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Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides), 1st year, Ilusissat, Greenland
The Iceland Gull, Larus glaucoides, is a large gull which breeds in the Arctic regions of Canada and Greenland, but not Iceland, where it is only seen in the winter. It is migratory, wintering from in the North Atlantic as far south as the British Isles and northernmost states of the eastern USA ...
By Peter Prokosch
Arctic vegetation
Arctic vegetation lies dormant for around 9 months under a blanket of snow. When the Summer temperatures melt the top layer of permafrost (frozen earth) this creates a wetland environment where plants can thrive. The roots (if any) are shallow and many Arctic plants grow low to the ground and cl ...
By Lawrence Hislop
Sinking stones of the protective seawall, Shishmaref, Alaska
In Shishmaref, Alaska, there is an ongoing battle with the rising sea. Seawalls made of various materials are being constructed as houses are undermined by severe erosion on the coastline. A wall made of sandbags was the first attempt to keep the water out. Local resident Heather ''Anunuk'' Sin ...
By Lawrence Hislop
Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), Svalbard
Walruses in Svalbard have been harvested over three centuries to the verge of extinction. Today there are a few thousand Walruses remaining here.
By Peter Prokosch
Walrus (Odobenus Rosmarus), Svalbard
The walrus is a benthic (bottom) feeder - their diet consists of molluscs such as mussels, which they find on the seabed. Understandably, they prefer habitats with access to shallow feeding grounds and are often found near the coast or near large areas of drift ice.
By Peter Prokosch
Walruses at rest, Svalbard
Walruses live in large social groups, typically divided by sex. The large ivory tusks, for which they were previously hunted, can weigh up to 5kg each and are used to haul the animal onto land or make access holes in the ice. Before the species was protected in 1952, there were believed to be le ...
By Peter Prokosch
Moss on the ground in Setesdal, Norway in Autumn
The diet of the Lemming consists of moss, grass, small insects and plants and they are found in abundance in Arctic tundra zones and meadows, where a layer of permafrost creates a unique ecological environment. The brown and black Norway Lemming undergoes such sudden, periodic population increas ...
By Peter Prokosch
Lemming (Lemmus lemmus), Setesdalheia, Southern Norway
During Winter, lemmings live in tunnels in the snow, where warm pockets of air near the ground provide comfort and access to grass and moss. Warmer temperatures in recent years have made snow conditions less suited to lemming behaviour and as a result, lemming numbers have not been so high. The ...
By Peter Prokosch
Mother Polar Bear and cub, Svalbard, Norway
Polar Bears feed mostly on seals and often follow the retreating ice in Summer in order to stay near to the edge of the ice-pack, where they are most likely to find food. They eat very little in Summer months while they wait for the ice to freeze. Winter is an important time on the ice, where th ...
By Peter Prokosch
Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus), Svalbard, Norway
Where seals are not available or sea ice is absent, Polar Bears will retreat to land and eat other marine mammals, reindeer, rodents, sea birds, ducks, fish and berries or scavenge on carcasses or garbage from humans.
By Peter Prokosch
Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) perched beside the ice, Svalbard, Norway
With the difficulty to find food comes the difficulty to conceive. Between 1981 and 1998 it was observed that the average weight and number of Polar Bear cubs born dropped by 15%.
By Peter Prokosch
Kongsfjord, Spitzbergen
Krossfjorden lies within the Spitsbergen National Park in the Svalbard archipelago. The mountain formations in this area represent different geological periods and the site is recognized as an important monitoring station for climate variations. Lucky visitors to the area might witness the calvi ...
By Peter Prokosch
Red Knot (Calidris canutus canutus), Sterlegova, Taimyr , Siberia, Russia
The red knot is a migratory shorebird that travels up to 20,000 km twice a year from its breeding grounds on the high Arctic tundra to its southern non-breeding sites. Along with having one of the longest total migrations of any bird, some populations also fly as much as 8,000–9,000 km between s ...
By Peter Prokosch
Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus), Svalbard
Polar Bears do most of their hunting on the sea ice. They feed almost exclusively on ice-living Ringed or Bearded Seals and the ice sheets under which these seals live and the Bears must follow the ice as it retreats into Fjords and Bays in the Summer months. Bears that find themselves trapped o ...
By Peter Prokosch
Rotorua, New Zealand
The geysers around the Rotorua area have value for potential scientific study, as tourist attractions and as energy sources. Of the 5 major geyser fields existing here 110 years ago, only 1 remains, at Rotorua, a result of either natural occurrence or human interference .
By Yannick Beaudoin
New Zealand gannets (Morus Serrator)
The New Zealand Gannet is born from a single egg and takes to the air in it's fourth month of life, returning several years later to breed. It has been discovered that the young birds travel an astonishing 2,740km in this, their first long flight - across the Tasman Sea to the East Coast of Aust ...
By Yannick Beaudoin
New Zealand rock formations
New Zealand is a geologically active country defined by volcanism and associated geothermalism. The characteristic coastline here is shaped both by erosion and by tectonic processes linked to its proximity to two plate boundaries.
By Yannick Beaudoin
Coral, Vanuatu
The coastal and underwater environment of Vanuatu harbours some of the most stunning dive sites in the Pacific Islands.
By Yannick Beaudoin
Reef fish, Vanuatu
This delicate environment is highly vulnerable to storm surges and a rising water level due to the many low coastal roads and villages. There is frequent disturbance due to the passage of tropical cyclones and volcanic activity, which effects the distribution of species. In the case of Vanuatu, ...
By Yannick Beaudoin
Seagrass at the waterline, Seychelles
The Seychelles is home to nearly 88,000 people of mixed background ancestry including French, African, Indian, Chinese and Arab. In the past 30 years much of the growth on the Islands has been led by the tourism sector which provides more than 70% of cash earnings. Threats to the marine ecolog ...
By Lawrence Hislop
Snow mobile travel over sea ice in Uummannaq, Greenland
Given that Greenland locals depend on marine life for a food source and as the basis of their economy, the effects of climate change could be devastating here, as the air temperature rises, melting sea ice and restricting access to traditional hunting areas.
By Lawrence Hislop
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