Post by Logan on Feb 5, 2016 20:41:08 GMT -6
Stronger winds and thinner ice are forcing Alaska polar bears to work harder to remain in Alaska, according to scientists who have studied increased movements of both sea ice and bears.
“There’s an energetic cost to stay in Alaska,” said David Douglas of the U.S. Geological Survey Science Center.
He and others compared wanderings of polar bears from two periods and found the bears now need to capture and eat as many as four additional seals each year to overcome faster-moving ice and stay in areas they prefer.
“That may not seem like a lot, but keep in mind that’s at a time when their habitat to hunt seals is shrinking,” he said.
Read more: juneauempire.com/outdoors/2016-02-05/alaska-science-forum-polar-bears-walking-treadmill-ice
“There’s an energetic cost to stay in Alaska,” said David Douglas of the U.S. Geological Survey Science Center.
He and others compared wanderings of polar bears from two periods and found the bears now need to capture and eat as many as four additional seals each year to overcome faster-moving ice and stay in areas they prefer.
“That may not seem like a lot, but keep in mind that’s at a time when their habitat to hunt seals is shrinking,” he said.
Read more: juneauempire.com/outdoors/2016-02-05/alaska-science-forum-polar-bears-walking-treadmill-ice