POLAR BEARS

To defend or not to defend?

By: Manjot Mangat

Polar Bear Facts

Vulnerable 60 % of the world's polar ears live in Canada Polar bears can swim up to 100 km Polar bears use sea ice as a hunting ground to catch seals

and other prey Easily overheat and sometimes swim in waters to cool down Six out of eight members of the bear family are now

endangered in Canada A polar bear can eat up to 100 lbs of food at one sitting. Weight: 410-720 kg Carnivore: eats seals, birds, and even flesh Mate every other year in mid-summer Average life span in wild is approx. 25 to 30 years Live in the coldest environments

Species Profile

Kingdom ANIMALIA

Phylum CHORDATA

Class MAMMALIA

Order CARNIVORA

Family URSIDAE

Taxonomy:

Scientific Name: Ursus MaritimusCommon Names: English: Polar Bear French: Ours Blanc Spanish: Oso Polar

Geographic Range: found in ice-covered waters of the circumpolar Arctic– over the continental shelf and inter-island archipelagos – Can be found in: Canada, Greenland, Norway, West Siberia, North European Russia and the United States

Species Profile Cont’d

Habitat: shallow water areas near shore or currents, have reported to been far North as the North Pole

- inhabit arctic sea ice, water, islands, and continental coastlines

System: Terrestrial, Marine

7 different populations worldwide

Population: 20,000 to 25,000 and this number was decreasing very fast since 1990, but more recently the numbers are slowly rising

Population in 2009

Whereas years before there was more than double the population

Major Threats

Climate change

Utilisation

Oil Exploration

Climate Change

Polar Bears depend on ice for many reasons such as to hunt, rest and breed. Humans are burning fossil fuels at extreme rates which produces heat-trapping gases and this causes global warming. With melting polar caps polar bears can’t hunt for their food and they can’t live the way they should. With less food the polar bears will fail to reproduce often and the ones who do give birth will have to cope with the young’s higher mortality rate. Many polar bears are facing malnutrition and even starvation, this means that soon polar bears will be extinct if some action is not taken by humans. By reducing our burning of fossil fuels to save energy, not only polar bears but many other animals will be safe. Polar bears can’t live for long without ice and cold weather conditions, its like humans living without water they wouldn’t survive for too long.

Utilisation

There are many companies that hunt polar bears to use in different situations. Many hunters use the polar bear’s meat as food and the hide is used for make clothing such as boots(mukluks), mittens, fur pants and even for other craft pieces.

Orphaned Polar Bear cubs are even taken to zoos and other public display places. This is not safe for the polar bears because they are not in their habitat which will cause them to pass away before other polar bears with similar characteristics. Habitat can change the length of their life because they don’t have the same weather, food and life. Also, the won’t be reproducing so this means there won’t be a increasing population.

A lot of polar bears are captured alive for research activities and since they aren’t in their habitat anymore it will affect their health significantly.

Oil Exploration

Oil and gas businesses are moving up towards the Arctic because more accessible reserves dry up in the in the south. Petroleum extraction, transport and processing in the arctic affects polar bears and their habitats very negatively. These products pose as very serious health risks to polar bears. Contact with oil spills reduces the insulating effect of the fur on the polar bear. The bear has to use more energy to keep warm, and must make up for this energy loss by increasing its caloric intake. Also, the oil affects all of the food chain on which the polar bear relies.

Food Web

Polar Bear – Ursus Maritimus (Carnivore)

Seal- Pinnipedia Phocidae (Carnivore)

Salmon- Aaptosyax Arypus(carnivore)

Yellow Tang- Zebrasoma flavescens(carnivore)

Green Algae- Pediastrum boryanum (producers)

Giant Squid- Architeuthis Dux(omnivore)

River Sprat- Clupeoides venulosus(carnivore)

Crab- Limulus polyphemus (omnivore)

Plankton- Balaenoptera musculus (herbivore)

Algae -produces own food with photosynthesis

Classification

Chordata: Invertebrates and Vertebrates Have long tails according to its size They have complete digestive system which

means that they have a different anus and mouth

Central Nervous System

Classification Cont’d

Ursus Maritimus is from the Chordata Phylum 3 other species from Chordata Phylum:1. Ashy Chinchilla Rat (Abrocoma Cinerea )- 15 to

25 cm in length, thick and soft fur, and communicates through grunts and squeaks

2. Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri)- 115 cm tall, can live in -60 degrees Celsius and eat fish and squid.

3. Cougar (Puma Concolor)- 60-100 kg (2nd largest cat), can sprint 56 km/hr and masters in camouflage.

Ashy Chinchilla Rat

Emperor Penguin

Cougar

Consequences

Polar caps will melt adding an additional 5.9 inches to the already 6.6 inches of global sea level creating a 12.6 inch sea

Boots like Mukluks won’t be available with the same appearance

Polar Bear’s prey will start increasing in population since it won’t be killed for food

Predators of the polar bear will decrease in population since they don’t have the bear as their food

Once an ecosystem is disturbed it becomes unbalanced

Personal Response

Biodiversity is very important because it creates a healthy ecosystem, so if a disaster was to occur the ecosystem can better recover from it. Each and every species depends on another because they provide each other with things that will ensure survival. We as humans receive a lot of stuff from species such as medicines are extracted from different plants and even animal species. The structure of the ecosystem is made by biodiversity; it provides humans with basic needs such as shelter, food and medicine. Without a biodiverse ecosystem we would not be living or would be living a very short life because it maintains oxygen, purifies the water, and enriches the soil. Our economy is resulted from the biodiversity in a way as well; many goods are extracted and sold like food and medicine. Human health would be devastating because all the vitamins and food that is needed by humans to survive are provided by biodiversity. Biodiversity has taught us a lot and is keeping the earth running smoothly, from building shelter to eating is all thanks to biodiversity. Without biodiversity our world would probably be in the dark all of these theories of the past and our ancestor’s wouldn’t have even been there, because if we can’t study an organism then we can’t see into the past because all of the proof wouldn’t have been there. Almost everything that we do in our daily lives is connected in one way or another to biodiversity. Lastly there wouldn’t be any absorption and detoxification of industrial and human wastes which would lead to major health concerns and deaths. Biodiversity is essential to humans; it has a significant role in natural processes which are allowing us to survive.

Action Plan

Bibliography

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Polar Bear. (n.d.). Ursus Maritimus . Retrieved October 11, 2011, from www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/22823/0

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www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/polarbear/threats.html

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