Threatened Species: Polar Bears

Threatened Species: Polar Bears

Biology 301 – Human Ecology

April 25, 2010

Table of Contents

I. Abstract

II. Introduction

III. Food and Eating Habits

IV. Drowning and Starving

V. Mortality Rate

VI. Current Population

VII. Population Outlook

VIII. Reverse and Refreeze

IX. References

Abstract

It was recognized that in 1988 mankind was changing the atmosphere of planet Earth (Pearce 2008). Global warming is a big concern to scientists, and humans are the principal cause of this event. Global warming is having a major impact on the polar bears and their regional climate conditions. The polar bears inhabit only in the Northern Hemisphere, on the arctic ice cap, along the coastal areas, and are especially adapted to the polar marine environment in which they live. Because of current and impending losses of their sea-ice habitat, due to global warming, polar bears are listed as a threatened species, and will become extinct in the next 100 years.

Introduction

Global warming has happened in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The 20th century’s last two decades were the hottest in 400 years, and the Arctic is feeling the effects of global warming the most (National Geographic News 2006). There is extensive melting of glaciers, reduced snow coverage in the Northern Hemisphere, and warming underground. Climate records confirm that in the last 50 years, the temperatures in the Antarctica have increased, and an ice shelf in the Antarctic, the Wordie Ice Shelf, is gone. Also, while more than 3,200 square miles of glacier ice (8,300 square km) has broken off from the Larsen shelf since 1986 (Reuters 2009). The melting ice could dramatically alter the planet Earth, by raising global ocean and sea levels, by flooding low-lying areas, by causing an imbalance of the global ecosystem, and endangering several species of animals. The current scientific consensus on climate change is that recent warming indicates a fairly stable...