The Arctic fox, Alopex lagopus, is considered one of the first mammals to have colonized Sweden and Finland after the last ice age. Their thick fur, large fat reserves, specialized circulatory systems that help them retain heat, and their ability to lower their metabolic rate to withstand periods of starvation make them the perfect candidates for living in the world's two coldest habitats : the Arctic. tundra and the frozen sea. These habitats are found in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Russia and Scandinavia. According to worldwildlife.org, temperatures in the Arctic are rising twice as fast as in the rest of the world (1). Climate change is thought to impact the Arctic fox population in three important ways: habitat loss, changes in prey abundance, and increased competition with red foxes. Of the three, habitat loss is considered the greatest threat to the Arctic fox population. Due to rising temperatures, sea ice is not as abundant and new plant species are starting to emerge. Sea ice is important to the Arctic fox population because they rely on the extra space to find food and there are fewer predators (2). Because sea ice habitat provides important winter food resources for Arctic foxes, especially in years when lemming populations are low, the loss of sea ice habitat is likely to result in lower winter survival and success reproductive of the Arctic fox population. Due to dwindling food resources, Arctic foxes may begin to wander into human settlements in search of food, which will increase the possibility of foxes being killed by human inhabitants. Dwindling food resources and hunting grounds are not the only problem linked to the loss of sea ice habitats. According to the Species Survival Commission, as... middle of paper... conditions are converting the tundra into shrublands favored by the red fox. While red foxes are moving north into more favorable habitat areas, arctic foxes are retreating. from the southern edge of the tundra. This created competition between the two species, but biologists are unsure whether the Arctic fox's loss of territory was due to direct competition or whether they were indirectly competing for the same food. However, it is very clear that the presence of the red fox population has had a negative effect on the Arctic fox population. Works Cited1. http://worldwildlife.org/species/arctic-fox2. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/jul/15/climatechange.wildlife3. http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/fact_sheet_red_list_arctic_foxes.pdf4. http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/climate_law_institute/the_arctic_meltdown/slideshow_text/arctic_fox.html