2023-11-29 21:19:00
A recent study warned that climate change forces polar bears in Greenland to modify their behavior (Europa Press)
Polar bears in Greenland are being forced to modify their behavior due to the effects of climate change, warned a recent study led by researchers at the University of Copenhagen. The main alterations occur in their habitat and food.
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In an article published in the journal Science Advances, the experts explained that the conclusion arose from the study of exemplary genomes of Arctic predators from thousands of years ago.
Michael Westbury, co-author of the study, commented that since the end of the last ice age, regarding 12,000 years ago, “temperatures have increased, floating ice sheets have shrunk” and, with this, “the habitat of polar bears has also shrunk.” , which forced them to move further north.”
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Added to this, at the beginning of the interglacial period, was an increase in temperatures, which led to a decrease in the numbers of these animals.
According to projections, bears will be forced to move further and further north but there will come a time when they will have nowhere to go (Kristin Laidre/University of Washington)
The study revealed, however, a somewhat encouraging fact. Despite these adversities, which repeatedly put their survival at risk, “the polar bears are relatively well,” Westbury celebrated. “They might be more adaptable than we thought before, (…) it is more of a surprise,” she added regarding this species that has been, since 1982, one of the most vulnerable populations to the climate crisis.
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An example of this adaptability is a new population of bears that lives in southeastern Greenland and that uses the ice sheets that break off from freshwater glaciers to hunt seals and feed. “They can adapt their food and this implies other changes,” continued the expert regarding this subtype of mammals, whose morphology is different from that of those found in the west.
In any case, these data might easily be overshadowed by the alarming pace at which the climate crisis is advancing, which leaves them increasingly vulnerable.
The alarming pace at which climate change is advancing leaves species in a situation of increasingly greater vulnerability (AP)
“According to projections, they are going to be forced to move further and further north, but there will come a time when they will have no place to go. “This might be very disastrous,” Westbury warned, in an attempt to raise awareness of the need to take urgent measures to contain and reverse the crisis.
Migration in polar bears would not be anything new, however. Already at the end of 2022, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) had indicated that 75% of the population of these animals was in a delicate situation for its preservation and, sooner or later, would end up moving in an attempt to survive.
To this must be added the alarming images of the melting of the glaciers in Greenland, which worried the scientific community. Climate and geospatial scientist Laura Larocca found by purchasing photographs from 1930 and 2022 that the speed of glacial retreat during the 21st century is twice as fast as that of the 20th century.
Greenland 1930 – 2022: a study revealed that Greenland’s glaciers are shrinking at twice the rate of the 20th century (Danish Data and Infrastructure Agency/Hans Henrik Tholstrup/University of Copenhagen)
At the same time, another scientific study revealed that the Arctic warmed four times faster than the rest of the world and, for the first time in history, rain was even recorded at the summit of Greenland, regarding three kilometers above sea level. .
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