Polar Bears: Population Declining (Adam Alviso)

Polar Bears: Population Declining 

                                                  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear

 By Adam Alviso

Summary and Ecology 

 Polar Bears (Ursus Maritimus) are one of the species listed in the US Fish and Wildlife list of endangered species. These species are in danger and need help from the human population to do there They are huge creatures that get up to 1700 pounds in weight and sometimes up to 30 years in age.  Polar Bears evolved 1-3 million years ago from the Brown and Grizzly Bear (Botello). Today, some Polar Bears mate with Grizzly Bear to make a certain type of species called the Grolar Bear. This because Grizzly Bears are able to move to Polar Bear habiitats due to climate change. Polar Bears are a K-Selected species because they have small litter sizes, a high adult survival rate, and they go through delayed maturation. Polar Bears go through delayed implantation, which is when the embryo will not implant in the females uterus until the fall when “true” gestation occurs (Botello). Polar Bears are at the top of the food chain and they play an important role in the overall health of the marine environment (Kinnerod).  The odds that you have seen a polar bear in person are very rare. This is because they live in the Artic, where it is freezing cold. They are called marine animals because they live on ice by the Arctic Ocean. To protect them from this cold weather, their fur is made of a thick water repellant coat, which allows them to swim in water without freezing (Kinnerod). Polar Bears are also known to carry a lot of fat, which we know keeps mammals and humans warm as well. Polar Bears are very good swimmers, swimming at a pace of 6mph only using their front legs (Kinnerod). This skill will does not come into use when they are hunting for their prey. They wait for the seals to come to the surface before they attack their prey (Botello). Polar Bears breed in the late spring when temperatures get hotter. They do not usually den but to keep the cubs warm, female Polar Bears will den on shore near the coast (Botello).

                                                   http://blog.wwf.ca/blog/2014/02/27/bears/
Distribution:
 Bears live in the circumpolar north, which includes Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Russia, and Norway. 60% of the 22,000-31,000 polar bears worldwide live in Canada (WWF). The Polar Bear population is split into 19 subpopulations, with 3 of those in decline, and much more declining (Kinnerod). Each area in the circumpolar north has different predictions how the Polar Bears are faring. In the United States, Polar Bears are threatened and all the other areas including Canada, Greenland, and Norway are vulnerable to extinction. Russia is the only area where they have a recovering population of Polar Bears (WWF). With satellites placed in these areas, it makes it easier for researchers to track what is going on. Some researchers go to the circumpolar themselves to track the Polar Bear population. Stats in 2014 had 9 areas that were data-deficient which means missing or outdated information (WWF). So many threats have affected the populations of the Polar Bears. Predictions of the ice melting has had scientist predicting that the global Polar Bear population will decline by 30% by 2050 (WWF). Polar Bear populations are declining and it is due to something very serious globally.

                                                  worldwildlife.org
           Threats:

The loss of sea ice in the Artic is due to climate change and global warming, the biggest threat to Polar Bears worldwide. The ice is melting at an alarming rate, which leaves the Polar Bears Vulnerable to extinction. Polar Bears were the first Vertebrate species species listed the US Endangered Species Act as threatened. This happened in 2008 due to the continued observed loss of Polar Bear Habitat (Botello). Other negative threats that affect Polar Bears include: Human Conflicts, Industrial impacts, and Unsustainable hunting (Kinnerod). The climate change forces Polar Bears to move to shore, which leaves them able to come in contact with humans. This is very dangerous for both humans and Polar Bears. Offshore petroleum installations in the Artic are expected to increase (Kinnerod). This could be harmful and even fatal to Polar Bears if they come into contact with spilled oil. The oil will not only effect the Polar Bear population but it will also effect the entire food chain. The Noise from all this work could also harm and be a disturbance to the Polar Bear Population. Hunting of Polar Bears has decreased of the years but there are still people out there that do it illegally.

 Description of Recovery Plan:

So how can we stop this terrible mess? Well, we need to prevent the arctic ice from melting. Greenhouse gas emissions is the main cause of global warming and this is something that can be stopped. By not using cars all the time and carpooling when you get the chance to. We can also stop human contact with these Bears when they come to shore to create there dens. Human contact has disrupted dens and has sometimes led to death of the Polar Bear due to humans putting themselves in danger and resorting to the weapon. The US government needs to play a huge role in this because we humans cannot do it by ourselves. They need to help prevent oil spills and only allow a certain amount of arctic shipping a year. The oil spills of drilling and petroleum installations is fatal to the Polar Bears. The industrial impacts can be stopped by the US Government. The US government can also have a stricter policy on unstainable hunting. There are still hunters that hunt endangered species illegally.

                                               strangesounds.org

 

http://agribusiness234.com/brazilian-greenhouse-gas-emissions-the-importance-of-agriculture-and-livestock/

6 step recovery plan: 

Found on: https://www.fws.gov/alaska/PDFs/PBRT%20Recovery%20Plan%20Book.pdf

 Polar bears are important to humans for many reasons. In seeking an enduring, collaborative strategy for management, this Plan recognizes the array of values held by diverse communities engaged in polar bear conservation. The Plan proposes 6 Fundamental Goals. The first 3 involve securing the long-term persistence of polar bears on different geographic scales: (1) range-wide (the global scale of the ESA listing), (2) ecoregions (an intermediate scale that reflects a goal of maintaining intraspecific diversity), and (3) the State of Alaska (encompassing the 2 polar bear subpopulations partially within the United States). Fundamental Goal 4 recognizes the nutritional and cultural traditions of native peoples with connections to polar bear populations, including the opportunity for sustainable harvest of polar bears for subsistence purposes as that term is understood in the context of U.S. laws. Fundamental Goal 5 calls for continued management of human-bear interactions to ensure human safety and to conserve polar bears. Finally, Fundamental Goal 6 seeks to achieve polar bear conservation while minimizing restrictions to other activities within the U.S. range of the polar bear, including economic development (Runge).

What else can we do?

Two other things you can do is adopt a stuffed animal Polar Bear from the Gift center on the website worldwildlife.org. These donations will be used to support WWF’s conservation efforts around the world. They will especially go into the support of Polar Bear conservation.

http://sponsorapolarbear.com/adopt-a-polar-bear

You can also send a letter to President Obama, filling out a form on the worldworldlife.org website. Obama still has 2 months in office, and that is enough time to do something so little for an endangered species like Polar Bears. All you have to is fill in your name and address in the boxes. This letter will include:

 Dear President Obama,

I am inspired by how far we've come over the last decade in our fight to protect this planet. What you do now will have a lasting impact on our environment.

I'm writing to ask you to:

1. Permanently protect America's Arctic from offshore oil and gas development.

2. Finalize and implement the anti-illegal fishing regulations.

3. Protect conservation and international climate priorities in the FY 17 budget.

4. Publish regulations that define a de minimus exception for the Lacey Act amendments thereby protecting against illegal wood products entering the US.

Thank you,

[Your Name]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/stalking-obama-months-frostpaw-polar-bear-finally-shoutout/story?id=21324941


                                                              Work Cited:

1.       Botello, Debra. "Polar Bear - National Wildlife Federation". Nwf.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

2.       Kinnerod, Sindre. "Polar Bear | Species | WWF". World Wildlife Fund. N.p., 2016. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

3.       Runge, Michael and Jenifer Kohout. "Polar Bear: Draft Conservation Management Plan". fws.gov. N.p., 2016. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.

4.       WWF. "Polar Bear Status, Distribution & Population". Wwf.panda.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.