Closes, walruses and polar bears depend on periodic ocean ice for habitat and should adjust to the sudden lack of ice, while migratory species for example whales seem to be finding new prey, changing migration timing and moving to new habitats.
"Marine animals can behave as ecosystem sentinels simply because they react to global warming through changes in distribution, timing of the actions and feeding locations," stated Sue Moore, Ph.D., a NOAA oceanographer, who spoke today in the annual meeting from the American Association for that Growth of Science in Chicago. "These lengthy-resided animals also reflect changes towards the ecosystem within their changes in diet, body condition and health.Inch
Moore, who had been a part of a panel of U.S. and Canadian researchers on the healthiness of marine animals and indigenous individuals the Arctic, stressed the significance of integrating marine mammal health research in to the overall climate, weather, oceanographic and social science research on alterations in the Arctic.
"Marine animals connect individuals to ecosystem research by which makes it highly relevant to individuals who reside in the Arctic and rely on these animals for diet and cultural heritage and individuals all over the world who turn to these creatures as indicating the global health," Moore stated.
Cite This Site:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Arctic marine animals are ecosystem sentinels." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 Feb 2014.