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Polar Bear Evolution and Vestigial Traits

Evolution assignment describing and explaining your own theory of how a polar bear will look in many years, with citations.

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nastiasmirnoff397
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10 views10 pages

Polar Bear Evolution and Vestigial Traits

Evolution assignment describing and explaining your own theory of how a polar bear will look in many years, with citations.

Uploaded by

nastiasmirnoff397
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Evolution of polar bears in 3.000.

000 years

Name

High School

SBI3U1-02

April 12, 2024


Introduction
The purpose of this assignment is to discover the evolution of polar bears, discussing aspects
such as the related species and environment. Through the analysis of a variety of factors about
the nature of polar bears, in addition to the general trends seen through time, this report aims
to predict how the present day polar bear will look like in 3 million years.

Background information
Polar bears have evolved from brown bears around 500,000 years ago . Their scientific name
is Ursus maritimus. Polar bears and brown bears have numerous structures that seem similar,
however, they have different physical characteristics and behaviors. For one, Polar bears have
white fur instead of brown, which helps them blend in in the environment in which they live.
Polar bears live in the cold, snowy, arctic, which differs from brown bears forests, tundras, and
lake areas. Having different environments caused the two bears to evolve differently. Polar
bears have a stronger jaw and bite because of their diet, and brown bears have a weaker jaw.

Polar bears have some vestigial structures that were likely used a lot in the past, but no longer
have a purpose. Some of these features include the lacrimal bone and their short tail. The
Lacrimal bone is a structure located in between the two eye sockets in many mammals. It has
become vestigial in bears due to the fact that their anatomies changed, flat face and a
well-developed snout have potentially changed the significance of the bone. Short tails were a
natural selection because it did not give bears any beneficial advantage. It is now considered a
vestigial structure because it does not serve them any functional purpose. They also have
analogous structures such as webbed paws
Part 1.

Chosen Animal: Polar Bear Related Animal: Brown bear

Description: Description:
- Thick, white fur - Thick, brown fur
- Layer of fat - Big bodies
- Big, slightly webbed paws - Large paws
- Strong jaws - Strong upper body
- Carnivorous - Humped shoulders
- Males larger than females - Omnivores
- Strong bodies - Males larger than females
- Short tails - Short tails
Polar bears have thick, white fur and layers Brown bears are large creatures with big
of fat to keep them warm and camouflaged bodies and paws. They have thick fur with
in the cold conditions of the arctic. However colors ranging from dark to light brown
with climate change, scientists have noticed depending on their location of habitat. Brown
that the present day polar bear has changed bears have a strong upper body, usually with
in the past few years. Polar bears now are a hump on their shoulders. These bears are
spending more time on land, but swimming also omnivorous. Their diet consists of
longer distances when they're in water to berries, plants, insects, and sometimes fish or
find food. The size of the litter is getting other small mammals. They have a weaker
smaller. Polar bears have webbed paws to jaw than polar bears because their diet does
help them swim. They have big and strong not include large mammals, or hard foods.
upper bodies. They are amazing swimmers
and can cover long distances. Polar bears
have a great sense of smell in order to smell
prey. Polar bears have thick paws that help
them keep them warm during winters, have
a strong grip on ice, and move gracefully in
the snow and ice. Polar bears have white fur
that allows them to blend into their
environment of snow and be hidden while
hunting. They have strong teeth and jaws
that help them eat their food, which is seals.
Habitat Description: Habitat Description:
- Cold - Forests
- Icy - Mountains
- Has a lot of snow - Tundras
- Arctic - Lakes
- Humans aren’t popular in their area - Slightly away from humans
Polar bears live in a cold environment, Brown bears live in locations that involve
located in the arctic. The environment forests, arctic regions, mountains, tundras,
includes conditions for ice glaciers, snow, and bodies of water. Brown bears prefer
ice/ice bergs, and overall freezing habitats that are slightly away from humans,
temperatures in which humans are not often but close enough to food, like fish and other
seen. nutritious foods that allow them to survive.

Other interesting points: Other interesting points:


- Evolved form brown bears - Ancestors of polar bears
- Highly adaptable animals - Weaker jaw than polar bears
- Classified as marine mammals -
- Climate change is biggest enemy for
polar bears
- Have the strongest jaw in the bear
family
Animal in similar environment:
Seals also live in the arctic, and have similar
physical structures as polar bears.
- Thick layers of fat
- Both have black skin
- Thick and strong forelimbs
Thick layers of fat helps keep the seal warm
because of the cold weather. Thick and
strong forelimbs allow the seal to swim
well. Since seals and polar bears live in the
same environment, they have similar
structures that benefit them in the same
way, such as the strong forelimbs.

Seals have similar structure as polar bear.

Part 2.

Description of my future animal:


- Thinner skin
- Thinner fur
- More Webbed paws
- Weaker jaw
- Able to resist warm weather
- Larger upper body
- Bigger front legs and paws
- Darker fur
- Softer paws/not as thick and grippy
- Different diet
- Better at swimming
- Short tail
- eyes see better In water
Description of the future polar bear involves thinner skin and fur because they will no longer
have to insulate themselves from the raging cold. Alongside the changing fur, their coats
will not be white because there will be no need for them to blend in with the snow. Instead,
their furs will be light brown, which will allow them to blend in in the forest and the water.
Their paws became more webbed, they developed larger upper bodies and bigger
shoulders that will allow them to swim better for long periods of time. The eyes of the new
polar bear have also adapted and evolved with change. A protective layer that allows them
to see underwater has been formed due to the need to see underwater to have a better
chance at catching prey. Their paws will lose the rough part that helps them grip onto ice.
Climate change will cause the diet of the bears to change too. More water on the planet will
likely increase the amount of fish. Therefore, with more fish accessible, the polar bear will
adapt to eat fish more than any other food. Overall, the changes in the future climate will
impact the polar bear drastically.

Habitat of my future animal:


- Warmer environment
- More bodies of water
- Forests
- Closer to humans
- More aquatic animals, such as different types of fish, due to the increase of waters.

The future habitat of polar bears, according to current climate and trends, has very little ice,
due to the increase of temperatures that can be seen in the present day. The planet's
temperature has been increasing rapidly, 0.20 degrees celsius every decade since 1950
(Lindsey and Dahlman, 2024). Following the climate patterns recorded in the past few
decades, the temperatures are estimated to be anywhere between 180,000 and 500,000
degrees celsius in 3 million years. Making an assumption that the amount of carbon gasses
transmitted into the atmosphere has decreased to allow for the survival of species, the
reversal of climate change would still cause most of the icebergs and ice to melt. Therefore,
in this future land, there is a lot of water, covering most of the world. Such circumstances
would cause many species to evolve and change to accustom to these conditions. Since the
ice has melted and the conditions changed, the new polar bear has evolved to live in some
forested areas, but mainly in the aquatic areas. Since the human population is growing, and
more lands and areas are being occupied by humans, bears will be more comfortable around
human beings.

Part 3.
After traveling 3 million years into the future, researching the “new, evolved” polar bear,
and returning back to present time, I have found many interesting changes, similarities, and
other interesting findings between the two mammals. The present day polar bear, like most
other mammals living in the cold arctic, has thick, white fur, layers of fat to keep them warm,
and other structures that help them survive in their environment. However, the polar bear 3
million years into the future, looks nothing like the polar bear we know today. The main cause
of their evolution is climate change. With temperatures getting hotter, the ice melting, and
earth changing, the polar bears were forced to evolve and adapt to the new climate. The new
polar bear has a thinner layer of skin because temperatures are higher and there is no need for
the fur to insulate and keep warmth. The paws are bigger, more webbed, and are not as grippy
because there is no ice. The feet are bigger and webbed because there is more water on the
planet, causing the polar bears to spend a lot of time in the water, swimming long distances.
Very broad shoulders, strong upper back, and upper body also contribute to the necessity to be
a strong swimmer. Many vestigial structures that were of no use before, have come into play
later for the polar bears. They really had to adapt to finding new foods because of the change.
The amount of fish in the water became easier and more accessible for the bears to catch.
Changing the diet from large mammals to small-medium fish has caused the bear's jaw and
bite to weaken. Since icebergs melted and water spread out, polar bears have to spend more
time in the water, their eyes have adapted to being able to see and stay open underwater with
the help of a protective layer. This gives them advantages when hunting in the water, since
that's where most of their food is. The new adaptations and natural selection have made the
bears develop analogous structures such as eyes that are analogous to sharks and webbed
paws to ducks. In conclusion, the new polar bear has had many factors alter its physical
structures and behaviors. The climate change, predation, foods, and many other aspects have
forced the polar bear species to evolve.
Drawing
References

(n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved April 15, 2024, from

[Link]

(n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved April 17, 2024, from

[Link]

e534929437&sca_upv=1&udm=2&biw=1280&bih=551&ei=i2IfZsTzD72s5NoP7aiHiAk

&ved=0ahUKEwiE5aWrxsiFAxU9FlkFHW3UAZEQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=seals+and+

polar+bears+forelimbs&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LX

Bhatnagar, S. (2021, October 13). Evolution of Bears. Wildlife SOS. Retrieved April 15, 2024,

from [Link]

The evolutionary history of bears is characterized by gene flow across species. (2017, April

19). NCBI. Retrieved April 15, 2024, from

[Link]

Grizzly Bear. (n.d.). National Wildlife Federation. Retrieved April 15, 2024, from

[Link]

Lindsey, R., & Dahlman, L. (2024, January 18). Climate Change: Global Temperature | NOAA

[Link]. [Link]. Retrieved April 17, 2024, from

[Link]

emperature

100,000-year-old polar bear genome reveals ancient hybridization with brown bears. (2022,

June 16). UCSC News. Retrieved April 15, 2024, from

[Link]
Patel, K. (2020, February 3). Polar Bears Struggle as Sea Ice Declines. NASA Earth

Observatory. Retrieved April 15, 2024, from

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Polar Bears and Climate Change | Pages. (n.d.). WWF. Retrieved April 15, 2024, from

[Link]

Schmidt, P. (2014, May 9). From brown to white – evolution of the polar bear. Arctic Research

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-of-the-polar-bear

Common questions

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Human interventions, such as conservation policies, greenhouse gas emission reductions, and habitat protection, could delay or alter the trajectory of polar bear evolution driven by climate change. By mitigating some environmental pressures, these actions might prolong the bears' current ecological niche, potentially preserving current adaptations and delaying significant evolutionary pressures for aquatic living .

Reduced ice coverage implies significant habitat transformation for polar bears, transitioning from ice-dependent environments to more aquatic ones, leading to increased competition for diminishing prey like seals. Ice reduction will necessitate longer travels for food and increased reliance on aquatic prey like fish, with bears spending even greater time swimming, which will fundamentally alter their behavioral ecology and potentially their population dynamics .

Climate-induced habitat changes, such as more aquatic and less icy environments, might erode traditional polar bear social structures that are reliant on vast ice-scapes for space and resource apportionment. Increased proximity to human populations and competition for dwindling food could cause more solitary or territorially aggressive behaviors, altering traditional social dynamics and potentially affecting mating patterns and young rearing practices .

Polar bears' sensory adaptations may include enhanced vision for underwater environments, likely evolving to include a protective eye layer allowing better sight in aquatic conditions for efficient hunting of fish. This adaptation would mirror the type of sensory adjustments seen in marine animals such as seals, facilitating survival in a habitat with diminishing ice and increased reliance on swimming and underwater foraging .

Polar bears share analogous structures with other marine mammals like seals, such as webbed paws and strong forelimbs, which have developed to enhance swimming efficiency in aquatic environments. These adaptations result from the need to navigate vast, icy waters efficiently for hunting and foraging, shaped by the demands of survival in Arctic waters .

Current trends in climate change, characterized by rising temperatures and melting ice, force polar bears to adapt their dietary habits from a primary focus on seals to potentially more fish due to increased aquatic environments. Ice melting reduces seal hunting opportunities, requiring polar bears to adapt by increasing their swimming and hunting abilities in water, thereby altering their traditional seal-based diet to one possibly involving more readily available aquatic creatures like fish .

In the next 3 million years, polar bears are predicted to have thinner skin and fur, light brown instead of white, to adapt to warmer climates and forested environments. They will develop more webbed and larger paws for efficient swimming, as their habitat becomes more aquatic due to melted ice. The diet will likely shift to being more fish-based, leading to a weaker jaw. These changes are driven by ongoing climate change, which is drastically altering their current Arctic environment .

Polar bears, adapting to the cold, icy Arctic, evolved with white fur and layers of insulating fat, whereas brown bears adapted to forests, tundras, and lakes, have varying shades of brown fur for camouflage and insulation. Polar bears require strong jaws for carnivorous diets, contrasting with brown bears' omnivorous diet supported by weaker jaws. These differences highlight divergent evolutionary paths shaped by distinct habitat constraints and resource availability .

Polar bears have evolved to have thicker, white fur and large layers of fat, which are essential for camouflaging and insulation in the icy Arctic environment. Unlike brown bears, which have varied fur colors for different forested and tundra habitats, polar bears' fur helps them blend in with snow and ice. Their strong jaw and teeth are adaptations for a carnivorous diet predominantly consisting of seals, while brown bears have weaker jaws suitable for an omnivorous diet that includes berries and fish .

Vestigial structures in polar bears, such as the lacrimal bone and short tail, reflect past evolutionary pressures where certain features were rendered unnecessary due to environmental and behavioral adaptations. The lacrimal bone became vestigial as the polar bear's anatomy evolved to prioritize a well-developed snout and flat face for survival needs, and the short tail no longer provides beneficial advantages like maneuverability or balance in their icy habitat .

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