Image Credit
http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/3819848-16x9-940x529.jpg |
Diet of the Polar BearThe polar bear sits at the top of the arctic food chain. The only true predator of the polar bear is the human and what the human can do. Therefore, the polar bear sits at a very important position in the arctic. Much of the diet of polar bears consists of seals, in particular harbor seals and bearded seals (Derocher). As seals make up the majority of the polar bear's diet, the bears also will eat many different type of whale carcasses (which they can smell from up to 20 miles away). When food is extremely scarce however, the bears become more foragers and will eat nearly anything that is can get it's paw on. This list of prey includes, but is not limited to: muscox, reindeer, small rodents, waterfowl, shellfish, fish, eggs, kelp, berries, and human garbage (WWF). The polar bear is the driving force within the food web of arctic region of the world. The amount of biomass needed for the polar bear to survive is a fairly substantial number and this amount is getting increasingly more difficult to obtain by the keystone species of the artic. The bear sits atop the web but this web is beginning to experience a bottom up trophic cascade due to climate change. The more that climate change alters the polar bear's ability to forage, the more the stricture of the arctic will change and this effect could prove to be fairly catastrophic for other parts of the globe.
muskox, reindeer, small rodents, waterfowl, shellfish, fish, eggs, kelp, b and even human garbage |