How Melting Ice Affects the Arctic Food Web

Investigate how energy and matter flow through Arctic ecosystems and how global climate change threatens that delicate balance. Through clips from the PBS Nature episode, “Walrus: Life on Thin Ice,” students catch a glimpse into the fascinating and fragile lives of the Pacific walrus, an animal that is familiar to many and yet seen in real life by few. Walruses are well adapted to the unique marine ecosystem of the Arctic, but climate change is threatening the balance of the entire Arctic food web. By modeling the interdependence among organisms and identifying cause-and-effect relationships, students explore how melting sea ice disrupts life throughout the Arctic.