WITH climate change gradually dismantling ice habitat necessary for their existence, new research shows polar bears rapidly rearranging their own genetics in an effort to survive.
The view is forced to adapt to a harsher reality Arctic warmingThis, according to scientists, is the first documented case of rising temperatures causing genetic changes in mammals.
Researchers from the University of East Anglia in the UK report these findings: published Friday in Mobile DNA magazine offers a rare glimmer of hope for the species.
“Unfortunately, polar bears are expected to go extinct this century, with two-thirds of the population gone by 2050,” Alice Godden, lead author of the study, told NBC News.
“I think our work does provide a glimmer of hope—a window of opportunity for us to reduce carbon emissions to slow the rate of climate change and give these bears more time to adapt to these drastic changes in their habitat.”
Building on earlier research from the University of Washington, Godden's team analyzed blood samples from polar bears in northeast and southeast Greenland. In the warmer south, they found that genes associated with heat stress, aging and metabolism behaved differently than in northern bears.
“Essentially, this means that different groups of bears have different parts of their DNA changing at different rates, and this activity appears to be related to their specific environment and climate,” Godden said in a university press release.
It shows for the first time that a unique group of one species has been forced to “rewrite its own DNA,” she said, adding that the process could be seen as a “desperate survival mechanism against melting sea ice.”
The Arctic Ocean has experienced record high temperatures multiple times over the past few years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports. monitoring data show.
Researchers say warming ocean temperatures have shrunk vital sea ice platforms that bears use to hunt seals, leading to isolation and food shortages.
This has led to genetic changes as the animals' digestive systems adapt to a diet of plants and low-fat foods in the absence of prey, Godden told NBC News.
“Food availability is a real issue for these bears—everywhere, but especially in the South,” she said. “This may indicate that their body shape and composition are also changing in response to a warmer environment.”
The lead researcher said her team decided to focus on the southern group of bears because the region's warmer climate provides insight into what will happen to other bear populations later this century if current climate change trends continue.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that there are currently about 26,000 polar bears worldwide. Scientifically known by their Latin name Ursus maritimus, meaning “sea bear,” these animals are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, meaning they face a “high risk of extinction in the wild.”
The study “does not mean that polar bears are at less risk of extinction,” Godden said, although the discovery could “provide a genetic blueprint for how polar bears can quickly adapt to climate change.”
Godden added: “We must all do more to reduce our carbon emissions to help provide and expand this window of opportunity to help save this wonderful, vital species.”
