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ArtistSeals (Phoca vitulina) adapt to climate change and habitat loss by extending migration distances and surviving on lower-quality food, which has a negative impact on their body condition and health, and reduces reproductive rates. Seals that normally give birth on ice are forced to give birth on land, exposing pups to land predators and cutting into pup survival rates. Seals’ current behavioral adaptations are insufficient to offset environmental stress, and long-term climate warming will continue to threaten the survival of wild seal populations. The image shows an exquisitely detailed National Geographic quality close-up illustration of a small pod of seals on a rocky shore, gathered around their pups to protect them and shelter them from the hot sun. Above, in the dunes, lurks a hungry cougar trying to spot and pick out vulnerable seal pups. The style is a biological illustration with extreme scientific precision, drawn as line art in bold colors.
Seals have a hard time coping with climate change. Global warming can force them to have their pups on less protected land, where predators lurk. Dwindling food sources cause declines in algae, krill, and fish populations, reducing the rich milk mothers need to nurse.
