I chose an article titled “Out of Balance in the Arctic” by John P. Whiteman, published 2 Feb 2018. It is about how climate change in the Arctic is hurting Polar Bears in the region and having major negative effects on our entire ecological balance.
Introduction
Human activity has overall led to increased global temperatures through the burning of greenhouse gases. We quantify the consequence of climate change on polar bears through the magnitude of energy expenditure. There is an imbalance as polar bears have to use more energy to survive because it is much more difficult for them to obtain food due to the melting sea ice which they use as a platform to capture seals. The energy expense of polar bears is higher than previously estimated.
Methods
We quantify animal energy usage in two ways. The first is the resting metabolic rate which includes the energy cost in order to stay alive, like how much energy it takes to breathe. The second is the field metabolic rate which includes RMR in addition to movement and other activities. In this study, researcher measured the RMR on polar bears at the zoo. Then they measured the FMR on free-range bears. They measured rates of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production in the polar bears. They injected wild polar bears with water with heavy stable isotopes and collected a blood sample. After 10 days, they recaptured the bears and took another blood sample. The difference between the decline of O and H between samples represents the FMR.
Results
The FMR of the free-range bears was on average 1.6 times higher than expected. The levels of FMRs were more similar to other animals that normally consume meat, rather than vegetation as it takes more energy to consume meat. The zoo bears also had a high RMR, which followed a meat-eating animal’s RMR more closely. This shows that the polar bears are lacking prey and expending much more energy than they are supposed to. Their metabolic rates also do not decrease in the absence of food. Some of the polar bears lost more than 10% of their body fat between sampling events.
Discussion
Polar bears are facing a multitude of difficulties that all stem from climate change. This article focused on just one of the problems going on, energy expenditure. The melting sea ice is making it harder for polar bears to capture seals to eat. They are expending more energy trying to find food to eat than they are fulfilling with food. There is a large energy imbalance and it will become more deadly and drastic the more sea ice continues to melt.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/24/arctic-ice-loss-forces-polar-bears-to-use-four-times-as-much-energy-to-survive-study
Article Analysis
Is the topic of the paper somewhat original?
The topic of the paper is original. I hadn’t heard of polar bear’s energy expenditure used as a topic of study ever before. I’ve always heard that the polar bears are dying in the Arctic, but I hadn’t known exactly why (other than warm temperatures and loss of habitat) or what the cause was the cause. This was an interesting take on a commonly understood idea.
Were enough data obtained to reach valid conclusions?
There was enough data to clarify the study but not too much that it would overwhelm the reader. They provided data and details on what they were studying but the data that was provided for the results was just enough to make their point. The result was that the energy expenditure was “1.6 times greater than previously estimated” which was just enough for us to know what was going on. The reader didn’t need every number and H and O level in the polar bear’s blood.
What was the aim of the study? What hypothesis did the researchers test? Are the conclusions reached important to you and others (explain)?
The aim of the study was to quantify the negative effects on polar bears that climate change has caused. To do this they measured the energy that the bears expend daily as compared to other mammals. The hypothesis that researchers tested was “Polar bears are in an energy imbalance as sea ice continues to melt” and they proved that hypothesis with flying colors by the end of the study. The conclusions reached are important to me and should also be to others. Though we aren’t directly affected by this issue, we should care about it because it is caused by our species, and we are the only ones that can stop more deaths of polar bears in the Arctic. In addition, though we aren’t directly affected by this scenario specifically, we are very directly affected by the melting sea ice in the Arctic, as that means that many coastal areas, where the vast majority of our population lives, are going to be underwater.
Do the results section and the methods section match?
The results and methods sections do match. The results have a direct correlation to the methods of the study. In the methods section, I described that the researchers took polar bear blood samples to test the change in H2O isotopes, which would show energy expenditure. The results section outlined the conclusions of the test and what that really meant. They matched up well.
Do the authors have a solid track record?
The author, John P Whiteman, does have a solid track record. He is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Old Dominion University. He has written many research papers cited by hundreds of people. The vast majority of his research is about seasonal changes, arctic sea ice, wildlife conservation, chemistry-based changes in the environment etc. His papers have been cited by a minimum of 5 people and up to 144 people (in 2013). More often than not, his research papers are about polar bears
Are the results plausible?
The results are plausible. We all know that polar bears have been dying in the arctic due to global warming and habitat destruction and loss of food. However, no one has really investigated the possibility of quantifying their difficulties while they’re alive. The researcher studied how malnourished the polar bears were, and the results made sense based on our previous knowledge that polar bears are having a hard time finding food and are losing dangerous amounts of weight.
Are the results consistent with those of other studies?
The results are consistent with those of other studies. There has been other research on polar bears’ lack of food and of their growing loss of habitat, with the same results as this study. The methods of quantifying the polar bears’ health and wellness have been different in many other studies but they all align with the same conclusions that they are malnourished because they don’t have the same access to food as they used to.
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