Preview

Evolution Of Polar Bears Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
859 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Evolution Of Polar Bears Essay
Evolution of polar bears

Evolution is the procedure in which different kinds of living species are believed to have developed from earlier forms over many centuries. The two competing theories in evolution are Lamarckism and Darwinism. It is believed that Darwin’s theory of Natural selection best fits the polar bears evolution because the bears adapted to a life of hunting seals and surviving extreme cold. One of the most notable adaptations was that they developed the ability to survive on a fat-rich diet without apparent heart damage. Although Lamarck’s theory was discredited it still plays a large role in the theory of evolution.

Jean-Baptise Lamarck’s theory stated that an organism can pass on characteristics that it has developed
…show more content…
You can see several adaptations in polar bears; most obvious is the polar bear’s colour, which can range from a light yellow to a very pure white. Appearing white like its surroundings provide a natural camouflage for the polar bear. Some other adaptations are that the polar bear has two layers of thick fur that cover it’s black skin to keep it warn in the freezing temperatures of the arctic, the polar bear has adapted to the extreme cold because their ears and tail have gradually shrunk which means there is less surface area for heat loss, their paws have gotten bigger to help the polar bear distribute their weight when walking across ice or snow. Also the polar bear has been able to adapt to eating the fatty skin of seals so that they don’t get heart problems from the prey. Polar bears have very good senses; studies show that polar bears can smell seals from up to 20 miles away which is 32.1869 kilometres. Polar bears began to split from brown thousands of years ago. Estimates of when this began to happen continue to change as geneticists look further into the polar bear genome. After beginning to split off from brown bears; the polar bear's ancestors began to go through series of evolutionary changes to ensure that it can survive in the Arctic. Recent studies suggest that polar bears split from brown bear ancestors 350,000-6 million years ago. Polar bears and brown bears are genetically

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Kermode bears, a certain type of black bear, are white because they have a special a recessive gene called MCR11. MCR1 is a recessive gene that causes the pigmation in the bears skin to turn white. Even though they are white they are not albino (Kermode.) MCR1 is caused by ultraviolet light (No, Name.) Even though the bears are white it doesn’t mean the parents have to be (Bec.) They just have to pick up the gene. Kermode bears are most commonly found on Princess Royal Island in south east Alaska. 1/3 of the bears there are white…

    • 99 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    11. Lamarck’s theory of evolution involved two principles. According to his first principle, the law of use and disuse, the more an animal uses a particular part of its body, the stronger and better developed that part becomes while at the same time, the less a part is used, the weaker and less developed it becomes. The second part of Lamarck’s theory was the inheritance of acquired characteristics, the idea that the characteristics an organism developed through use and disuse could be passed on to its offspring.…

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Polar Bear Analysis

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Polar bears are extreamly well adapted tohunt their prey under water. Keeping warm is no problem for polar bears infact sometimes polar bears have to lay flat on their stomachs on the ice just to cool of. Polar bears have the thickest fur of any bear species. Their fur has two layers. The first layer, the under coat, is the closest to their body it consists of thick, plush, hair that retains heat. The next layer, the outer layer, is a layer made of "guard hairs" and are not actually hair at all they are hollow tubes. the tubes trap air for insulation andalso reflect a visible wavelengths of light in their hollow air space, which combine to make the fur whiteeven though it is in fact colorless. The white coloring provides camoflauge for the bears allowing them to blend in with there white snowy surroundings. Under their fur polar bears have black skin that absorb the sunlight and under that they have a 4-inch layer of blubber. This blubber keeps polar bears warm in the cold water. Polar bears have fur at he bottom of their feet providing extra warmth and traction to the ice. they are adapted to swim 60 miles without a pause to rest. They have have the ability to reduce their metabolic rate when the food is scarce and again when it's…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sci 230 Week 1

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Evolution by natural selection: This theory came about as a result of Charles Darwin trying to find an explanation for “why there are so many different living beings on earth?” (Pruitt, N. L., & Underwood, L. S. (2006). His theory contains two parts, the first part states that species change over generations. The second part states that what causes this change is natural selection.…

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    It has very thick, transparent fur, which makes the bear appear white. This helps the bear camouflage against the ice and snow. The Polar bear also has large canines for tearing the flesh of seals, fish and whale carcasses. Because it spends so much time in the water, the Polar Bear is considered a marine mammal. Consequently, you would expect it to have adaptations for swimming. It absolutely does. The Polar bear has several adaptations that enable it to swim. Its front paws are wide and slightly webbed to help propel it through the water. These larger than normal paws also act like snowshoes and help the bear walk over snow and ice without slipping or sinking. The Polar bear can even dive to find food and has been observed diving to depths of up to 6 feet. Once out of the water, special oils in its fur helps it dry quickly to reduce heat loss. The Polar bear has other adaptations that keep it warm as well. It has very thick skin and an extra layer of insulating fat which can be over 4 inches thick. It also has smaller ears and tail than other species of bears which reduces heat loss. A Polar bear is actually more likely to overheat than to…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Final Study Guide

    • 8883 Words
    • 36 Pages

    f. Lamarck: proposed first theory of evolution, incorrect mechanisms in which he said it depends on what the organism does in its lifetime for what it will pass down.…

    • 8883 Words
    • 36 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rooney's Animal Project

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The polar bear mostly eats seals, walruses, and seabirds. The distinctive features about the polar bears is that it has clear fur and black skin. The polar bears are considered to be endangered, mostly because global warming. The skin type of the polar bear is fur.…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    -Lamarck hypothesized that organisms evolved through inheritance of acquired characteristics, where the body is modified due to use or disuse or parts & that all organisms have innate drive for perfection. He was incorrect in that acquired characteristics are not inherited as Mendel and genetics had not been discovered yet.…

    • 2651 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    biome presentation

    • 904 Words
    • 15 Pages

    The American Black Bear has a thick coat which helps it keep warm in the taiga Arctic Tundra The Arctic fox has adapted a stealthy movement due to its predatory nature. Arctic Ocean…

    • 904 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Geology Questions

    • 2397 Words
    • 10 Pages

    3. What is Jean Baptiste de Lemark's theory that new traits arise in organisms according to need somehow being passed onto their descendants?…

    • 2397 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Black Bear Research Paper

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The bear family is extensive, diverse, and widespread. But despite their huge numbers and diversity, there are only eight main species of the Family Ursidae.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Polar Bear Evolution

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Under the polar bears thick, white fur they have black skin that reflects light of the freezing arctic landscape. Their fur is oily which helps them to be water repellent; the polar bear's solid fur and a remarkably thick layer of fat under its skin protect it against the cold temperatures of the ice .The fat is important when the bear is swimming, because the fur cannot keep the insulating air trapped in it. The hairs are hollow, so the black skin underneath can absorbed light from the UV rays; these genetic traits allow them to have a better chance of survival in temperatures below zero. The polar bear’s fur grows from 5 to 15 cm long. The growth of the fur is the same amount of insulation from the cold that the polar bear receives. The physical features that defined this species include longer neck and head; this trait allowed the polar bears to reach for their prey. During the day polar bears can locate seals from a long distance. The polar bears are patient when it comes to stalking their prey. They flatten their bodies on the icy surface, their forefront feet are under them and only their hind feet provide the force when moving closer. Sometimes they push a small blocks of ice in front of them to camouflage their dark noses, or cover their noses with their white paws to avoid their prey from seeing them. Polar bears spend a lot time in water; the use of the polar bear limbs in…

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The human impact on today’s enlivenment for polar bears isn’t the best. Polar bears are finding harder to service with ice melting earlier in the spring and refreezing later in the fall. With larger oil companies moving closer into the arctic it is affecting the bears even more. Already having to deal with clement change and ice melting faster, big oil has moved in and poring toxins in to the environment. With the working of the oil rigs, oil is spilling out into the water poising the polar bears food sources. Other sea life is ingesting the oil then the polar bear eats the food and then is poising themselves. Polar bears with low health are not able to mate and have cubs, if the bears do have cubs the cubs die at an early age do to the lack…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Central to the theory of evolution, is natural selection. Evolutionary theory was developed by Charles Darwin to explain the ways in which animals adapt to their environments (Akert, Aronson, Sommers, and Wilson 43). Natural selection, is the process by which heritable traits that promote survival in particular environments are passed along to…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Both Lamarckism and Darwinism were theories of evolution rooted in the concept of adaptation and an organisms response to environmental changes, however they differed in the mechanisms of how it happens. Lamarckism is in support of a theory that organisms evolve by acquiring favorable characteristics in response to their environment and directly pass them onto their offspring. In addition, according to Lamarckism, genetic variation occurs in a favorable direction, meaning that evolution is progressive from generation to generation. For example, Lamarckism evolution would argue that if a species lived in an environment that favored hairy coats, animals would perceive this need, grow the coats, and pass it on to their ancestors.…

    • 258 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays