The Effects of Climate Change on Polar Species
Climatic change is caused by human activities like use of fossil fuels and chlorofluorocarbons that release green house gases such as carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere. These green house gases trap heat in the atmosphere that eventually results to the environmental phenomenon referred to as global warming. Global warming is responsible for climate changes at Polar Regions and through out the world. Rise in temperatures at the arctic region causes the glaciers to melt out and reduce the sea ice cover.
This situation threatens the habitation of most of the polar species that depend on the ice for daily existence. In addition the phenomenon results to sudden changes in general weather patterns that disrupt animals migration trends increasing competition and pressure for food northward. According to the scientific projections, severity of global warming is increasing and the consequence of the climate change at the polar region is bound to worsen and may lead to extinction of some of the polar species. However due to the harsh climatic condition at the polar region, intensive researches has been very rare and most of the activities usually go unreported. Based on the intensity and gravity of the situation it is important that the modern human race at individual and society level, re-evaluate their contribution to the emission of greenhouse gases with an aim of being more environmental relevant and save the threatened polar species.
This paper aims at examining the effects that global warming and climate change have in polar species with particular reference to polar biodiversity and the major polar species.
The Effect of Climate Change on the Polar Biodiversity
According to Roddick (2006), biodiversity is the variation among and within a given species and their habitant. The vulnerability of the polar region to the climate change is attracting attention by many climatologists who take the region as an indicator of what would follow in the rest of the world. The impact of the global warming has already become evident in the area with the sea ice from Arctic Ocean continuously receding having 8 decline in the ice coverage (1 million km2) in the past 30 years. The ice cover has also been observed to get thinner by a margin of up to 40 a situation that has led to loss of habitat to many species. The reduction in the thickness of the ice affects the level of filtration of the sun rays adversely affecting the food processing and feeding of phytoplankton living beneath the ice. A whole host of unicellular organisms are affected by this change in the level of light penetrating through the ice and due to the linkages in the complex food web within the region the problem may affect many of the other animals within that ecosystem.
Another major problem with the biodiversity in the polar region is the massive migration toward north by species such as salmon due to rising temperature in the south. The migration has generally led to stiff competition for food with the native species reducing life expectancy and birth rate for most of the organisms. Scientific predictions indicate that in the next 50 years, 60 of the sea ice cover would have melted down. This would have devastating effect on the entire biodiversity a fact that may lead to extinction of most of the organisms that depend entirely on the ice for survival.
Conservation efforts for the polar region are a massive act that needs involvement of the public through major awareness campaigns. Many people may develop interest to proactively participate in mitigating the effects on the polar biodiversity once they learn the problem that the organisms are facing and what awaits them if appropriate actions are not taken in good time. One way of involving the public is by writing articles to the media on the topic so that the issue can become more credible and attract large audience in the efforts. However lack of consensus on the scientific findings on the gravity of the matter may act as an obstacle, with those opposed to conservation efforts using the contradictions to scatter the process. A solution to this obstacle may be reached if a large independent organization was to be formed to conduct studies among the members of the public and raise a unified stand on the dangers of the polar biodiversity caused by climatic changes. With the link of climatic changes to human activities many may be won to protect the polar biodiversity from future extinction through environmental conservation efforts (Anisimov and Reneva 2006, p. 172).
It is observable that climate change has great adverse effects on the polar biodiversity with the future beckoning with more severe consequences. With the climatologists warning that we may cross a point of no return beyond which climate change will be out of control, it is important that we combine efforts in environmental conservation. These efforts will save our globe and assure continuity of the polar ecosystems biodiversity.
Effect of Climate Change on the Arctic Food Web and the Polar major species
In the polar region ice is very significant for the existence of the native organisms with most of the biological activities at the edge and beneath the ice guided by its status as dictated by the seasonal patterns. Disruption of the natural state of the ice cover as witnessed through global warming can therefore be devastating. Penetration of light through the ice supports the growth of phytoplankton that provides food for zooplankton. Zooplanktons in turn are the major food source for various species of fish, birds and bowhead whales.
Polar bear is one of the significant polar animal that fully depends on the sea ice to feed, breed and travel. This makes the animal very vulnerable to the changes in climate that affects the sea ice. Polar bears require eating an estimated 45 seals annually for their survival. The various species of seals breed and raise their young ones in the ice. Melting and residing of ice has devastating effect on the seals as it causes death of their pups which also as a result affects the polar bears. The melt down of ice does not only affect polar bears by loosing seals for food but the bears also loose the medium on which they rely on while hunting. At the time when most of the ice melts up, the bears retreat out and spend their time fasting as they wait for the come back of the ice. In case of extreme effect of global warming, the formation of ice may take a longer time a situation that may lead to death of the weak boars and reduction in the weight of the survivors. A recent geological survey indicates that the climate change effect on the polar bear may result in elimination of 67 of the worlds bear population by the year 2050.
Another major polar species is the Ivory Gull which inhabits the edge of the ice edge feeding on fish, crustaceans and the remains from animals killed by the polar bear. Ivory gull has already been reported as an endangered animal after its major decline in its population in Russia and Canada. The decline in the population of Ivory gulls has been associated to the loss of sea ice as a result of climate change. However there has been a controversy for some scientist have attributed their decline to presence of industrial pollutants in the sea waters.
The other polar species of animal that is vulnerable to the changing climate are the whales especially the bowhead, narwal and beluga that inhabits the arctic sea waters through out the year. Those whales that make seasonal visits to the arctic waters may not be very vulnerable to the changes in the climate for they have adapted to living and feeding in organisms from different habitants within the sea. Narwal is the most sensitive to any slight change and it inhabits the area of thick sea ice where it feeds on polar cod and other cold fish.
Walruses are distributed around the different parts of the arctic and they require ice floors to rest on while feeding and to breed on. In cases when such ice edges retreats to the deep waters as it may be the case in the event of global warming, Walruses face great difficulties feeding and many of their young ones may die as they are separated from their mothers. As some of the Walruses seek alternative feeding sites and refuge they fall prey to polar bears and men. Existence of Walruses in extreme climate changes as predicted by scientist is therefore dismal for they would be exposed to very vulnerable conditions.
Though climate changes in the polar region mainly affect the species that solely depend on ice cover, current researches also indicate that the tundra ecosystem is also facing serious impacts. Permafrost is steadily disappearing particularly in the southern polar parts a situation that has resulted to the dry habitats getting converted to bogs. There are also changes in the vegetation cover with outbreaks of diseases and parasites that do well in warm climates. For example the spruce bark beetle that is well favored by warm climate has already destroyed millions of trees and the effect is spreading northward. Caribou that feeds on the lichens beneath snow have turned on eating tundra plants and their seasonal migration to the breeding sites has been greatly affected by the change in seasonal patterns. Climate change has resulted to spring coming earlier causing the caribou to reach the breeding sites too late to benefit from the newly emerging plants. Scientists have attributed the low birth rate and high mortality rate of the caribou calves to this unfortunate situation.
Conclusion
It is a fact that polar species are greatly threatened by the climate change and therefore environmental conservation efforts to reverse these effects are necessary. However there have been controversies in scientific finding on the sources of decline of the major polar species. While many scientists and climatologists attribute the decline to climate change others are attributing the decline to pollutants such as mercury and oil spills that could be present in the sea waters. In either case, human intervention is necessary to ensure that death and projected extinction of the polar species is never witnessed.
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