Cause Of Endangerment: ongoing and potential loss of their sea ice habitat resulting from climate change
Protection Of Species: Protecting critical habitat by denning areas and movement corridors, seasonal feeding areas and times, and key resting areas during the ice free period.
Effects on Biome- the endangerment isn't having a bad effect on the arctic environment because they don't have predators. As the ice caps and sea ice melt because of climate change, the polar bears have fewer places to roam, feed, and provide a shelter for themselves.
Evidence on Endangerment: Charts Below
Penguins
Cause Of Endangerment: The majority of the colonies will have lost more than half of their population by the end of the century. They are threatened by changes of the sea ice which is having a negative effect of the climate change, oil spills, over fishing, illegal egg harvesting, and predation.
Protection Of Species: currently all 18 species of penguins are legally protected from hunting and egg collecting.
Effects on Biome: Penguins play a significant role in the food chain in the polar regions. Penguins are a main source of food for leopard seals, if penguins continue to decline, predators like the leopard seals will have to adjust to the change and hunt different forms of prey.
Evidence of Endangerment: See below
Key for graph below: Annual mean change of sea ice concentrations (SIC) between the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and conservation status of emperor penguin colonies by 2100. SIC projections were obtained from a subset of atmosphere-ocean general circulation models. Dot numbers refer to each colony evaluated, with dot color showing conservation status (red = quasi-extinct, orange = endangered, yellow = vulnerable, green = not threatened). (Figure 1 from Jenouvrier et al., Projected continent-wide declines of the emperor penguin under climate change, doi:10.1038/nclimate2280; image courtesy Nature Climate Change.)
Arctic Fox
Cause of Endangerment: Arctic foxes have become victims of diseases from domestic dogs and are hunted for their fur for the fur trade in Northern areas. Climate change is also a major factor in this decline, as snow lines recede, the fox have fewer places to roam and live. The fox has to adapt to the changes and is out-competed by the red fox.
Protection of Species; Defenders of Life is an organization that strongly supports legislation to help reduce the impacts of climate change.
Effects on Biome: The protection of the Arctic fox is important because it will ensure the protection and safety of other Arctic animals. The foxes are protected from hunting in Hornstrandir in Iceland.
Evidence of Endangerment: There is no graph evidence available, however there has been data showing that cubs are of various sizes in the West island of Iceland, suggesting that food supplies are unstable. There have also been less burrows found because of the receding snow line and melting of the ice caps.
Arctic Wolf
Cause of Endangerment: The Arctic wolf is endangered because of it's very fine and rare fur or pelt which is wanted by hunters. Arctic wolves are also affected by climate change as well.
Protection of Species: The biggest effort into helping protect the Arctic wolf is to prevent the global warming. In order to do so, carbon taxes need to go into effect to help reduce the significant amounts of carbon being released into the atmosphere which is the primary contributor to climate change and the melting of the ice.
Effects on Biome: The Arctic wolf is on the third trophic level of the food chain in the polar ice region. They are secondary consumers. With the decline of the Arctic wolf, increasing swells of primary consumers occur, making it tougher for other species to compete for survival.
Evidence of Endangerment: The food pyramid shows the level the Arctic wolf is at in the food chain.
Walrus
Cause of Endangerment: The Walrus is under the Endangered Species Act because of the decline in sea ice from global warming. The walrus depends on sea ice as a floating nursery for their young. Walrus feed on the ocean floor in the shallow waters of the continental shelf where the sea ice contains food.
Protection of Species: Like majority of the polar ice species in danger of extinction, the efforts into protecting the Pacific Walrus is to make changes to help climate change. Carbon taxes and fewer burnings of fossil fuels will help protect the polar region from melting at one point.
Effects on Biome: Female walrus leave their young on the sea ice while they retrieve food in the ocean. As ice is melting, it forces mothers to have to swim farther and leave their young alone, potentially being hunted or left as prey. As the sea ice melts, the walrus population is forced inland for new habitat which creates overcrowding and deadly stampedes.
Evidence on Endangerment: The last estimate of the walrus population was 250,000 in 1990. Currently, it is unknown. The US Geological Survey and the Russian Knipovich Research Institute are teaming up to determine the walrus population.
*There are no endangered plants in this region because the polar ice regions do not contain vegetation. The only plant form is algae, which is not endangered or a concern.
The average pack size of the Arctic wolves was 3.3; packs of four or more were rare. The Arctic wolf population was mainly in the central part of the range, which made them vulnerable to the Danish and Norwegian hunters, which exterminated the population with the use of poison.