Ivory Gull

Ivory Gulls build large nests of dry grass, moss, lichen and seaweed. In winter and early spring when food is scarce, foraging Caribou eat the nests. The gulls live in the high Arctic, rarely migrating any farther south than the Bering Sea.

Ivory Gulls are almost entirely dependent on sea ice and glaciers for nesting and food foraging. They feed on fish and shellfish that thrive near the edge of the ice, and on the remains of seals left by Polar Bears. Seal blubber is a source of heavy contaminants—Ivory Gull eggs show a higher concentration of mercury and pesticides than any Arctic sea bird. Other threats are illegal hunting and disturbance from diamond mining in the Canadian Arctic.

Other animals effected by climate change

Tufted Puffin
Tufted Puffins are threatened by sea level rise and storm surges which destroy habitats and breeding areas. In some areas of North America warming seas are causing the fish that the Puffins feed on to migrate farther north, making it difficult for them to find adequate food. Other threats are entrapment in fishing nets, oil spills, pollution, ingestion of plastic, human disturbance of breeding colonies and introduced predators such as rats and foxes.

Bramble Cay Melomys
The Bramble Cay Melomys was the first species to be declared extinct because of climate change. Sea level rise and storm surges washed away its habitat, food and the last of the population. In 2014 scientists went searching in the hopes of starting a breeding program but were unable to find a pair. Other sea birds and turtles that live on the Cay are also threatened by storm surges and sea level rise.

Common Clownfish
Clownfish live in the shallow waters of coral reefs where they have a mutually beneficial relation with a few species of sea anemone. The anenome protects the Clownfish, and the fish's swimming aerates the water around the anenome. Clownfish are unable to move long distances, and rising ocean temperature and acidity is a threat to their coral reef habitats. Increased acidity also seems to impair their ability to navigate to their home anemones.

Ivory Gull
Ivory Gulls are almost entirely dependent on sea ice and glaciers for nesting and food foraging. They feed on fish and shellfish that thrive near the edge of the ice, and on the remains of seals left by Polar Bears. Seal blubber is a source of heavy contaminants—Ivory Gull eggs show a higher concentration of mercury and pesticides than any Arctic sea bird. Other threats are illegal hunting and disturbance from diamond mining in the Canadian Arctic.