Polar Bears

Jada Nazarian, Johnny Walsh, Chapin Williams, and Emma Rice

Driving Questions
 Driving Questions
1.
1. How
How do
do humans
humans have
have aa lasting
lasting impact
impact on
on species
species or
or
populations
populations and
and their
their environment?
environment?

2.
2. What
What can
can we
we do
do to
to minimize
minimize human
human impact
impact on
on the
the
environment?
environment?

3.
3. How
How do
do we
we humans
humans prioritize
prioritize the
the solutions
solutions to
to
minimize
minimize human
human impact
impact on
on the
the environment
environment given
given
social,
social, environmental,
environmental, and
and economic
economic factors?
factors?
Interdependent Relationships in
Ecosystems
 ● Antarctic tundra is usually
cold and dry and some
have rocky soil
The Arctic ● The average winter
temperature of arctic
tundra is -34 degree
Celsius and average
summer temperature is
3-12 degree Celsius
● Rainfall varies in different
regions and precipitation
(melting snow) less than
15 inches annually
Abiotic and Biotic Factors

Biotic Factors Abiotic Factors

● Short grasses ● Strong winds

● Low shrubs ● Rainfall
● Mosses ● Short summer days
● Rodents ● Long and cold winters
○ Hares and caribou ● Soil
● Carnivores ● Permafrost layer
○ Foxes, polar bears,
wolves and walruses
How Does That Affect the Carrying Capacity?
● These factors contribute to population growth
○ Weather patterns
○ Resources

● The biotic factors that contribute to decrease in

population
○ Predation
○ Disease
Cycles of Matter and Energy in
Ecosystems
The process of cellular respiration from animals in this environment, like polar bears, foxes,
seals (etc), along with sunlight and H2O allows the plants to conduct photosynthesis.
The Cycles
● Plants transfer most of their products to the through to the ground at
the end of growing season into storage organs.

● The below ground plant masses are then used by herbivores if they
dig it up, but also animals that live in the soil.
○ It supports a variety of other important organisms below

● Dead plant matter is important to this ecosystem because it contains

vital nutrients for life such as nitrogen that plants have absorbed.
○ Special types of bacteria and fungi convert it and it passes
through organisms in the food chain in the soil from the plant
masses.
The Cycles

● Carbon in the plant that remains is also recycled through the

organisms
○ Gradually being released through respiration and returning to the
atmosphere

● The cold temperatures in the Arctic slows down the process of

decomposition during the nitrogen cycle and photosynthesis
Ecosystem Dynamics functioning
and Resilience
 ● There are between 22,000 and
31,000 polar bears in the wild
● Around 500 killed per year by

The Real Facts ●

hunters
Main cause of death is hunters
● Will go extinct in around 62
years or so if hunters keep
killing
● Not yet considered endangered
(at risk)
● There are more alive now than
50 years ago
● Only small amount of bears
actually starving from the effects
of climate change
● Hunters are the real issue
Disturbance of Homeostasis

● There is more polar bears alive now than 50 years

ago, but due to climate change there is less ice
and food to sustain them

● Interactions can be predators and prey,

mutualism, commensalism, & competition.
Changes in Ecosystem From Humans

● The polar bear’s arctic ecosystem has been

affected by humans through the increase in air
pollution and ozone depletion as a result
○ Is causing increased average global
temperatures and melting of the polar
bears’ icy ecosystem.
Importance of Biodiversity

Biodiversity= the variety of life in the world or in a

particular habitat or ecosystem

● Polar bears are important in biodiversity. If they

died off, then the seal population would rise
rapidly. If that happened the fish population would
substantially decrease.
Services vs. Exploitation

● Humans should do their best to stop poachers

that are murdering the bears for their pelts

● Make an effort to reduce the expelling of

greenhouse gases that destroy the arctic
environment
Solutions to the Problem
Solutions to the Problem

● What is currently being done?

○ People are making an effort to reduce fossil
fuel emissions which keep the polar bear
environment more intact
Our Solution

Our Plan: Donate money This solution could

to organizations fighting prevent independent
for polar bear symbiosis because
the lack of poachers
conservation
would allow them to
flourish in their
environment
Taking Action
Sources
Scientific Journal

Whiteman, John P. “Out of Balance in the Arctic.” Science, American

Association for the Advancement of Science, 2 Feb. 2018,
science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6375/514.