For WCS Canada the Canadian arctic represents a wonderful conservation opportunity under current threat. The opportunity lies in the vast size and largely undisturbed nature of the region. The threat lies in climate change, which is happening faster at northern latitudes than in any other region of the globe.
A considerable portion of the Canadian arctic is already protected in National Parks. These are often large in area, but seldom large enough to cover the ranges of the highly migratory or nomadic larger mammals and birds that call the tundra home. Peary caribou, barren-ground caribou, polar bears, grizzly bears, arctic fox, and snowy owls move in and out of Parks, so the ecological integrity of these protected areas depends on maintaining adequate habitats beyond their boundaries.
Climate Change & the Arctic Food Web
Lemmings and voles are key prey for a rich variety of predators, including arctic and red foxes, rough-legged hawks, peregrine falcons, snowy and short-eared owls, long-tailed and pomarine jaegers, glaucous gulls, weasels, wolverines, and even grizzly bears. When lemmings are scarce, these predators rely more heavily on other prey such as shorebirds, passerines, geese and arctic ground squirrels.
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