Climate Change is an unprecedented threat to our planet and its inhabitants and one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Consequences of climate change include, intense droughts, water shortages, rising sea levels, severe fires, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity. With Revelin’s latest Polar Summer collection we are shining a light on these effects on some of our favourite animals from the Arctic and Antarctica. The fragile environments that these animals call home are under threat, so let’s spread the awareness but do it in the Revelin way – with fun, adventures, cheeky characters and with a little bit of seriousness.
First up is Arnie the Arctic Fox. He lives in the Arctic and is very well adapted to the harsh environment. Climate change is rapidly changing their habitat, leading to significant challenges:
- Reduced snow cover: Arnie relies on thick snow cover for making a comfortable insulated home for him and his family. With less snow and shorter winters, it’s getting harder to make a nice home and this in turn impacts Arctic Fox population numbers.
- Changing food availability: as a predator Arnie hunts for lemmings and seabirds. The changing Arctic ecosystem has shifted plant and animal distributions, disrupting the availability of Arnie’s food sources.
Travelling further south, we look at the issues affecting the charismatic Chilly the Penguin:
- Declining sea ice: without stable sea ice, Chilly’s access to food such as krill and fish, impacting her ability to feed and raise her family.
- Warming ocean temperatures: changing temperatures are affecting the distribution of prey species, leading to potential food shortages for Chilly, her family and friends.
Aurora the Polar Bear is making the most of the changes, but it’s not all fun and games. Polar bears are intricately connected to Arctic sea ice, and facing major issues due to climate change:
- Loss of sea ice: Aurora needs sea ice platforms to hunt seals, her primary food source. As the sea ice disappears more quickly and forms later, Aurora doesn’t have much time to hunt her favourite food and ends up looking elsewhere for food, leading to increased human-wildlife conflict.
- Long distance swimming: without sea ice, Aurora has to swim much longer distances through open water, expending a lot of energy and risking exhaustion and endangering her survival.
Changing ecosystems are making things harder for DJ P, his family and friends. This beloved seabird is confronting new struggles as a result of climate change:
- Food availability: Changing ocean currents and rising sea temperatures are affecting the distribution of DJ P’s favourite snacks of sand eels and other small fish species, resulting in food shortages.
- Coastal erosion: increasing storms and rising sea levels erode nest sites along DJ P’s cliff home.
- Human conflict: DJ P is increasingly coming into contact with people, and gets disturbed by their noise and mess.
Antarctic whales such as Winnie are encountering significant challenges due to climate change and at serious risk of extinction:
- Disrupted food chain: climate change has altered the distribution and availability of krill, the primary food source for Winnie.
- Ocean acidification: increased carbon dioxide levels in the ocean lead to acidification, negatively impacting krill and other shelled organisms, further disrupting the Antarctic ocean ecosystem that Winnie depends on.
- Ocean plastics: the issues from climate change are exacerbated by plastic pollution from humans. Food sources are contaminated and whales can get entangled in large plastic nets.
These are just a few examples of the threats posed by climate change to some of our favourite animal friends and their ecosystems. By being aware of these threats you can join Revelin in trying to do something about it. Here are some of the things you can do:
- Choose local, seasonal produce
- Reduce, reuse, and recycle
- Save energy at home
- Switch to renewable energy
- Walk, bike, or take public transportation whenever possible
- Support businesses that are committed to sustainability. This is a great way to put your money where your values are.
Through global collaboration and individual efforts, we can strive to protect these vulnerable species and preserve the invaluable biodiversity of our planet.
Sources and further reading:
National Geographic - "Arctic Fox" (www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/a/arctic-fox/)
British Antarctic Survey - "Gentoo Penguins" (www.bas.ac.uk/project/gentoo-penguins)
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - "Polar Bears and Climate Change" (www.worldwildlife.org/stories/polar-bears-and-climate-change)
Ocean Conservancy - "Climate Change and the Ocean: The Antarctic Ecosystem" (www.oceanconservancy.org/climate-change-and-ocean-antarctic-ecosystem)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - www.ipcc.ch
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - www.worldwildlife.org
National Snow and Ice Data Center - www.nsidc.org
Polar Bears International - www.polarbearsinternational.org