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Article: Ice, climate change, and wildlife research in Alaska.
- Article from:
- Endangered Species Bulletin
- Article date:
- September 22, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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What do polar bears, Pacific walrus, spectacled eiders, and Kittlitz's murrelets have in common? In a word--ice! Although the effects of climate change can now be observed almost anywhere in the United States, nowhere are the effects more prominent than in Alaska, where unprecedented rates of sea ice loss, tidewater glacier recession, coastal erosion, permafrost degradation, and other landscape changes presage major changes to Alaska wildlife populations.
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Climate change will play an increasingly significant role in future decisions related to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and research is critical to understand how wildlife and ...