scholarly journals Water Bears—The Most Extreme Animals on The Planet (And in Space!)

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Skander Elleuche
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Boiling Water ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Grizzly Bears ◽  
Polar Bears ◽  
Water Bears

Can you imagine that there is an eight-legged bear that tolerates colder temperatures than the polar bears do in the Arctic? Can you imagine that this bear is able to grow older than the grizzly bears in North America? And can you imagine that this bear grows by molting, like spiders or snakes? These so-called water bears, scientifically named tardigrades, are the most extreme animals on our planet. They not only survive in ice, but also in boiling water. Moreover, they can stop breathing for long periods and they have even traveled to outer space, surviving without an astronaut’s suit. Since water bears can withstand the harshest conditions on earth and beyond, they may teach us how we can protect ourselves from extreme environmental conditions.

scholarly journals Size of the lower carnassial in the arctic and the red fox from Late Pleistocene in Belgium compared to other ancient and extant populations

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elwira Szuma ◽  
Mietje Germonpré
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Red Fox ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Fox ◽  
Large Carnivores ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Specific Composition ◽  
Food Niche

AbstractLengths, widths, and size proportions (length to width) of the lower carnassial were measured in 45 teeth of the arctic fox and 35 teeth of the red fox from Belgium radiocarbon dated to 46 640–14 120 ka BP. Data the Late Pleistocene foxes from Belgium were compared to 20 ancient and extant populations form Europe, Asia, and North America. The Pleistocene arctic fox from Belgium showed larger carnassial than in all recent samples of this species, whereas the Belgian fossil red foxes were characterized by the carnassial size comparable to that of the recent Siberian red foxes. Both fox species from the Pleistocene of Belgium showed the highest index of the carnassials length to width, which means increase in carnivorous adaptation. We conclude that the higher level of carnivorous specialization reached by the Belgian arctic and red foxes at the end of the Late Pleistocene reflected their scavenging on kills of large carnivores and human hunters (remains of megafauna). Harsh environmental conditions of that period and specific composition of ecosystems led to adapting to a more carnivorous food niche in both foxes.

‘Verscheurende Beyren’

2022 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-115
Author(s):  
Robert Bauernfeind
Keyword(s):  
Polar Bear ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Bears

This article examines the depiction of polar bears in Dutch painting and graphics from the late 16th to the early 18th centuries. Reports of the first encounters between Dutch humans and polar bears established the idea of these animals as aggressive predators. This idea dominated the image of the bear in illustrated travelogues as well as in allegorical depictions of the Arctic and whaling pictures. The polar bear thus became a symbol for the dangers of the region and appears as an obstacle to the human exploitation of the Arctic. However, depictions of the bloody hunt for polar bears indicate the economically motivated triumph of Europeans in this inhospitable area.

Using art to explore children’s perceptions of their Arctic community in a changing climate 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lipson ◽  
Kim Reasor ◽  
Kååre Sikuaq Erickson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Bears ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Subsistence Hunting ◽  
Sea Ice Decline

<p>In this project we analyze artwork and recorded statements of 5<sup>th</sup> grade students from the community of Utqiaġvik, Alaska, who participated in a science-art outreach activity. The team consisted of a scientist (Lipson), an artist (Reasor) and an outreach specialist (Erickson) of Inupiat heritage from a village in Alaska. We worked with four 5th grade classes of about 25 students each at Fred Ipalook Elementary. The predominantly Inupiat people of Utqiaġvik are among those who will be most impacted by climate change and the loss of Arctic sea ice in the near future. Subsistence hunting of marine mammals associated with sea ice is central to the Inupiat way of life. Furthermore, their coastal homes and infrastructure are increasingly subject to damage from increased wave action on ice-free Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. While the people of this region are among the most directly vulnerable to climate change, the teachers reported that the subject is not generally covered in the elementary school curriculum.</p><p>The scientist and the local outreach specialist gave a short presentation about sea ice and climate change in the Arctic, with emphasis on local impacts to hunting and infrastructure. We then showed the students a large poster of historical and projected sea ice decline, and asked the students to help us fill in the white space beneath the lines. The artist led the children in making small paintings that represent things that are important to their lives in Utqiaġvik (they were encouraged to paint animals, but they were free to do whatever they wanted). We returned to the class later that week and had each student briefly introduce themselves and their painting, and place it on the large graph of sea ice decline, which included the dire predictions of the RCP8.5 scenario. Then we added the more hopeful RCP2.6 scenario to end on a positive note.</p><p>Common themes expressed in the students’ artwork included subsistence hunting, other aspects of traditional Inupiat culture, nature and family. Modern themes such as sports and Pokémon were also common. The students reacted to the topic of climate change with pictures of whales, polar bears and other animals, and captions such as “Save the world/ice/animals.” There were several paintings showing unsuccessful hunts for whales or seals. Some students displayed an understanding of ecosystem science in their recorded statements. For example, a student who painted the sun and another who painted a krill both succinctly described energy flow in food webs that support the production of whales (for example, “I drew krill because without krill there wouldn’t be whales”). Some of the students described the consequences of sea ice loss to local wildlife with devastating succinctness (sea ice is disappearing and polar bears will go extinct). The overall sense was that the children had a strong grasp of the potential consequences of climate change to their region and way of life.</p>

Arctic Science and Technology Information System

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-7
Author(s):  
Jane C. Duffy
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
North America ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Bibliographic Database ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
University Of Calgary ◽  
The University

ASTIS offers over 83,000 records that provide freely available access to publications, including research and research projects, about Canada's north. This database is a product of the Arctic Institute of North America at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada which also maintains subsidiary regional, subject, and initiative-based databases. The subsidiary databases are all housed within and accessible through the main ASTIS database. Examples of the smaller databases include: ArcticNet Publications Database, the Nunavik Bibliography, and the Northern Granular Resources Bibliographic Database. ASTIS offers the ability to browse through its access points, including its own thesauri, thus permitting users to select and use a variety of free-text and controlled search terms.

Toward a biogeographic regionalization of the Nearctic region: Area nomenclature and digital map

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5027 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-375
Author(s):  
TANIA ESCALANTE ◽  
GERARDO RODRÍGUEZ-TAPIA ◽  
JUAN J. MORRONE
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Transition Zone ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Volcanic Belt ◽  
Neotropical Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Digital Map ◽  
Biogeographic Regionalization ◽  
Sierra Madre ◽  
Nearctic Region

We provide a preliminary nomenclatural proposal and a digital map of the Nearctic region, based on published regionalizations, especially Dice (1943), and applying the International Code of Area Nomenclature. The Nearctic region is comprised of three subregions (one of them with two dominions), one transition zone and 29 provinces. The Arctic subregion, in northern North America and Greenland, includes the Eskimoan, Hudsonian, Aleutian and Sitkan provinces. The Western subregion, in western North America, includes the Californian dominion, with the Californian and Oregonian provinces; and the Rocky Mountain dominion, including the Montanian, Saskatchewan, Palusian, Artemisian, Coloradan, Kansan, Mohavian, Navahonian, Sonoran, Chihuahuan, Comanche, and Baja California provinces. The Alleghany subregion, in eastern North America, includes the Illinoian, Canadian, Carolinian, Texan, Austroriparian, and Tamaulipan provinces. The Mexican Transition Zone, situated in the area of overlap with the Neotropical region, includes the Sierra Madre Occidental, Sierra Madre Oriental, Transmexican Volcanic Belt, Sierra Madre del Sur and Chiapas Highlands provinces.  

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