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[4] [9] Because of its adaptations to a marine environment, some taxonomists, such as Theodore Knottnerus-Meyer, have placed the polar bear in its own genus, Thalarctos. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] However Ursus is widely considered to be the valid genus for the species on the basis of the fossil record and the fact that it can breed with the brown bear.
An isolated group of polar bears living in southeast Greenland has surprised scientists with its ability to survive in a habitat with relatively little sea ice. Polar bears face existential threat ...
Polar bears diverged from brown bears 400,000–600,000 years ago and have survived past periods of climate fluctuation. It has been claimed that polar bears will be able to adapt to terrestrial food sources as the sea ice they use to hunt seals disappears. [23]
Although polar bears spend most of their time on the ice rather than in the water, polar bears show the beginnings of aquatic adaptation to swimming (high levels of body fat and nostrils that are able to close), diving, and thermoregulation. Distinctly polar bear fossils can be dated to about 100,000 years ago.
As climate change diminishes sea ice from coastal communities in the Arctic and the subarctic, researchers expect polar bears to range farther into the towns
Two studies have assessed the contributions of soil invertebrates to the polar ecosystem in Antarctica, suggesting that biotic interactions play crucial roles in such a seemingly simple ecosystem. [18] [19] For animals to be able to live in the polar region they have to have adaptations which allow them to live in the cold and windy environments.
Researchers found that most of the polar bears are losing weight, about 0.4 to 1.7 kilograms per day.
Ringed seals, an important prey for polar bears, are specifically adapted to maintain breathing holes in ice shoves, which lack the same openings usually used by marine mammals in drifting ice packs. The mere fact that the Ringed seal is uniquely adapted to utilizing ice shoves for breathing holes, and that polar bears have adapted to this ...