How does climate change impact the population of polar bears? Environmental threats, ecological dynamics and conservation efforts

Climate change is one of the major drivers of recent biodiversity loss on a global scale. Some species try to adapt to such changes through shifting their range and behaviour due to their habitat being altered or damaged. Within the Arctic regions, temperature rise is three times higher than the global average, affecting various species at different rates in this ecosystem. Such a warming effect is detrimental to the Arctic ecosystem as it results in a rapid decline of sea ice during the summer months. Polar bears are considered an apex predator in the Arctic environment that rely on sea ice to sustain their life cycle. Unfortunately, the retreat of sea ice results in habitat loss for polar bears, as well as other native wildlife in the Arctic ecosystem. Sea ice serves many purposes to the polar bear's life cycle such as hunting prey, protection from potential human disturbance and raising cubs. The decline of sea ice over recent years has been rapid, directly related to a decrease in the survival capability of polar bears. As a result, the decline in population has proven to have an array of negative ecological consequences. Thus, this review seeks to gather a further understanding of various drivers and consequences that climate change causes, both direct and indirect, on the polar bear population as well as on the Arctic ecosystem by analyzing previous studies. Polar bears are a flagship species that serves as the symbol of the Arctic ecosystem and are a valuable indicator to the health of their local environment. Awareness, continued education, monitoring and synthetic assessment on polar bear populations with their surrounding habitat are necessary for both citizens and scientists. Therefore, societal effort is required to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and reduce the risk of species extinction to preserve biodiversity and ecological dynamics.