Arctic seals edge closer to extinction as sea ice vanishes

Three Arctic seal species have moved closer to extinction, as rapid sea ice loss continues to erode their breeding and feeding grounds, according to the latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The update, released Oct. 10 during the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, “uplists” the hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) from vulnerable to the higher-threat category of endangered, and the bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) and harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) from least concern to near threatened. Arctic seals depend on stable sea ice to breed, raise their pups, rest and access feeding areas. As temperatures climb globally, they are rising about four times faster in the Arctic than elsewhere and sea ice is thinning and melting earlier every year. This loss has undermined reproduction across multiple species. “The major driver of the declines that we are seeing is breeding habitat deterioration as a direct result of climate change,” Kit Kovacs, co-chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission Pinniped Specialist Group, told Mongabay. Kovacs participated in the uplisting decision. When sea ice melts or breaks apart too soon, pups may drown, freeze or be killed by predators or collapsing ice. “Sea ice is disappearing and ice-dependent species of all sorts are threatened by these losses,” said Kovacs, a marine mammal biologist who lives in Tromsø, Norway, and travels regularly to the country’s Svalbard archipelago for fieldwork and to teach at the University Centre in Svalbard. “Recruitment of youngsters into the populations are failing.” Moreover, she said, the retreating…This article was originally published on Mongabay