Arctic Animals Endangered By Climate Change
From polar bears in the Arctic to marine turtles off the coast of Africa our planets diversity of life is at risk from the changing climate.
Arctic animals endangered by climate change. In addition to increased rates of disease and degraded habitats climate change is also causing changes in species themselves which threaten their survival. But the ringed seal the smallest Arctic seal species cannot. Animals in the Arctic including reindeer and golden eagles are migrating earlier due to climate change say researchers who have gathered a huge amount of data to study the behaviour of 86.
Climate change poses a fundamental threat to the places species and peoples livelihoods WWF works to protect. Mon 31 Jan 2005 1044 EST. Four whales gray beluga bowhead and narwhal.
The polar bear the walrus the Arctic fox and the beluga whale. Without urgent action to cut greenhouse gas emissions the world will continue to feel the effects of a warming Arctic. As the Earth heats up and the ice disappears scientists estimate that two-thirds of polar bears could be wiped out by 2050.
Climate change may also be altering the currents and nutrient cycling in some parts of the bearded seals range which may be affecting the abundance of the fish and shellfish the species preys upon. With the Arctic winter of 2017-18 the warmest on record researchers are finding a troubling range of climate change impacts on wildlife including wolverines reindeer snowy owls and more. Adélie penguins which rely on krill for food might be among the animals most vulnerable to the effects of climate change as they creep into the Antarctic.
This article is more than 15 years old. Today climate change is the biggest threat facing the Arctic and its wildlife. The survival of the polar bear is threatened by climate change.
The Arctic is warming at approximately twice the speed of the global average which is shrinking. Bearded seals were given US. Polar bears for example depend on summer sea ice to hunt seals.