Polar bears hunt for ringed seals by waiting for them to emerge from breathing holes in the ice. Which abiotic change may decrease a polar bear’s ability to hunt?
a
increased temperatures
b
increased seal population
c
increased ice cover
d
increased competition
a. increased temperatures
Polar bears would need to live in a -50° Fahrenheit environment as they ARE warm-blooded animals.
With that being said the bot is correct, and option a is correct!
The correct answer is:
a) Increased temperatures
Increased temperatures can decrease a polar bear's ability to hunt because it can lead to the melting of ice and the overall reduction of ice cover. As a result, there will be fewer breathing holes for ringed seals to emerge from, making it more difficult for polar bears to hunt them.
The correct answer is c) increased ice cover.
To understand why increased ice cover may decrease a polar bear's ability to hunt, we need to consider the hunting strategy of polar bears. They rely on the presence of breathing holes in the ice to catch their main prey, ringed seals. These seals use breathing holes to come up for air while they are underwater. When a polar bear spots a seal coming up for air, it can ambush and catch it.
If there is increased ice cover, it means there is more ice and the distance between the breathing holes increases. This makes it more challenging for polar bears to spot the seals and decreases their chances of successful hunting. With more ice cover, the seals have more areas to choose from for their breathing holes, and it becomes harder for the polar bears to locate them.
In contrast, the other options (a) increased temperatures, (b) increased seal population, and (d) increased competition, do not directly affect the polar bear's ability to hunt by waiting for seals to emerge from breathing holes in the ice.