Bears, and Walruses. Narwhals can weigh up to 4,200 pounds! Narwhals don’t have a certain color for their whole life, they change colors! When they are born they are blue and gray, Juveniles are black and blue, and adults are mottled gray. Narwhals will eat Greenland halibut, Arctic and polar cod, squid, and shrimp. A Narwhal's tusk is actually an enlarged tooth with 10 million nerve endings inside.

2The Inuits have to understand the natural patterns of the wild life so...so it is easier to hunt prey like seals,caribou, and walrus Because there is ice that can expose them. But global warming is disrupting these patterns.

Other animals in danger include arctic seals, seabirds, and walruses. Most arctic seal species are dependent on sea ice for a birthing ground and place to rest. With the decrease in glaciers, these seals will become extinct since they directly live on the ice or in the water. Southern seals that have adapted to live on land, will more likely start to migrate north and take over areas that have experienced serious glacier retreat. This will create greater competition between seals and ultimately lead to changes in the food web (Arctic Climate Change). Seabirds, such as ivory gulls, will be impacted by the absence of ice. These birds regularly nest in the mountainous areas which offer protection for their young. Also, these birds scavenge for food between the cracks or on the surface of the ice. In the past 20 years, ivory gulls in Canada have experienced a population decline of 90% (Arctic Climate Change). Walruses will also lose their feeding ground once the ice begins to melt farther. Walruses normally live on the ice edge where clams, their main source of food, is most

Economic growth is vital to sustain human life; however, the unsustainable consumption of natural resources to attain this demand is leading to self-destruction. The Earth is facing environmental changes, including climate changes, which are altering the Earth system. Significantly higher thermal expansion is inescapable if the increasing pollution by carbon dioxide emission continues relentlessly. One evidence of this change is global warming and its impact in the Arctic Ice. The critical role of the Arctic in the global climate system implies that Arctic Ice changes will have far-reaching connotations for, and feedbacks to, the entire Earth. Currently, the warning signs include: rapid diminishing of sea ice, increased mass

Nisa, Kallik’s mother tells them that the icy is melting quicker every year. She also says that they need be on the ice longer than they can be.This shows that the polar bears will have a harder time on the ice because that is what they depend on as a solid. If the ice is melting faster each year that means the ice will not be there long and the polar will have to stay on land.

Our society’s current rate of pollution coupled with naturally occurring environmental changes are reshaping the world we are accustomed to. In the documentary Chasing Ice, The Extreme Ice Survey is dedicated to bringing photography and science together in an effort to illustrate humanities role in nature, concentrating primarily on glaciers. Since film and photography have been proven to have a greater lasting impact compared to reading statistics this team of scientist and journalist have banned together to shed light on a concept that is considered abstract in much of the world, climate change.

They need food, water, shelter, and a safe place to live. Depending on where they live they sometimes travel along a coast line which is a good place to find food. When the weather gets cold they return to their winter home, which they migrate to year after year. They return to their territory where they were born during the cold season to hibernate. Their hunting ground is their territory they sometimes share their territory with smaller animals and tend to go back to there hunting grounds year around; if they lose their hunting grounds to another bear they must find a new one. Polar bears hunt ring seals during the spring and early summer. They also eat wild berries, seaweed, and grass when they come across them. They will also go after snow geese, lemmings, birds’ eggs, dead whales, and walruses. They can get a successful kill every five days. (Smith)

In class, L. Meek discussed about the six properties of Evolved Psychological Mechanism (EPM). The first property is that EPM solved a specific problem of survival or reproduction recurrently over the evolutionary history. Second, only narrow of information is processed according to EPM. Third, the adaptive problem an organism is facing is informed by an EPM. Fourth, EPM also transformed through, leaving some room for decision making for an individual as the output. Fifth, the output of an EPM is the physical activity, which manifest behavior. Last, the output of an EPM is to solve a specific adaptation problem, such as having an EPM to attract food to solve a hunger problem.