What is Climate Change?
How are Polar Bears
Climate change is also known as
global warming due to greenhouse
gas emissions caused by humans. It
is resulting in a universal increase
in temperature as well as many
issues for all living things on earth.
Polar bears are a great example of
how living organisms are being
affected.  extremely reliant and dependent on
Affected by Climate
Change?
The increase in temperatures has a
direct relation to the loss of habitat
for polar bears. Sea ice is the
habitat for polar bears as they are
it. It is used to cue migratory
movement and helps with
breeding, feeding/diet, and
reproduction. This decrease in sea
ice is leading to many negative
outcomes such as health problems,
migratory pattern shifts, and even
extinction.  melting on average 5-10 days
 Every decade since 1979 there
has been an average decline
rate of 11.3% in sea ice
Migratory Response of
Polar Bears
The migration pattern of polar
bears was consistent in years
before climate change was
relevant. With the help of sea ice
the bears could cue when they were
supposed to leave the ice for land
in the summer. Now sea ice is
earlier causing the polar bears to
swim in more open water for
migration. This issue leads to more
than just migratory patterns.
Things like breeding, diet, and
reproduction patterns are also
changing as polar bears experience
a loss of sea ice habitat. 

Why is this Concerning?
Humans should take this as a
warning sign to what could
happen to us. If we cannot help
polar bears how can we expect
to help ourselves when the
time comes? The polar bear
population is decreasing as
climate change increases which
is leading to extinction. If polar
bears are gone it will cause
many issues within the
ecosystem. It is important to
stop the problem while we
still have time.
How Can We Help the References
Polar Bears? -Molnar, P. K., Derocher, A. E.,
Klanjscek, T., & Lewis, M. A. (2011).
• Donate to polar bear Predicting climate change impacts on
sanctuaries. polar bear litter size. Nature
Communications, 2.
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1183
• See how to slow down
climate change as an -Pilford, N. W., McCall, A., Derocher, A.
individual. E., Lunn, N. J., & Richardson, E. (2017).
Migratory response of polar bears to sea
ice loss: To swim or not to swim.
• Volunteer for Ecography, 40(1), 189-199.
organizations specific to https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.02109
climate change/polar
bears. -Hunter, C. M., Caswell, H., Runge, M.
C., Regehr, E. V., Amstrup, S. C., &
• Spread awareness to the
Stirling, I. (2010). Climate change
threatens polar bear populations: A
cause! stochastic demographic analysis.
Ecology: Ecological Society of America,
91(10). https://doi.org/10.1890/09-1641.1
-McKinney, M. A., Iverson, S. J., Fisk, A.
T., Sonne, C., Riget, F. F., Letcher, R. J.,
Arts, M. T., Born, E. W., Rosing-Asvid,
A., & Dietz, R. (2013). Global change
effects on the long‐term feeding ecology
and contaminant exposures of East
Greenland polar bears. Global Change
Biology, 19(8), 2360-2372.
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12241